I used to LOVE the old cartoon version of Charlotte’s Web. There is something so simple and beautiful about the story of a pig and a spider hell bent on saving his life. As an adult I still enjoy it when it makes an appearance on Sunday afternoon TV.
Having said all that, the good folks over at MovieWeb offer us the following:
Academy Award®-winner Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, John Cleese, Steve Buscemi, Cedric The Entertainer, Reba McEntire, Kathy Bates, Thomas Haden Church and Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000) have joined the voice cast in the upcoming live-action/photo real CG animated feature adaptation of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web for producer Jordan Kerner and his Kerner Entertainment Banner. The film will be directed by Gary Winick (13 Goin On 30) and is a Paramount Pictures, Walden Media and Nickelodeon Movies co-production. The feature is scheduled to begin production on January 31st in Melbourne, Australia.
Roberts will lend her vocals in the lead role of Charlotte A. Cavatica, a spider and heroine of the book who goes out of her way to save Wilbur the pig’s life by weaving miraculous words into her webs.
A fantastic cast without question… but who cares. The real question is: “Can the producers capture that same sense of awe and beauty that the original cartoon did”? The short answer for me is “I doubt it”. I’m just not sure this is a film that should be re-made when he original is so good on it’s own. It doesn’t need updating. Who knows… maybe it’ll be great.
