Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 film ) - Wikipedia Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 film ) Charlotte 's Web Theatrical release poster Directed by Gary Winick Produced by Jordan Kerner Screenplay by Susannah Grant Karey Kirkpatrick Based on Charlotte 's Web by E.B. White Starring Julia Roberts Dakota Fanning Steve Buscemi John Cleese Oprah Winfrey Cedric the Entertainer Kathy Bates Reba McEntire Robert Redford Thomas Haden Church Andre Benjamin Narrated by Sam Shepard Music by Danny Elfman Cinematography Seamus McGarvey Edited by Susan Littenberg Sabrina Plisco Production company Kerner Entertainment Company Walden Media Nickelodeon Movies Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date December 7, 2006 ( 2006 - 12 - 07 ) ( Australia ) December 15, 2006 ( 2006 - 12 - 15 ) ( United States ) Running time 97 minutes Country United States Germany Australia Language English Budget $85 million Box office $144.9 million Charlotte 's Web is a 2006 American live - action feature film based on the book of the same name by E.B. White. It was directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The K Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies. The screenplay is by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick, based on White 's book. It is the second film adaptation of White 's book, preceded by a 1973 cel - animated version produced by Hanna - Barbera for Paramount Pictures. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Live - action actors 2.2 Voice actors 3 Production 4 Release 4.1 Home media 5 Reception 6 Soundtrack 7 Video game 8 References 9 External links Plot This article needs an improved plot summary. ( April 2017 ) One spring, on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, Fern Arable ( Dakota Fanning ) finds her father about to kill the runt of a litter of newborn pigs. She successfully begs him to spare its life. He gives it to her, who names him Wilbur and raises him as her pet. To her regret, when he grows into an adult pig, she is forced to take him to the Zuckerman farm, where he is to be prepared as dinner in due time. Charlotte A. Cavatica ( Julia Roberts ), a spider, lives in the space above Wilbur 's sty in the Zuckermans ' barn ; she befriends him and decides to help prevent him from being eaten. With the help of the other barn animals, including a comedic rat named Templeton ( Steve Buscemi ), she convinces the Zuckerman family that Wilbur is actually quite special, by spelling out descriptions of him in her web : `` Some pig '', `` Terrific '', `` Radiant '', and `` Humble ''. She gives her full name, revealing her as a barn spider, an orb - weaver spider with the scientific name Araneus cavaticus. The Arables, Zuckermans, Wilbur, Charlotte, and Templeton go to a fair, where Wilbur is entered in a contest. While there, Charlotte produces an egg sac. She can not return home because she is dying. Wilbur and Templeton bid emotional goodbyes to her but manage to take her egg sac home, where hundreds of offspring emerge. Most of the young spiders soon leave, but three, named Joy, Aranea, and Nellie, stay and become Wilbur 's friends. Cast Live - action actors Dakota Fanning as Fern Arable Kevin Anderson as Mr. John Arable Beau Bridges as Dr. Dorian Louis Corbett as Avery Arable Essie Davis as Mrs. Phyllis Arable Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Edith Zuckerman Gary Basaraba as Homer Zuckerman Nate Mooney as Lurvy The Zuckermans ' Farmhand Worker Voice actors Dominic Scott Kay as Wilbur The Spring Pig Julia Roberts as Charlotte A. Cavatica The Spider Steve Buscemi as Templeton The Rat John Cleese as Samuel The Sheep Oprah Winfrey as Gussy The Female Goose Cedric the Entertainer as Golly The Male Goose Kathy Bates as Bitsy The Cow Reba McEntire as Betsy The Cow Robert Redford as Ike The Horse Thomas Haden Church as Brooks The Crow André Benjamin as Elwyn The Crow Abraham Benrubi as Uncle The Fatter Pig Sam Shepard as The Narrator Production Charlotte 's Web was produced without any involvement from E.B. White 's estate. It was the first film based on a book by E.B. White since 2001 's The Trumpet of the Swan. Paramount had distributed the film as a result of its acquisition of DreamWorks, whose animation division became its own company in late 2004. Major shooting was completed in May 2006. It was filmed on location in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria and suburbs in Melbourne, Australia. The fair scene in the story was filmed in Heidelberg in Melbourne, Australia at Heidelberg West Football Club 's football ground. The school scenes were filmed at Spotswood Primary School. Visual effects are by Rising Sun Pictures, Fuel International, Proof, Rhythm and Hues Studios, Digital Pictures Iloura and