Charlotte's Web

"Help is coming from above."

2006 1h 37m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🍅

79%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 1,496🍅79%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 48,642

ComedyFamilyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Help is coming from above.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Dakota Fanning
Fern Arable
Julia Roberts
Charlotte the Spider (voice)
Steve Buscemi
Templeton the Rat (voice)
John Cleese
Samuel the Sheep (voice)
Oprah Winfrey
Gussy the Goose (voice)
Cedric the Entertainer
Golly the Goose (voice)
Reba McEntire
Betsy the Cow (voice)
Kathy Bates
Bitsy the Cow (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gary Winick
Writers: Karey Kirkpatrick, Susannah Grant
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $85M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gary Winick, shot by Seamus McGarvey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sabrina Plisco shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dakota Fanning and Julia Roberts and Steve Buscemi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Help is coming from above.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gary Winick directs. Seamus McGarvey behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Sabrina Plisco cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $85M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 20 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
4Directed by Gary Winick, shot by Seamus McGarvey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Sabrina Plisco shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Dakota Fanning and Julia Roberts and Steve Buscemi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Help is coming from above.".
9IMDB entry: tt0413895 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "rescue", "friendship", "hero", "based on novel or book".
11Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Sabrina Plisco
Production design: Stuart Wurtzel
Costume design: Rita Ryack
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $85,000,000
Box office: $148,964,660
Return: 175% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Charlotte's Web (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 68/100
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 48,642 votes
MPAA: G

Awards

10 wins & 11 nominations total

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film
Genesis Award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Gary Winick

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Joe2017-04-10
★ 9/10
This is a lovely film :) Julia Roberts is lovely as the eponymous character, Dakota Fanning is a delightful Fern, and Dominic Scott Kay is an adorable Wilbur- if you see the special features, he does come across as quite a shy little boy Lovely film :) <3
Kamurai2020-07-24
★ 6/10
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend for younger audiences. It's based off of a famous book, Dakota Fanning, Steve Buscemi, Julia Roberts are all charming in their own ways, but I never realized what a dud of a character Wilbur was before this. Sure, he's a happy-go-lucky guy and social trend setter, but he's a character that needs a lot of help and doesn't even really give back. The story feels like a more modern fable: there is a lesson of morality and life here, but it is a lot more subtle than I'm used to fables being. Of course this has a cooked in version of explaining life and death to young children, but it feels like it tries to convey that a life well served, however short, is good life. This does make the movie oddly charming, but I can't say that it makes it as great as I remember the book being. Now, that may be nostalgia glasses, or maybe I have them for the this movie, but I think, in the end, it's an average movie with a good story that kids might like.
CinemaSerf2025-02-21
★ 7/10
The kindly young “Fern” (Dakota Fanning) manages to rescue a runt piglet and rear it as her own pet - despite the reservations of her dad. As it grows up, though, it becomes too big to live in their home so it’s sent to a nearby family farm and that’s where we all meet “Wilbur”. He’s an engaging and curious little critter who fits in with his talkative farmyard friends quickly and obliviously coasts through life until one of his new pals mentions the dreaded “C” word! He’s naturally quite terrified but what can he do? Well fortunately, the ingenious spider “Charlotte” lives in their barn too, and she concocts a plan that might just save his bacon! What now ensues sees a series of mischievous incidents that allows each animal to characterise a little as “Wilbur” and “Charlotte” come up with a plan to immortalise the young piggy. This is one of those stories I recall reading at school, and though it can run a little to sentiment, it’s still an entertainingly thoughtful story of fitting in, of team playing and of enduring friendship and though many years later I have undoubtedly become more of a cynic, it still has the power to reduce things to basics in quite a poignant fashion. It’s about optimism and sacrifice and the voice talents (on the English language version, anyway) offer us a friendly and touching story that still celebrates a vicarious version of humanity, well. Fanning delivers amiably, the animation is enjoyable to watch and if the last ten minutes doesn’t make you smile and blub just a little, then you’ve left your heart in the fridge.