Charlotte's Web (1973)
About This Movie
Wilbur, a runt pig saved from slaughter by a farm girl named Fern, befriends Charlotte, a wise and loving spider who devises a plan to save his life by weaving words into her web. The songs by the Sherman Brothers are warm and memorable, the Hanna-Barbera animation has a soft, pastoral charm, and the story builds to an ending that is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. This is E.B. White's masterpiece brought to life with genuine tenderness.
Why It's a Classic
Charlotte's Web confronts death more honestly than almost any other children's film, and it does so without flinching or offering false comfort. Charlotte saves Wilbur not through magic but through intelligence, creativity, and selfless love, and when she dies at the end, the film allows that loss to sit with the audience rather than rushing past it. Debbie Reynolds voices Charlotte with a maternal warmth that makes the spider feel like the wisest, kindest adult in any child's life, and her performance of "Mother Earth and Father Time" is quietly devastating. The film preserves E.B. White's central insight that friendship can give meaning to a life that would otherwise be ordinary, and that the people we love continue to matter even after they are gone. The Hanna-Barbera animation, while simpler than Disney's style, has a softness that suits the barnyard setting and lets the emotional storytelling take center stage. Templeton the rat provides essential comic relief, greedy and self-serving in ways that make Charlotte's generosity shine even brighter.
Fun Fact
E.B. White reportedly wept while recording the audiobook of Charlotte's Web and had to stop multiple times during Charlotte's death scene because he could not get through it without crying. The word "TERRIFIC" that Charlotte weaves in her web was chosen because White loved the double meaning: it originally meant "terrifying" before it came to mean "wonderful." The Sherman Brothers, who wrote the songs for the film, also wrote the music for Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, and the theme park ride "It's a Small World."
Parent Note
Charlotte dies at the end, and the film does not soften this. Her death scene is quiet and gentle, but children who are following the story will understand what has happened, and tears are common and healthy. The premise that Wilbur was being raised for slaughter is stated plainly, and Fern's early rescue of the runt pig involves her father heading to the barn with an axe. These elements make the film a powerful starting point for conversations about life, death, and the food chain, and many parents find it best suited for children around four or five and up. The overall tone is deeply loving and reassuring even in its saddest moments.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 1973
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- Family
- Age Group
- Little Kids (Ages 3–6)