About this product: E.B. White's classic tale gets a Babe-like makeover in Charlotte's Web, a delightful and well-made film that is sure to become a family classic. Directed by Gary Winick (13 Going on 30), the new version eschews the musical numbers of the 1973 cartoon and mixes CGI with live-action animals. Dakota Fanning brings the right amount of chutzpah to Fern, the young farm girl who rescues a runt, Wilbur, from death and visits him every day at her Uncle Homer's farm. But it's Wilbur's friendship with Charlotte the spider (voiced by Julia Roberts) that ultimately saves him from the "smoke house" (a kid-friendly alternative term to the slaughterhouse), for Charlotte's talent for weaving praiseworthy words about Wilbur into her web turns the Zuckerman farm into a tourist attraction. The more tragic elements of the book are handled sensitively by Winick, working from a script by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), and Roberts' soothing, maternal voice (who knew it would work so well?) makes it all go down easy. It turns out to be just one of many perfect celebrity voice-casting choices, for the farm animals, voiced by an all-star cast including Oprah Winfrey (the goose), Robert Redford (the horse), Steve Buscemi (Templeton the rat), and John Cleese (the sheep), lend plenty of sharp humor. But it's two corn-hungry crows, voiced by Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) and OutKast's Andre "3000" Benjamin who steal the show. (Ages 4 and older) -- Ellen A. Kim
Beyond Charlotte’s Web
Other Children's Book Adaptations on DVD
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Original 1973 Charlotte’s Web Cartoon
Stills from Charlotte’s Web (click for larger image)
About this product: E.B. White's classic tale gets a Babe-like makeover in Charlotte's Web, a delightful and well-made film that is sure to become a family classic. Directed by Gary Winick (13 Going on 30), the new version eschews the musical numbers of the 1973 cartoon and mixes CGI with live-action animals. Dakota Fanning brings the right amount of chutzpah to Fern, the young farm girl who rescues a runt, Wilbur, from death and visits him every day at her Uncle Homer's farm. But it's Wilbur's friendship with Charlotte the spider (voiced by Julia Roberts) that ultimately saves him from the "smoke house" (a kid-friendly alternative term to the slaughterhouse), for Charlotte's talent for weaving praiseworthy words about Wilbur into her web turns the Zuckerman farm into a tourist attraction. The more tragic elements of the book are handled sensitively by Winick, working from a script by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), and Roberts' soothing, maternal voice (who knew it would work so well?) makes it all go down easy. It turns out to be just one of many perfect celebrity voice-casting choices, for the farm animals, voiced by an all-star cast including Oprah Winfrey (the goose), Robert Redford (the horse), Steve Buscemi (Templeton the rat), and John Cleese (the sheep), lend plenty of sharp humor. But it's two corn-hungry crows, voiced by Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) and OutKast's Andre "3000" Benjamin who steal the show. (Ages 4 and older) -- Ellen A. Kim
Beyond Charlotte’s Web
Other Children's Book Adaptations on DVD
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Original 1973 Charlotte’s Web Cartoon
Stills from Charlotte’s Web (click for larger image)
About this product: This animated feature based on the popular E.B. White book for children--about the special relationships between Wilbur the pig, Charlotte the spider, and Templeton the rat--is a straight adaptation from the page, with songs added. Endearing, heartbreaking, and ultimately wise, it may not please all of those with a strong attachment to the book, but it works all the same. --Tom Keogh
About this product: This animated feature based on the popular E.B. White book for children--about the special relationships between Wilbur the pig, Charlotte the spider, and Templeton the rat--is a straight adaptation from the page, with songs added. Endearing, heartbreaking, and ultimately wise, it may not please all of those with a strong attachment to the book, but it works all the same. --Tom Keogh
