Charlotte's Web (2006)

This movie falls somewhere in between the 1973 cartoon version and the classic children's book by E.B. White. I mean, duh -- it's not hard to do better than the animated film and it'd be almost impossible to come close to meeting the quality of the source material.

I have to say that I enjoyed this. It was charming and the animals looked great in a Babe-like way. But the book moves me: Fern's total involvement in the world of her barnyard friends, the hurt when she begins to move away from them, and the double pain of Charlotte's departure and the sudden flight of hundreds of her children are all so beautifully poignant on the page and in my mind. I don't know if it's fair to complain that the movie isn't as good -- but I just can't help it.

In a nutshell -- it's pleasant for children, but if they're old enough to read they should skip this and dive into the written story instead.

B