Wilbur: Fish Out of Water

*Wilbur: Fish Out of Water* is a third made-for-television *Charlotte's Web* film.

## Description

When Wilbur owns a little red fish named Ed Red, he wants to be his friend. When Dreaded Ned Red, Ed Red's father, tried to create the curse, Wilbur and Ed Red wanted the permission to love each other by restoring balance.

## Plot

The plot centers on a fish who lives in an aquarium in his father's underwater castle with numerous smaller siblings. When his father takes him and his siblings on an outing in his submarine, the fish is driven by a desire to see even more of the world and floats away on the back of a jellyfish. He ends up stranded on the shore of a small fishing town and is rescued by Wilbur, who cuts his hand in the process. He licks his wound when he picks him up, and the wound heals almost instantly. After taking a great liking to him, Wilbur call him Ed and promises to protect him forever. Meanwhile, his father, Ned, is looking for his son. Upset that he ran away, he believes the humans have now kidnapped him, and he calls his waves to return Ed to him. Wilbur is heartbroken by this and goes home with Cardigan, who tries to cheer him up to no avail.

Ed and his father have a confrontation, during which Ed refuses to let his father call him by his birthname, "Fredrickson". He declares his name to be Ed and voices his desire to become human because he has started to fall in love with Wilbur. Suddenly he starts to grow arms and legs and turn into a human, a consequence of the human blood he swallowed when he licked Wilbur's hand. His father turns him back with difficulty and goes to summon Ed's mother. Meanwhile, Ed, with the help of his siblings, breaks away from his father and releases his magic to make herself human. The huge amount of magic released into the ocean causes an imbalance in the world, resulting in a huge storm. Riding on the waves of the storm, Ed goes back to visit Wilbur. Ed Red, Wilbur, and Cardigan wait out the storm at Wilbur's house, and the next morning Cardigan leaves to check up on the residents of the nursing home where he works.

Donna, Ed's mother, arrives at Ned's submarine. On her way there, Ed's father has seen and recognized her as the Goddess of Mercy. Ned notices the moon has come out of its orbit and satellites are falling like shooting stars. Donna declares that if Wilbur can pass a test, Ed can live as a human and the world order will be restored. If he fails, Ed will turn into sea foam. Wilbur and Ed wake up to find that most of the land around the house has been covered by the ocean. Cardigan has not come home yet, so with the help of Ed's magic, they make Wilbur's toy boat life-size and set out to find Cardigan. While traveling they see prehistoric fish swimming beneath them. After landing and finding Cardigan's empty car, Wilbur and Ed go through a tunnel. There Ed loses his human form and reverts into a fish. Ed and Wilbur are taken by Ned into the ocean and down to the protected nursing home where they are reunited with Cardigan and meet Donna, both of whom have just had a long private conversation. Donna asks Wilbur if he can love Ed whether he is a fish or human. Wilbur replies that he "loves all the Ed's." Donna then allows Ed to become human once Wilbur kisses him on the surface. The film ends with Ed jumping up and kissing Wilbur, transforming into a little kid in mid-air.

## Characters

### Main Protagonists

* Wilbur
* Cardigan
* Ed Red

### Supporting Characters

* Templeton
* Gwen
* Backpack
* Map
* Bert (from *Sesame Street*)
* Ernie (from *Sesame Street*)
* Donna Red
* Puff Mama

### Villains

* Dreaded Ned Red
* Dreaded Ned Red's Waves

### Other Characters

* Jellyfishes
* Fishes
* SpongeBob
* Patrick
* Potty the Parrot
* Little Flounder (from Disney's *The Little Mermaid*)

## Items in Backpack

* Holes by Louis Sachar
* Sexy Sacks novel
* Assault rifle
* Bucket (correct item)
* Grenade
* Sticky tape

## Trivia

* This film marks the first appearance of Ed Red.
* This film has a similar plot to Studio Ghibli's *Ponyo*.
* Fern, her mother, and Farmer Zuckerman do not appear in this film.