Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure

Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure
DVD cover
Directed by	Mario Piluso
Screenplay by	Elana Lesser Cliff Ruby
Produced by	James Wang
Starring	David Berón Harrison Chad Amanda Bynes Maria Bamford Anndi McAfee Charlie Adler
Edited by	Christopher Hink
Music by	Michael Tavera
Production companies	Paramount Pictures Universal Cartoon Studios Nickelodeon
Distributed by	Paramount Home Entertainment (North America) Universal Studios Home Video (International)
Release date	March 18, 2003 (2003-03-18)
Running time	79 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure is a 2003 American animated direct-to-video musical adventure comedy-drama film, and the sequel to the 1973 animated film Charlotte's Web, which was based on the 1952 children's novel of the same name by E. B. White. It was produced by Paramount Pictures (as the logo is seen on worldwide releases), Universal Cartoon Studios (as the logo is seen on international releases), and Nickelodeon; and distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment in North America and Universal Studios Home Entertainment overseas.

The film centers around Wilbur, who lives on Mr. Zuckerman's farm and is taking care of Nellie, Aranea, and Joy, Charlotte's three daughters. He also must save his new friend, a friendly black lamb named Cardigan, from being eaten by an evil fox named Farley. Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure was released on March 18, 2003, to generally unfavorable reviews, with critics panning its animation and plot.

Plot

The film opens in springtime, about a year after Charlotte has died. Her three daughters, Nellie, Aranea, and Joy, are now in the stages of adolescence, with Wilbur serving as a companion and mentor. Templeton his own children to look after, and Gwen the Goose has just hatched new goslings.

During this time, Wilbur befriends Cardigan, a newborn lamb who is looked down upon by the other lambs and the younger sheep of his flock because he has black wool. Wilbur takes Cardigan under his wing and shows him the farm, the ways of animal life, and dangers for which to look out. However, after only a few weeks, Mr. Zuckerman suddenly sells Cardigan to another farmer, Mr. Hirsh, so Wilbur, along with Nellie, Aranea, Joy, and Templeton, sets out to visit Cardigan and make sure he is doing alright at his new home.

On the journey to visit Cardigan, however, Wilbur is hungry so he gets some grapes which make him look purple. Some bark from the trees comes and lands on his head. This makes him look like a wild boar. A near hit by a truck then reveals that two other men have now seen Wilbur. Wilbur eventually makes it to Cardigan's, and the two are happy to see each other. After Cardigan tells Wilbur that Mr. Hirsh plans to shear him, Wilbur promises Cardigan that he will stay until the shearing is done.

Meanwhile, an evil fox named Farley comes and steals a hen from the barn, and Wilbur reluctantly tries to stop him after being encouraged by Nellie. However, Wilbur is unsuccessful, as Farley flees from the barn before Mrs. Hirsh arrives, and she sees Wilbur and thinks he was the one after the chickens. Fern notices that Wilbur has disappeared and alerts her uncle Mr. Zuckerman, while Wilbur requests that Nellie and her sisters spin a message in their webs like their mother Charlotte did before she died. However, after trying all night to spin a message, the three spiders fail to spin a message, and Wilbur is chased off by Mrs. Hirsch once again. Wilbur thus abandons his promise to stay with Cardigan, much to Cardigan's dismay. Meanwhile, Farley comes back and attempts to raid the chicken coup once again, but it has been fenced. Farley then sees Cardigan and steals him from the barn, planning to eat him. Wilbur now must save his friend, and does so by trapping Farley in a "pig web". Nellie, Aranea, and Joy spin the word "fox" in a spider web, and Fern arrives just in time to save Wilbur. Farley, while not shown, is most likely disposed of. Aranea and Joy decide to stay with Cardigan, and the film ends as Wilbur has to babysit Templeton's bratty children. Wilbur had promised Templeton to babysit his children earlier when Templeton had to get Wilbur out of some brambles bushes, which also helped make him look like a wild boar.

