Charlotte's Web

Director: Charles A. Nichols, Iwao Takamoto Charles A. Nichols

Overview

This animated musical, based on E.B. White's children's book classic, is about a courageous spider who helps save the life of an ill-fated pig. Wilbur is a young pig (voice of Henry Gibson) who's owned by New England farmer Homer Zuckerman (voice of Robert Holt). One day he is sold to a neighbor, where he meets a sheep who warns him that his fate lies in the confines of the slaughterhouse. Wilbur is terrified of this news until he meets Charlotte, a charming spider (voice of Debbie Reynolds), who is determined to save Wilbur from this dire destiny. By weaving words into her web, she convinces the farmer that Wilbur is some sort of prodigious animal too important to kill. The music for Charlotte's Web was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who wrote the scores for countless Disney movies, including Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/24/2017
UPC:	0032429256485
Original Release:	1973
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[monaural, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Danny Bonaduce	Avery Arable
Agnes Moorehead	Goose
Bob Holt	Homer Zuckerman,Actor
Dave Madden	Ram
John Stephenson	Farmer Arable
Herbert Vigran	Lurvy
Don Messick	Jeffrey
Rex Allen	Narrator,Narrator
Charles Reilly	Voices
Irwin Kostal	Conductor,Composer
Paul Lynde	Voices
Richard M. Sherman	Composer,Composer

Technical Credits

Earl Hamner Jr.

Charles A. Nichols	Director
Iwao Takamoto	Director
Joseph Barbera	Producer
William Hanna	Producer
Earl Hamner Jr.	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

E.B. White's classic Charlotte's Web is one of the 20th century's most beloved children's books. The film version is a faithful adaptation, retaining all of the characters -- and most of their characteristics. The gentle but mysterious and at times discomforting tone of the original has been kept, and no attempt has been made to soften the existential sadness at the story's core -- the lesson that everyone lives and then dies, even if that death is successfully postponed for a while. Despite this, the film has the book's generally cheerful and optimistic tone. Voice characterizations are good, with Debbie Reynolds a properly maternal and compassionate Charlotte and Henry Gibson innocent and unassuming as Wilbur. Paul Lynde's Templeton is a standout, as would be expected from the natural mating of actor and role. The film's good points are undermined somewhat by a lackluster score (although the title song is rather haunting) and more seriously by the mediocre animation. Although better than its work for television, Hanna-Barbera's animation is too stiff and money-conscious to do justice to the story. That said, the backgrounds are generally very good, and some sequences involving weather and seasons are very effective. While the lack of top-drawer animation dilutes the film's effectiveness, it is still a fine and worthwhile adaptation.