# Charlotte's Web (1973 film)

Charlotte's Web is a 1973 American animated musical film produced by Paramount Pictures, Hanna-Barbera Productions and Sagittarius Productions and based upon the 1952 children's book of the same name by E. B. White. The film, like the book, is about a pig named Wilbur who befriends an intelligent spider named Charlotte who saves him from being slaughtered.
    Directed by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto. Written by E.B. White (book) and Earl Hamner Jr. (story).

## Narrator

* This old world is filled with wonders, but to me there's no place more wonderful than a farm in springtime, when the sun is just lifting on the skyline. The air is so sweet, and everywhere you look, little miracles are happening. Buds swell into blossoms, eggs hatch, young are born. Everything's off to a fresh start, and life is good and busy and brand-new. Around a barnyard, big families are a blessing. The more, the merrier. Root and grunt, push and shove, room for everybody. Well, everybody except the runt. John Arabel had been up since daybreak. He'd seen the size of the pig, and he wasn't looking forward to what had to be done.

## Wilbur

* Then, write this in your webs when, you learn. This hallowed doorway was once the home of Charlotte. She was brilliant, beautiful, and loyal to the end.

## The Goose

* [to Templeton] You'll worry alright when winter comes! If Wilbur is killed, and his trough stands empty, then you'll grow so thin we can look right through your stomach and see objects on the other side!
* [after Wilbur asks the Goose if she would like to play with him] I'm no flibberty-ibberty-gibbit! I'm staying here and hatching my goslings!

## Templeton

* The goose was right! This fair is rat's paradise! Bye, bye, my "humble" Wilbur! Fare thee well, Charlotte, you old schemer! This will be a night to remember!

