Book vs Movie: Charlotte's Web

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Charlotte’s Web was another one of my favorite books as a child.  Also, as a child I loved watching the animated movie that was produced in 1972.  I remember watching the movie over and over again to the point of being able to recite lines. 

For this entry, because I hadn’t watched it yet, I decided to focus on the more recently produced movie, produced by Nickelodeon and Paramount Home Entertainment in 2006.  This movie does have many similarities.  Both have the same characters (except for an addition of a horse named Ike in the movie that is not mentioned in the book) and same names for each of the characters.  They also both share the same story line about Wilbur, the pig, becoming friends with Charlotte, the spider, and their life in the barn.  Another major shared story line is Fern’s care for Wilbur and Charlotte’s devotion for Wilbur and helping to save him from becoming Christmas dinner. 

One major difference from the movie and the book is that the book does not discuss the incident that happens at Fern’s school.  Wilber is brought to school by Fern without anyone knowing and Wilbur ends up causing commotion and getting Fern in trouble.  Another part that is not included in the book is when Fern’s mother becomes concerned and asks a doctor about why Fern is spending so much time with the animals.  The final major difference between the book and the movie is that in the movie Fern is able to understand the animals as they talk with each other. 

I thought that this 2006 movie was enjoyable to watch, but I personally prefer the novel and the animated movie much more.  I do appreciate the fact that this movie shared many similarities and story lines because the novel is such a classic, beautifully told story.