About this product: Spinning a yarn that begins where the 30-year-old original concluded, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure returns to Zuckerman's farm for more endearing pig tales. Faint-hearted Wilbur preserves his dear friend Charlotte's memory by befriending the lone black sheep of the farm. When a trip to the county fair separates the comrades, Wilbur musters his courage to find his frightened woolly pal. Along the way, a sticky encounter with a beehive leaves Wonder Pig looking more like Feral Pig... and suddenly Wilbur is to blame for a hungry fox's doings. Charlotte's three sprightly daughters save the day, despite amateur weaving abilities. Preserving the quiet pace and beautiful watercolor look of the original, this animated 75-minute show should appeal to new fans. But adults who fondly recall many bittersweet moments shared by Charlotte and Wilbur, and timeless songs like "Mother Earth and Father Time," might feel slightly cheated. (Ages 3 and older) --Liane Thomas
About this product: Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows is the most visually and narratively pleasing feature yet in the Bionicle series. With a story that is a little less self-referential than the previous movies, and set against some truly spectacular, computer-generated backdrops, Web of Shadows concerns the return of the heroic Toa to Metru Nui. There, they find an old enemy has overtaken the great city with the help of Visorak--robotic spiders that can quickly encase anything or anybody in near-indestructible webs. The Toa undergo a bizarre metamorphosis while sealed within strange cocoons, and emerge as clunky-looking machines made up of mismatched parts. Though horrified, they find that they also possess some new powers, which prove essential for their subsequent journey (itself full of twists and turns) to restore Metru Nui--and themselves. This delightful Bionicle installment is probably easily accessible for any viewer unfamiliar with the series to date. --Tom Keogh
About this product: I did not expect much when I bought this DVD, but was I wrong or what. The plot and the actresses are fantastic. Gorgious girls, excellent actings. Need I say more, my top collection and definitely boost my confidence on other titles released by EROS.
About this product: One of the most widely-watched of all the '60s-era Doctor Who serials, The Web Planet (1965) puts the first Doctor (William Hartnell) and his companions in the middle of a war between two alien races--the moth-like Menoptra and a hostile race of ant creatures known as Zarbi--for possession of the planet Vortis. With the help of a grub-esque people called the Optera, the Doctor discovers the Zarbi's hidden weapon--the seductively voiced spider creature the Animus, which plans to ensnare the Time Lord and thwart his assistance to the Menoptra. An estimated 13.5 million viewers tuned in to watch all six episodes of The Web Planet, which manages to overcome its unfortunately awkward creature costumes (which are grim even by Doctor Who standards) to deliver a dramatic and suspenseful story with a subtle touch of social commentary; Hartnell is at his flinty best as the Doctor, and gets solid support from William Russell, Jacqueline Hill, and Maureen O'Brien as his fellow time travelers. The DVD includes the usual abundance of new and archival extras: in addition to commentary by Russell, Martin Jarvis (who played Menoptra prince Hilio), producer Verity Lambert, and director Richard Martin, there is a 40-minute making-of featurette (with Hill, Lambert, and others among the many interviewees), and Russell provides the narration for "The Lair of the Zarbi Supremo," a short story based on the serial that was taken from the first Doctor Who Annual (that periodical is also included on the disc in PC-ROM format). A crudely illustrated but historically interesting film strip version of the serial, as well as the usual text-only production notes track and photo gallery, round out the supplemental features. --Paul Gaita
About this product: Part of the "Maneater Film Series" In the Spider s Web is a thriller that is sure to make your skin crawl and the hairs on the back of your neck rise. When a team of backpackers sets out to explore the Indian jungles one of them is bitten by a poisonous spider. Forced to seek the help of Dr. Lecorpus (3 time Golden Globe nominee Lance Henriksen Aliens) an American physician living in a local village the group quickly discovers that the village has several secrets. As they learn of a venomous ritual in which a crawling army of spiders feasts on dead corpses they unravel Dr. Lecorpus involvement in the ritual and his plans which are beyond anything any of them could have imagined. Now available for the first on DVD with its dense jungles marauding natives mad scientists screaming teens and amassing arachnids In the Spider s Web is a gleefully entertaining creep-fest that s as tough to shake loose as a tarantula in your hair. System Requirements:Run Time: 88 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/ANIMALS UPC: 796019806015 Manufacturer No: 80601
DVD