## Dialogue

    Avery Arable: Can I have a pig too, Pop?
    John Arable: I only distribute pigs to early risers. Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. [Avery's frog escapes his jacket and jumps all over the breakfast table] Seems to me you've already got more wildlife than you can take care of, Avery.
    Wilbur: [singing] Isn't it great that I articulate?/Isn't it grand that you can understand?/I don't grunt/I don't oink/I don't even squeak or squawk/When I wanna say a-somethin', I open up and talk! I can talk! I can talk, talk, talk, I can...
    Old Sheep: Why don't you keep it down?
    Wilbur: I can talk!
    Wilbur: [to a lamb] Wanna play?
    Baby Lamb: [to an old sheep] May I, Papa?
    Old Sheep: Certainly not. In the first place, you can't get out of your pen. In the second place, sheep do not play with pigs.
    Wilbur: Why not?
    Old Sheep: Oh, it's a matter of status. Sheep, for instance, are highly regarded by Zuckerman, because we furnish him with good quality wool. With pigs, on the other hand, it's just a matter of time.
    Wilbur: Time till what?
    Old Sheep: Till you're fat enough to kill.
    Wilbur: [incredulously] What did you say?!
    Old Sheep: Oh, everybody knows it. In the fall, you'll be turned into smoked bacon and ham. And then, just as soon as winter sets in, they'll kill you.
    Wilbur: Ohh! [faints]
    Goose: Templeton.
    Templeton: Hmm.
    Goose: Templeton! Would you do something-umthing - umthing about Wilbur, please?
    Wilbur: [about Zuckerman raising him to be slaughtered] Is it true what the old sheep says? Is that awful thing true?!
    Goose: It's a dirty-irty trick, but it's true.
    Wilbur: I don't want to die! I want to stay here in my warm manure pile! I want to breathe the beautiful air, and lie in the beautiful sun!
    Old Sheep: [dryly] You're certainly making a beautiful noise.
    Wilbur: [breaking into tears] I don't want to die! I don't want to die!
    Charlotte: [speaking for the first time, this time from an unseen location] Quiet, Wilbur! Now chin up!
    Wilbur: Who said that?
    Charlotte: Do you want a friend?
    Wilbur: Yes, I want a friend. But I want to live, too!
    Charlotte: Well, chin up. I'll be your friend and I'll try to save your life. I've been watching you, and I like you.
    Wilbur: I can't see you. What do you mean "chin up"?
    Charlotte: Now go to sleep. You'll see me in the morning, and I'll explain everything then.
    Narrator: Wilbur's stomach was empty, and his mind was full. And when your stomach is empty and your mind is full, it's always hard to sleep. But sleep and Wilbur finally found each other.
    Charlotte: Salutations.
    Wilbur: Salu-what?
    Charlotte: Salutations.
    Wilbur: What are they? And where are you?
    Charlotte: Salutations are greetings. It's my fancy way of saying hello. Look up here in the doorway.
    [After the goose's eggs have hatched]
    Wilbur: Congratulations! How many are there?
    Goose: There are seven.
    Charlotte: Seven is a lucky number.
    Goose: [proudly] Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it! It was really good management and hard work.
    Templeton: [looking at a solitary unhatched egg] Why didn't, uh, this one hatch?
    The Goose: [gloomily] It's a dud, I guess.
    Templeton: What are you going to do with it?
    The Goose: [sternly] You can have it! Roll it away and add it to that nasty collection of yours! Be careful! A rotten egg can be a regular stink bomb!
    Templeton: [patting the egg] I know what I'm doing. I handle stuff like this all the time. [And with that, Templeton rolls the egg away.]
    Avery: Why isn't that gosling with his mother?
    [Jeffrey runs to Wilbur]
    Fern: Because he likes Wilbur.
    Avery: Shrimpy little thing. [Jeffrey oinks like a pig at Avery] Sounds more like a pig than a gosling.
    [Jeffrey oinks like a pig again and looks proud of himself]
    Avery: [noticing Charlotte] Wow! Look at that big spider! I'm gonna catch it for my collection!
    Fern: Avery, you leave that spider alone!
    Avery: That's a fine spider and I'm catching it! What's the matter with you, Wilbur?
    Fern: He doesn't like you in there. Now, get out!
    [Charlotte is looking for a new message to write in her web]
    Baby Lamb: How about "Pig Supreme"?
    Charlotte: No good. It sounds like a rich dessert.
    Goose: How about terrific, terrific, terrific?
    Charlotte: Cut that down to one terrific and it will do nicely. I think terrific might impress Zuckerman.
    Wilbur: But Charlotte, I'm not terrific.
    Charlotte: You're terrific as far as I am concerned. [Templeton hits Wilbur in the face with his tail as he walks by; Charlotte glares at him] Does anybody know how to spell it?
    Goose: I think it's T, double-E double-R, double-R, double-I, double-F, double-I, double-C-C-C.
    Charlotte: What kind of an acrobat do you think I am? It would take me all night to write that.
    Old Sheep: I'd advise you not to consult geese in matters of spelling. The word is spelled T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C.
    The Goose: [firmly] I still think it's prettier spelled: T, double-E, double-R, double-R, double-I-
    Charlotte: Please! Let me spell it my way.
    [Templeton successfully retrieves Charlotte's egg sack and places it in Wilbur's crate]
    Wilbur: Charlotte, your children are safe. [pauses] Charlotte?
    Charlotte: [last words] I'm thinking of your life, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now.
    [sings:] The autumn days grow short and cold; It's Christmas time again.
    Then snows of winter slowly melt. The day grows short, and then...
    He turns the seasons around,
    And so she changes... her gown.
    Mother Earth... and Father Time.
    [Words are slowly being reduced to a whisper]
    How very special are we......
    For just a moment... to be......
    Part of life's........
    Eternal............
    Rhyme.
    [Charlotte finally passes away; silence]
    Wilbur: Charlotte?... Charlotte...?! CHARLOTTE!
    [Wilbur breaks down in tears, mourning Charlotte's death]

## Cast

* Henry Gibson - Wilbur
* Debbie Reynolds - Charlotte A. Cavatica
* Paul Lynde - Templeton
* Agnes Moorehead - The Goose
* Pamelyn Ferdin - Fern Arable
* Bob Holt - Homer Zuckerman
* Joan Gerber - Edith Zuckerman
* John Stephenson - John Arable
* Danny Bonaduce - Avery Arable
* Don Messick - Jeffrey
* William B. White - Henry Fussy
* Martha Scott - Jane Arable
* Herb Vigran - Lurvy
* Dave Madden - Ram
* Rex Allen - the Narrator

## See also

* Charlotte's Web (book)

## External links

* Charlotte's Web at Rotten Tomatoes
* Charlotte's Web quotes at the Internet Movie Database