Charlotte's Web (Full Screen Edition)
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Features
• Animated
• Closed-captioned
• Color
• DVD-Video
• Full Screen
• NTSC
In Theaters : 01 March, 1973
DVD Release : 28 August, 2001 |
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Charlotte's Web (Full Screen Edition) Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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A haunting tale of friendship, life, death and the miracle of it all...
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Paramount Pictures brought for us a beautiful animated adaptation of one of the modest charming classics in modern American children's literature, "Charlotte's Web". This 1973 production has grown on me since I first saw it years ago, shortly after finishing the original novel. One could and would say, perhaps, that the film suffers from a few flaws, one of which is weaker animation than what one may be accustomed to. Though, compared to Disney's 1973 output, "[[ASIN:B000ICM5T4 Robin Hood]]", "Charlotte's Web" isn't really too disappointing in terms of technical quality. The film captures the essence of the story beautifully, adding charm to it without altering the original. Good memorable songs, good writing among other things make this a wonderful film for family viewing.
Based on E.B. White's now-classic children's story of the same name, "Charlotte's Web" is the story of a little pig named Wilbur who was born a runt. John Arable sees the size of the pig and decides that he must do away with it, for it would probably die anyways. When Fern Arable, his daughter, hears of this, she is bewildered and shocked and begs to be allowed to keep the pig. Mr. Arable is convinced and allows Fern to keep the pig, whom she names Wilbur, and the two become fast and loving friends. Sadly for Fern, when Wilbur grows into a fine pig, Mr. Arable tells her that it is time for him to go and the pig is sent away down the road to Fern's uncle's farm. At Mr. Zuckerman's barn, Wilbur makes a great deal of new friends, all of which are too busy to play with him. Among his new companions are Templeton, a rat, a goose, sheep and other animals. Though Wilbur finds his new home pleasant and beautiful, and he is visited often by Fern, he soon learns a terrible truth: when he grows fat and good enough to eat, Mr. Zuckerman will kill him for his meat. Wilbur is shocked and frightened and determined that he wants to live. The next day, Wilbur meets Charlotte, a beautiful, wise and intelligent gray spider who lives on the hollow doorway leading inside the barn. Charlotte promises Wilbur to be his friend and that she'll try and save his life. Very skilled with her spinerets and a good writer, Charlotte finds the perfect solution: to write small words on her web that'll capture the attention of the humans and let them know that Wilbur is one especial pig. Charlotte's clever idea is successful and Mr. Zuckerman, his family and friends find the apparition of the messages to be unexplainable miracles. Charlotte then dedicates her life to her good friend, and with the help of Templeton the rat, sees that Wilbur's life is placed out of harm's way, thus giving a bold meaning to her own life as well.
Touching and bittersweet from beginning to end, the story of "Charlotte's Web" is one that never ceases to enchant me as both sweet and tragic. Like many other delightful children's stories, the theme of "the circle of life" is present here and is carried out marvelously. There's also a strong message about friendship as well as the miracles of life and death. The Sherman Brothers, responsible for the scores to such Disney classics as "[[ASIN:B00004R9A0 The Sword in the Stone]]" (1963), "[[ASIN:B0002VEPRQ Mary Poppins]]" (1964), "[[ASIN:B00004R9A4 Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]" (1971) and "[[ASIN:B000OLGCF2 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]" (1977), give this film its musical appeal through a delightful score, which captures the both the joy and purity of the happiest and also the most touching scenes, as well as a handful of wonderful songs; most notably, "Charlotte's Web" and "Mother Earth and Father Time", both songs which set out two important themes for this delightful musical story. Tough some of the vocal work could be considered clichA d, the script is fantastic. Debbie Reynolds gives her voice to Charlotte the spider, and many of her lines of wisdom stay with me when the film is over; "I'm thinking of your life, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now." at the same time, chilling me to the bone. Seeing this film before going to sleep for me means troubled sleep, for the tragic, yet happy, story of Charlotte and Wilbur haunts me for a long time after every time I watch it. Some parents could be disturbed by this if their children felt the same way, but to me, the best films out there are not the ones that make you laugh out loud, or that feature incredible animation, but rather, films that can awaken in you strong emotions that live within you for a long time, that's what the best of stories are made of. Charlotte's Web is a grand adaptation of E.B. White's classic story that should not be missed, even if you've skipped it to see the [[ASIN:B000NA6CPE 2006 version]], of which I can say nothing as I haven't seen it. Wonderful story, highly recommended. |
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Charlotte's Web (Full Screen Edition) dvd movie.