Charlotte's Web (1973)

A spider with a flair for promotion pledges to save a young pig from slaughter.

Directors:

Charles A. Nichols, Iwao Takamoto

Writers:

E.B. White (book), Earl Hamner Jr. (story)

Stars:

Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde, Henry Gibson

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Debbie Reynolds	...	Charlotte A. Cavatica (voice)
Paul Lynde	...	Templeton (voice)
Henry Gibson	...	Wilbur (voice)
Rex Allen	...	Narrator (voice)
Martha Scott	...	Mrs. Arable (voice)
Dave Madden	...	Ram (voice)
Danny Bonaduce	...	Avery Arable (voice)
Don Messick	...	Jeffrey (voice)
Herb Vigran	...	Lurvy (voice)
Agnes Moorehead	...	The Goose (voice)
Pamelyn Ferdin	...	Fern Arable (voice) (as Pam Ferdin)
Joan Gerber	...	Mrs. Zuckerman / Mrs. Fussy (voice)
Bob Holt	...	Homer Zuckerman (voice) (as Robert Holt)
John Stephenson	...	Farmer Arable (voice)
William B. White	...	Henry Fussy (voice)

Storyline

Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.

---

Plot Keywords:

pig | spider | farm | runt | spiderweb | 

---

Taglines:

That humble radiant terrific book is now a humble radiant terrific movie.

---

Genres:

Animation | Family | Musical

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

E.B. White's Charlotte's Web

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Paramount Pictures, Sagittarius Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the 2007 DVD director's commentary for the 2006 live action/CG remake of "Charlotte's Web," the sequence with Templeton's feasting at the fair had to be expanded because a test audience commented that they missed the Sherman Brothers song, "A Veritable Smorgasbord," they remembered from the 1973 "Charlotte's Web."

---

Goofs

When Wilbur is being forced into the crate, the straw in the crate disappears and reappears between shots.

---

Quotes

[the family arrives at the farm to take Wilbur to the fair]
Homer Zuckerman: There he is!
Arable: That's some pig.
Avery Arable: He's terrific.
Lurvy: He's radiant.
Mrs. Zuckerman: Well, he's clean anyway. That buttermilk certainly helped.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Giant Spider Invasion (1997)

---

Soundtracks

"There Must Be Something More"
Written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman
Performed by Pamelyn Ferdin

User Reviews

It's not that bad...

So far, I've seen two completely different points of view in the comments for this movie. One was so-so, the other thought it was completely awful. Well, I would like to add a third: I thought it was charming.

"Charlotte's Web" is my absolutely favourite story, and one of the most treasured books in my personal library. This movie, while far from perfect, does stay very true to the original story (which, in case Negative Nellie may have missed, Disney does NOT do -- even though I love Disney, too).

It's true the animation isn't the best, but you have to realize that "Charlotte's Web" was made in 1973, WAAAAAY before the computer-animated wonders of the '80's and '90's. The animation in the '70's was still stuck in the Saturday-morning-cartoon format, where, instead of animating every single cel, the animators would animate every third or fifth cel. It saved time, money, and you still got animation -- just not very sophisticated animation. Disney and Max Fleischer were really the only ones that were trying to push animation beyond the extremely confined limits it was once stuck in. So you can't really fault the movie for that, it was a common fault 20 years ago to get stuck in a rut. (It's still happening today, or hasn't anyone watched "Godzilla", "Armageddon", or "Starship Troopers"? Just because the animation is more advanced doesn't mean that it isn't becoming redundant).

Other than the animation, "Charlotte's Web", taken from a purely entertainment level, is really not that bad. I still enjoy watching this movie, and the voice actors actually closely match the voices I've made in my head for the characters in the book over the years. Especially Templeton. His scene when he comes back from his night of gorging at the fair cracks me up. "In case you haven't noticed, there are over 8,000 eggs in that tiny little sac." "This HAS been a night!" HA!

The songs seem a little out of place at times, but on the whole, I still find this movie very enjoyable. It's not deep, it's not profound, it's a piece of mindless fluff, with some very nice performances from the voice actors and a lot of very cute moments. It's children's fare, folks, so just take it as such, and it's a lot easier to take. I liked it. So there.