Charlotte's Web

Although it's long spun a magical web on the printed page, E.B. White's cherished children's book comes across as curiously flat in this big screen adaptation combining live action with CGI work. It's not the fault of filmmaker Gary Winick that the little hero—a runt piglet named Wilbur, who's saved from becoming a tiny pork chop by a plucky farm girl (Dakota Fanning) and then later rescued from a trip to the smokehouse by a supportive barnyard spider named Charlotte (unimpressively voiced by Julia Roberts)—comes across as just a younger (and less engaging) cousin of Babe. Actually, the special effects are fine, Fanning is her usual crowd-pleasing self, and the voice talent behind the barnyard community is mostly topnotch too (including John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Kathy Bates, Reba McEntire, and Robert Redford). But, while Charlotte's Web looks and sounds impressive, it's also both familiar and somewhat bland, with the only real fizz here provided by Steve Buscemi as cynical rat Templeton and Thomas Haden Church and Andre Benjamin as inept crows. Of course, this will still appeal to younger children and their parents, making it a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by director Gary Winick; the other by producer Jordan Kerner and visual effects supervisor John Andrew Berton Jr.), a 29-minute “Making Some Pig” making-of featurette, a 12-minute “Flacka's Pig Tales” behind-the-scenes featurette, “Some Voices” on the voice cast (9 min.), “Where Are They Now?” about the animal actors' new homes (7 min.), six deleted scenes with optional commentary (7 min.), “What Makes a Classic” on E.B. White's book (5 min.), “How Do They Do That?” with the animal trainers (5 min.), a three-minute gag reel, the music videos “Ordinary Miracle” by Sarah McLachlan and “Make a Wish” by Bob Carlisle and Lucy Kane, “A Day at the Farm” photo montage, a photo album, DVD-ROM features (including a storybook creator and the Sega game demo), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a so-so family film.] (F. Swietek)