Tippett Studio. The visual effects supervisor for the film as a whole was John Berton, who noted that a live - action version of Charlotte 's Web has become much more practical in recent years due to advances in technology. Winick `` was adamant '' that Charlotte and Templeton ( the film 's two entirely computer - generated characters ) should be realistic and not stylized, although they did give Charlotte almond - shaped eyes. John Dietz, visual effects supervisor for Rising Sun Pictures, notes that there was a debate over whether to give her a mouth and that in the end, they decided to have her chelicerae move in what he describes as being almost like a veil as if there were a mouth behind it. Release The film was at one time intended for a June 2006 release, but was pushed back to December 2006 to avoid competition with two other films from Nickelodeon Movies - Nacho Libre and Barnyard - as well as Over the Hedge and Cars among other films. It was released in Australia on December 7, 2006, and in the United States and Canada on December 15, 2006. The U.S. and Canadian release date matches that of 20th Century Fox 's Eragon, another film with fantasy elements and a young protagonist. The scheduled release date in the UK is February 9, 2007. Home Media Charlotte 's Web was released on DVD on April 3, 2007, in the United States and Canada and May 28 in the United Kingdom. It was released on Blu - ray on March 29, 2011, along with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. About 10 years later, the film was re-released on DVD on January 24, 2017. Reception Reviews were generally positive, especially with respect to Dakota Fanning 's portrayal of Fern. The film currently holds a 78 % `` Certified Fresh '' rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Michael Medved gave Charlotte 's Web three and a half stars ( out of four ) calling it `` irresistible '' and `` glowing with goodness ''. Medved also said that Dakota Fanning 's performance was `` delightfully spunky ''. Entertainment Weekly 's Owen Gleiberman complains that the film is `` a bit noisy '' but applauds the director for putting `` the book, in all its glorious tall - tale reverence, right up on screen. '' He goes on to say that `` What hooks you from the start is Dakota Fanning 's unfussy passion as Fern. '' Colm Andrew of the Manx Independent gave the film 6 / 10, saying that the main problem was `` the ultra-cute characterisation of Wilbur, resulting in half the audience rooting for his demise '' although overall it was `` a competent retelling of a classic story that wo n't offend ''. The film was awarded a 2006 Critics ' Choice Award for Best Family Film in the live - action category, and Fanning won the Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actress at the 2007 Kids ' Choice Awards. The film debuted in third place at the box office with only $11 million. The film performed very well after spending 14 weeks in theaters for a total of $82 million, $61 million elsewhere, for a total of $144 million before closing on March 22, 2007. Soundtrack Charlotte 's Web Film score by Danny Elfman Released 2006 Danny Elfman chronology Serenada Schizophrana ( 2006 ) Serenada Schizophrana 2006 Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 ) Standard Operating Procedure ( 2008 ) Standard Operating Procedure 2008 Charlotte 's Web : Music from the Motion Picture was released by Sony Classical on December 5, 2006. In addition to the instrumental score by Danny Elfman, the soundtrack includes a song named `` Ordinary Miracle '' by Sarah McLachlan, which she herself performed during the opening ceremonies of her hometown Vancouver Winter Olympics. A CD compilation of `` Music Inspired by the Motion Picture '' was issued on December 12, 2006. Video game Main article : Charlotte 's Web ( video game ) A video game based on the movie, developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Sega, was released on December 12, 2006, for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PC. Another game based on the film was released in Europe for the PlayStation 2 by Blast Entertainment on April 5, 2007. References ^ Jump up to : Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 ). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 4, 2010. Jump up ^ `` E.B. White 's Web ''. : Lifestyle section of Bangor Metro. Webster - Atlantic. May 10, 2007. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Filming in `` Radiant '' Victoria Australia ``. : About the Film. Charlotte 's Web Movie official site. Walden Media / Paramount Pictures. December 15, 2006. Archived from the original ( Macromedia Flash ) on December 19, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2006. Jump up ^ Doyle, Audrey ( December 2006 ). `` Web Design : A realistic CG Charlotte and Templeton act alongside a real barnyard cast in the latest iteration of Charlotte 's Web ''. Computer Graphics World. 