Cast

• David Berón as Wilbur, a pig who lives on Mr. Zuckerman's farm and is taking care of Charlotte's three daughters, Nellie, Aranea, and Joy. He still suffers from anxiety as in the first film. He befriends Cardigan, a lonely lamb. When Cardigan is sold to another farmer, Wilbur sets out to see Cardigan and make sure he is still safe. However, he encounters trouble along the way, being mistaken for a wild boar. Eventually, the misunderstanding is cleared when Nellie and her sisters spin the word "fox" in a spider web, and Fern arrives just in time to save Wilbur.
• Harrison Chad as Cardigan, a lonely lamb whom Wilbur befriends. When Mr. Zuckerman decides to sell Cardigan to another farmer, Wilbur becomes determined to see him again. Later, Wilbur has to save him from being eaten by Farley.
• Amanda Bynes as Nellie, one of Charlotte's three daughters. She serves as the leader of the trio.
• Maria Bamford as Aranea, the kinder, gentler member of the trio. She always gets upset because she cannot spin a proper web. Bamford also voiced Button, Mrs. Hirsch's spoiled pet dog.
• Anndi McAfee as Joy, the cynical, sarcastic member of the trio.
• Charlie Adler as Templeton, a care-free, egotistical rat who lives at Mr. Zuckerman's farm. He has four bratty children of his own: Henrietta, Lester, Ralphie, and Junior. He accompanies Wilbur, Nellie, Aranea, and Joy on the journey to visit Cardigan on the condition that Wilbur babysits his bratty children. Adler also voices Lurvy, Homer's farmhand.
• Rob Paulsen as Farley, an evil, pompous fox responsible for the loss of many chickens and eggs from various farms.
• Debi Derryberry as Fern Arable, the spirited young girl who saved Wilbur in the first film. She enters the tomato-growing contest at the fair. Her tomato, named Sal, wins the competition.
• Laraine Newman as Gwen, the goose whom Wilbur befriended in the first film. She has a noticeably smaller role this time around.
• Dawnn Lewis as Bessie, a cow owned by Mr. Hirsch. She gets annoyed easily, but also learns to like Wilbur because he was the only one to find her milk to taste good.
• Danny Mann as Mr. Hirsch, the farmer who buys Cardigan.
• Brenda Vaccaro as Mrs. Hirsch, Mr. Hirsch's wife who mistakens Wilbur for a wild pig.
• Jerry Houser as Mr. Zuckerman, the current owner of Wilbur and former owner of Cardigan.
• Valery Pappas as High Strung Chicken, a catty and excitable chicken who is the first to announce the news of Gwen's new goslings. She takes offense to Templeton calling Wilbur a chicken, noting to Templeton that "the chicken is a notable species, the bird of kings!"
• Nika Futterman as Baby Rats, Templeton's bratty children. Their names are Henrietta, Lester, Ralphie, and Junior.
• Julia Duffy as Charlotte A. Cavatica, Wilbur's former best friend who died at the end of the first film. She appears briefly through flashback.
• Bridget Sienna as Flo, a snobby cow who mocks Bessie for producing sour milk.
• Bobby Block as Snotty Lamb
• Ashley Edner as Bully Lamb
• Pat Fraley as Donkey
• Frank Welker as Animals' vocal effects

Reception

Upon release, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure received generally unfavorable reviews from critics. Robert Pardi of TV Guide reviewed the film saying that "This 20-years-later follow-up fails to capture the zest of the original cartoon, transforming E.B. White's beloved characters into cute sidekicks worthy of Barney. The animation is only workmanlike, and the character conceptions are as pallid as the "original" tunes". Brian Webster of Apollo Guide gave the film 59/100, stating "This is the sort of bland adventure that kids will have seen a hundred times before, with not-so-tense near-misses and not-so-exciting chases along the way." Mike Long of DVD Talk opined that "The lame story isn't helped by the mediocre at best animation. The art has no real style and could have come from any Saturday morning cartoon. The colors are good, but they only draw attention to the overall lack of detail here. For some reason, Wilbur has been given a ring of fur around his neck that keeps him from looking like the pig from the original film. Also, the Fern here looks nothing like the original. Typically, if an animated film is dull, viewers can hope for good animation to keep them entertained, but that's not the case here." Entertainment Weekly's Allyssa Lee gave the movie a C– grade, writing, "A sloppy second of a sequel, Web 2 unravels all the charm of E.B. White’s classic (not only has Wilbur become a swine who belches, but he sings about it, too)."

Richard Rowell of lifesuccessfully.com wrote a mixed review and concluded that "Overall, this film would have never done very well had it not be packaged with the DVD release of the original film. It was a direct-to-DVD film and it shows. While it makes for a cute spectacle for fans of the original story, it has all sorts of plot-holes that kill it for me. It's clear that there was some effort put into character development, and I did enjoy seeing Aranea, Joy, and Nellie come to life. They were the best part of the film for me. But overall, the film was so corny and cliched that it just can't hold a candle to the original. For what it is, though, it's OK. But unless you're a huge fan of the original story, it's not really worth watching." Jules Faber of dvd.net similarly called it "A disappointing excursion that merges old school with new school and succeeds in distancing itself from both. There are plenty of characters to amuse the children, but as far as grown-ups are concerned, this is less than plausible. Bunches of pretty colours and some beautiful backgrounds were the highlight here for me and are also sure to capture the kids’ eye for the entire 80 minutes. I’ve seen better animation in better packages, but I’ve also seen much, much worse for around the same money." Mirella Roche-Parker of michaeldvd.com rated it with 1.5/5 stars with the final comment "Who can know the minds of children when it comes to children's movies? If your particular batch of little'uns enjoyed the original, they may very well enjoy this. For my taste, it simply made me miss the original more." However, Pam Gelman of Common Sense Media gave the film three out of five stars, concluding that the film is "Nothing like the original, but fun on its own." The DVD made a cumulative gross of $5.26 million in rental revenue and $10.23 million in its total first quarter.

Soundtrack

• "It's Not So Hard to Be a Pig" – Written and produced by Randy Rogel and Grant Geissman, Performed by David Berón and Harrison Chad
• "Watch Out, Wilbur the Pig!" – Written and produced by Randy Rogel and Grant Geissman, Performed by Kevin Dorsey and Elizabeth Lamers
• "It's Good to Be Me" – Written and produced by Randy Rogel and Grant Geissman, Performed by Rob Paulsen
• "Charlotte's Kids" – Written and produced by Bodie Chandler, Performed by Anndi McAfee, Maria Bamford, and Mimi Manners

External links

• Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure at AllMovie
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• Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure at IMDb
• Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure at Rotten Tomatoes