Film

Charlotte's Web

Name: Charlotte's Web
Genre: Family, Animation, Drama
Released: 1973
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde, Henry Gibson, Rex Allen, Martha Scott

Other titles called Charlotte's Web: the 2006 film.

Fairy tale

A 1973 animated adaptation of E.B. White's classic novel about Wilbur, a pig facing slaughter, and Charlotte, the spider who saves him through her web-woven words. Gentle, hand-drawn, genuinely moving—it treats childhood mortality with respect rather than evasion. For anyone who loved the book or needs to remember why simple stories matter.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love gentle, talky animated fables where the warmth comes from dialogue and small kindnesses rather than action, and you don't mind a story that trusts you to feel things slowly.

Skip it if you want brisk pacing or sharp modern humor; this one moves at a farmyard amble, with songs and long quiet stretches that some viewers will find drowsy.

What it asks of you: About ninety-four minutes of unhurried storytelling, with patience for songs, seasons passing on the farm, and a tone that stays soft and sincere throughout.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Secret of NIMH1982

Don Bluth's darkly beautiful animation tells of laboratory rats seeking refuge. It has Charlotte's intelligence and tenderness toward animals, but with genuine darkness—no villains softened for comfort, real stakes throughout.

But The animation style is deliberately creepy in places. Some younger children find it genuinely frightening rather than wistfully sad.

Bambi1942

Disney's masterpiece about loss and growing up in the forest. Like Charlotte's Web, it refuses to shield children from death, instead transforming grief into understanding. Achingly beautiful animation.

But The mother's death scene remains one of cinema's most upsetting moments for young viewers. Some find the romance subplot slow.

Watership Down1978

An animated epic about rabbits fleeing their warren, adapting Richard Adams' novel with intelligence and visual grandeur. It shares Charlotte's respect for animal inner lives and willingness to show real danger and loss.

But Far darker than it appears. Violence is present and the pacing is deliberate. Not a film for very young children despite being animated.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Charlotte's Web

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Plague Dogs1982

Both refuse the easy option: rather than shield children from death and suffering, they ask what dignity and love mean in its presence.

An animated film about two laboratory dogs escaping to the Lake District. Shocking in its refusal to sentimentalize—it's bleak, gorgeously drawn, and treats its animal characters with absolute seriousness. A spiritual companion to Charlotte's moral weight.

But Genuinely disturbing in places. The title itself is not metaphorical. This is not a comfort film; it's an indictment. Some viewers find it unbearably sad.

Babe1995

A pig hero again, here learning to herd sheep with dignity in a world that underestimates him. Warm-hearted and genuinely witty, with that same blend of barnyard life and moral seriousness.

But The framing story about the farmer's wife is maudlin. Some find the anthropomorphism excessive or the talking-animals conceit precious.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

A hand-drawn adaptation about a mouse knight rescuing a princess, with gorgeous storybook animation. Shares Charlotte's fairy-tale logic applied to animal fables, and that same quiet emotional depth.

But The narrative is fragmented across multiple timelines. The animation style is ornate in a way that may feel dated or overly precious to some viewers.

Song of the Sea2014

An Irish hand-drawn animation about siblings and selkies, steeped in folklore and gorgeously rendered. Captures Charlotte's poetic register—fairy-tale logic applied with genuine emotional honesty.

But The story is dreamy and abstract rather than plot-driven. Some find the animation style too stylized; others feel the narrative is underexplained.

Ratatouille2007

Pixar's film about a rat who dreams of cooking is funny and visually dazzling, but also genuinely moving about ambition, friendship, and dignity. The relationship between Remy and Linguini echoes Wilbur and Charlotte.

But Entirely computer-animated, which feels opposite in register to Charlotte's hand-drawn warmth. Some find it sentimental or overly clever.

My Neighbor Totoro1988

Miyazaki's animation about rural childhood and magic in nature. Quiet, luminous, and completely without condescension to children—it trusts you to feel sadness, wonder, and joy in the same moment.

But Almost nothing happens. It's mood and atmosphere rather than plot. Subtitled, which requires reading. The pacing will feel static to action-hungry viewers.

Princess Mononoke1997

Both dramatize the conflict between human survival and animal life, refusing easy moral answers. Both end in bittersweet acceptance rather than triumph.

Miyazaki's epic animated feature about humans and animals locked in conflict, neither wholly villainous. Gorgeously animated, morally complex, and genuinely tragic. It asks what we owe the natural world with a seriousness Charlotte's Web shares.

But Violence is vivid and consequential. The plot is intricate and sometimes hard to follow. At 134 minutes, it's a commitment. Not a film for young children despite being animated.