29 : 26 -- 32. Jump up ^ Peszko, J. Paul ( December 19, 2006 ). `` Spinning A New Charlotte 's Web ''. VFXWorld. AWN, Inc. Retrieved July 30, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Charlotte 's Web ''. www.imdb.com. Retrieved January 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 1, 2014. Jump up ^ Medved, Michael ( December 15, 2006 ). `` Charlotte 's Web ''. Michael Medved 's Eye on Entertainment. MichaelMedved.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006. Jump up ^ Gleiberman, Owen ( December 15, 2006 ). `` Movie Review : Charlotte 's Web ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2006. Jump up ^ Review by Colm Andrew, IOM Today Jump up ^ `` Charlotte 's Web ''. Variety. Archived from the original on 2008 - 12 - 08. Retrieved July 27, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Charlotte 's Web Box Shot for PlayStation 2 - GameFAQs ''. www.gamefaqs.com. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 13. External links Film in the United States portal 2000s portal Official website archived at Wayback Machine Official website at Nick.com, archived at Wayback Machine Official website at Walden Media, archived at Wayback Machine Charlotte 's Web on IMDb Charlotte 's Web at the TCM Movie Database Charlotte 's Web at AllMovie E.B. White 's Charlotte 's Web ( 1952 ) Films Charlotte 's Web ( 1973 ) Charlotte 's Web 2 : Wilbur 's Great Adventure Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 ) Other Charlotte 's Web ( video game ) Charlotte 's Web ( musical ) Nickelodeon Movies Feature films Animated The Rugrats Movie ( 1998 ) Rugrats in Paris : The Movie ( 2000 ) Jimmy Neutron : Boy Genius ( 2001 ) Hey Arnold ! : The Movie ( 2002 ) The Wild Thornberrys Movie ( 2002 ) Rugrats Go Wild ( 2003 ) The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ( 2005 ) Barnyard ( 2006 ) Rango ( 2011 ) The Adventures of Tintin ( 2011 ) The SpongeBob Movie : Sponge Out of Water ( 2015 ) Amusement Park ( 2019 ) The SpongeBob Movie ( 2019 ) The Loud House Movie ( 2020 ) Live - action Harriet the Spy ( 1996 ) Good Burger ( 1997 ) Snow Day ( 2000 ) Clockstoppers ( 2002 ) Lemony Snicket 's A Series of Unfortunate Events ( 2004 ) Mad Hot Ballroom ( 2005 ) Yours, Mine & Ours ( 2005 ) Nacho Libre ( 2006 ) Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 ) The Spiderwick Chronicles ( 2008 ) Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging ( 2008 ) Hotel for Dogs ( 2009 ) Imagine That ( 2009 ) The Last Airbender ( 2010 ) Fun Size ( 2012 ) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ( 2014 ) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Out of the Shadows ( 2016 ) Monster Trucks ( 2017 ) Film franchises Rugrats ( 1998 -- 2003 ) The Wild Thornberrys ( 2002 -- 03 ) SpongeBob SquarePants ( 2004 -- present ) The Adventures of Tintin ( 2011 -- present ) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ( 2014 -- 16 ) Book Films directed by Gary Winick Curfew ( 1989 ) Out of the Rain ( 1991 ) Sweet Nothing ( 1995 ) The Tic Code ( 1999 ) Sam the Man ( 2000 ) Tadpole ( 2002 ) 13 Going on 30 ( 2004 ) Charlotte 's Web ( 2006 ) Bride Wars ( 2009 ) Letters to Juliet ( 2010 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charlotte%27s_Web_(2006_film)&oldid=812315339 '' Categories : 2006 films English - language films 2000s comedy - drama films 2000s fantasy films American children 's comedy films American children 's fantasy films American comedy - drama films Children 's comedy - drama films Films about friendship Films about pigs Films about spiders Films based on American novels Films based on children 's books Films directed by Gary Winick Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Films set in Maine Films scored by Danny Elfman Films shot in Melbourne Films with live action and animation Nickelodeon Movies films Paramount Pictures films Walden Media films Hidden categories : Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Wikipedia indefinitely move - protected pages Use mdy dates from May 2014 Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from April 2017 All Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention Articles using small message boxes Articles with hAudio microformats Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Azərbaycanca Bân - lâm - gú Български Català Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Italiano עברית Latina Lietuvių Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский සිංහල Simple English Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 November 2017, at 05 : 51. 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Question: who played the mom in charlotte's web
Answer: Essie Davis