Movie review: Charlotte's Web
December 15, 2006 by Joanne Brokaw
Charlotte’s Web
(Paramount Pictures/Walden Media)
Rated G
Produced by Jordan Kerner; Based on the Book by E. B. White; Screenplay by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick; Directed by Gary Winick
Starring the voices of Julia Roberts, Dakota Fanning, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Kathy Bates, Reba McEntire, Robert Redford, Thomas Haden Church, André Benjamin
Reviewed by Joanne Brokaw
I went to the screening of “Charlotte’s Web” with hesitation. I’m a big fan of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” theory of remakes and I’m also a big fan of the original animated “Charlotte’s Web”. I left the theater completely won over.
That’s because, as producer Jordan Kerner told me during a recent phone interview, “We didn’t remake a movie. We made a book. Our movie was based on the work of Mr. [E.B.] White, fully, as a man who wrote for ‘The New Yorker’ and wrote other great pieces of literature.”
That’s not to deny the original movie’s place as a piece of American filmmaking; Kerner thinks there’s a place for both. But the animated musical was meant for children and, even though he has three of his own, Kerner says he doesn’t make movies for children. “I work very hard on movies that are made for adults that are appropriate for children.” His movies generally garner G or PG ratings, because, he says, “You don’t need to deal with bad words or sexuality or violence. There’s no need for that in my mind. It’s really about the communication of universal stories.”
And that’s what makes this film so great. It’s not a kid’s movie, although the animation was incredible and the kids are going to love it. It’s a story about honor, friendship and redemption, themes that moviegoers of all ages can enjoy, themes that have driven Kerner’s filmmaking career for the last 20 years.
Kerner sees a lot of movies that leave him troubled and he says he wants people to leave his films feeling elevated. “I want people to feel that they can help to make the human condition a little better, or else there’s no reason to make movies. I’m not in the entertainment business to simply entertain.”
Fortunately, “Charlotte’s Web” elevates and entertains, and it also leaves you with enough talking points to spur some family discussions about what it means to be a true friend and how every single one of God’s creatures is beautiful.
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- Joanne's Blogging at Beliefnet.com - WE\'VE MOVED - ShoutLife.com - Movie review: Charlotte's Web - Projects from 2006 you may have missed - Book Review: What Your Parents Didn\'t Teach You about Sex & Christianity - A Merry Musical Christmas - In review: Babel - In review: A Good Year - In review: Stranger Than Fiction - In review: Flags of our Fathers - In review: The Queen - Entertainment Notes: October 15, 2006 - Shawn Lewis, Hyper Static Union - In review: Jesus Camp (documentary) - Sara Groves in Christian Music Planet - A little TV Guide gag with LPF - Entertainment Notes August 15, 2006 - Music Review: Let's Not Forget The Story, by Foolish Things - Music Review: Turn Around, by Johnny Lang - Entertainment Notes July 15, 2006 - Book Review: Evangelism For The Rest of Us, by Mike Bechtle - Facing The Giants - some first thoughts - Movie review: A Prairie Home Companion - Movie review: Cars - Opening in theaters May 26-28 - Entertainment Notes: May 15, 2006 - The DaVinci Code - Top 5 at the box office: May 19-21, 2006 - Top 5 at the box office: May 12-15, 2006 |
