Charlotte's Web
I took AJ and M&M to see Charlotte's Web this afternoon while Baby E stayed with DH.
We loved the movie. It didn't stick to the book perfectly, and it left out quite a few details I was disappointed to miss. But I think it caught the spirit of the story and told it well.
I was amazed at how much more real the story seemed, how much more I was drawn in and captured, and how new the tale felt, seeing it in live-action instead of animation. It was definitely worth the remake.
######
It did take me a while to get used to Charlotte. Spiders creep me out, and this one was pretty realistic-looking with a very close view that made her look an awful lot like a tarantula.
But I loved her voice (so much more humorous and quirky than I expected), and her warm eyes--at least the two main eyes. I was a bit bothered by the fact that Charlotte's other 6 eyes were so much smaller than the front two, and that they never blinked or changed. But that was a minor detail.
The web-weaving scenes were downright magical. I've always enjoyed watching spiders spin webs, and the movie's rendition of Charlotte's artwork was like watching a symphony in movement.
I expected to be a bit bothered by some of the jokes and choice phrases used in the movie after reading the review on screenit.com (a highly recommended resource for checking out movies, by the way). But in context, they didn't bother me at all.
My girls gasped audibly and commented in shocked whispers that "She hit him! That was BAD!" when Fern playfully hit her brother. That was encouraging given how much trouble I've been having with the two of them pushing, "accidentally" hitting, pinching and throwing things at each other lately.
The voices and tha actors gave the movie so much more color and character than the bland, predictable, soothing voices in the animated feature. I especially enjoyed the extra development of secondary characters, particularly the geese and the other barn animals. Templeton the rat was perfectly played.
Wilbur himself could have used more development of character, however. The movie didn't show his kindheartedness and his befriending of the other farm animals as much as it could have. It also gave me a bit of cognitive dissonance that he remained looking so much like a piglet throughout the movie. He looked younger and smaller than seemed natural to me by fall and winter, even considering that he was a runt pig.
I was also disappointed that some of the human characters weren't developed a little more. Fern's character seemed a little flat to me, although delightful, and we never even learned Henry Fussy's name. Farmer Zuckerman never did explicitly vocalize the fateful decision not to butcher the pig--something I kept waiting for in the scene at the fair or afterwards.
I thought the human actors did a great job of communicating a lot through their actions and expressions in a very short amount of time, though. The movie was beautifully cast and acted. The scenes with Fern's mother, Mrs. Arable, and her consultations with the family doctor were especially smile-inducing.
Everyone in the theater laughed out loud or said "aww" several times during the movie. I especially liked watching the two white-haired ladies in front of us enjoy the movie.
AJ and M&M seemed to get the jokes, and laughed right along with everyone else. It was great to watch them take in the movie and enjoy it so much. Although I was a bit worried about how they would respond to the death themes, they seemed to handle them well.
The movie didn't seem over their heads, at least for my 4- and 5-year-olds. They are easily frightened by movies with any kind of intensity (even movies most kids their age consider pretty bland), but they didn't get scared or upset with this one. Of course, it probably helped that they were already familiar with the story and knew how it ended.
AJ and M&M were riveted, much more so than with the animated version of the movie. So was I. The animated version sticks more closely to the book, but I suspect that if we owned both versions, this would be the more frequently watched.
I would definitely see it again.
We loved the movie. It didn't stick to the book perfectly, and it left out quite a few details I was disappointed to miss. But I think it caught the spirit of the story and told it well.
I was amazed at how much more real the story seemed, how much more I was drawn in and captured, and how new the tale felt, seeing it in live-action instead of animation. It was definitely worth the remake.
######
It did take me a while to get used to Charlotte. Spiders creep me out, and this one was pretty realistic-looking with a very close view that made her look an awful lot like a tarantula.
But I loved her voice (so much more humorous and quirky than I expected), and her warm eyes--at least the two main eyes. I was a bit bothered by the fact that Charlotte's other 6 eyes were so much smaller than the front two, and that they never blinked or changed. But that was a minor detail.
The web-weaving scenes were downright magical. I've always enjoyed watching spiders spin webs, and the movie's rendition of Charlotte's artwork was like watching a symphony in movement.
I expected to be a bit bothered by some of the jokes and choice phrases used in the movie after reading the review on screenit.com (a highly recommended resource for checking out movies, by the way). But in context, they didn't bother me at all.
My girls gasped audibly and commented in shocked whispers that "She hit him! That was BAD!" when Fern playfully hit her brother. That was encouraging given how much trouble I've been having with the two of them pushing, "accidentally" hitting, pinching and throwing things at each other lately.
The voices and tha actors gave the movie so much more color and character than the bland, predictable, soothing voices in the animated feature. I especially enjoyed the extra development of secondary characters, particularly the geese and the other barn animals. Templeton the rat was perfectly played.
Wilbur himself could have used more development of character, however. The movie didn't show his kindheartedness and his befriending of the other farm animals as much as it could have. It also gave me a bit of cognitive dissonance that he remained looking so much like a piglet throughout the movie. He looked younger and smaller than seemed natural to me by fall and winter, even considering that he was a runt pig.
I was also disappointed that some of the human characters weren't developed a little more. Fern's character seemed a little flat to me, although delightful, and we never even learned Henry Fussy's name. Farmer Zuckerman never did explicitly vocalize the fateful decision not to butcher the pig--something I kept waiting for in the scene at the fair or afterwards.
I thought the human actors did a great job of communicating a lot through their actions and expressions in a very short amount of time, though. The movie was beautifully cast and acted. The scenes with Fern's mother, Mrs. Arable, and her consultations with the family doctor were especially smile-inducing.
Everyone in the theater laughed out loud or said "aww" several times during the movie. I especially liked watching the two white-haired ladies in front of us enjoy the movie.
AJ and M&M seemed to get the jokes, and laughed right along with everyone else. It was great to watch them take in the movie and enjoy it so much. Although I was a bit worried about how they would respond to the death themes, they seemed to handle them well.
The movie didn't seem over their heads, at least for my 4- and 5-year-olds. They are easily frightened by movies with any kind of intensity (even movies most kids their age consider pretty bland), but they didn't get scared or upset with this one. Of course, it probably helped that they were already familiar with the story and knew how it ended.
AJ and M&M were riveted, much more so than with the animated version of the movie. So was I. The animated version sticks more closely to the book, but I suspect that if we owned both versions, this would be the more frequently watched.
I would definitely see it again.
Labels: reviews
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 11:59 PM[Permanent link]
2 Comments:
I've been watching for opinions from those who loved the book. I'm glad you all enjoyed the movie so much. My daughter, who is a teen, doesn't want to see the movie even though everyone at home, daughter included, loved the book.
Most of the time we don't see movies made from books we've read, but sometimes I feel it *does* add to the overall experience. I'm all for different types of art media. So, when it comes out on DVD, I'm going to rent it to see, even if I'm the only one in the family watching it!
I agree that this movie was truly an acceptable children's movie. Even though my daughter is 11, I've always struggled with finding appropriate kids movies. So many of them are, in my humble opinion, too violent, age inappropriate and filled with sensory overload. I've learned to be very careful about what we see instead of mindlessly accepting what the marketing machine puts out. We went to see Charlotte's Web over holiday break and it was a delight for us all.
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