Does the word "salutations" mean anything to you? If you have read E.B. White’s classics children’s novel Charlotte's Web, or even seen the animated movie version, you will undoubtedly remember it as the word with which Charlotte begins her first real conversation with Wilbur. Last week I took my children to a screening of Paramount Pictures’ latest film adaptation of the book, and in this version, Charlotte and Wilbur are well into their conversation before Charlotte says, almost as an afterthought, "I believe now it is time for me to say salutations." It was jarring, and proved to be just one of the object lessons this film provided my kids in the differences between a book and its film incarnation. I was unimpressed with the dialogue as a whole, as apparently were my kids. Usually, after seeing a movie they enjoy, they repeat all of the dialogue they can remember complete with vocal inflections, accents and pantomime. This can go on for weeks, but after Charlotte, nada.

My two younger children (a girl, age nine and a boy, age four) did profess to enjoy the movie. They liked Wilbur, Charlotte and Templeton. In fact, we all agree this Wilbur is a much more likeable character than in the original. Dakota Fanning was a safe casting choice for Fern, and Julia Roberts and Steve Buscemi were excellent choices for Charlotte and Templeton. My nine-year-old singled out "the doctor," Beau Bridges, as a favorite human character, and I absolutely concur. My son shed a few tears when Charlotte died, and even my nose experienced a bit of pre-tear tingle, although I can't be sure if it was due to the movie or my son's reaction to it. My 10-year-old's final word on the subject was that the film was "okay, especially if you are a little, little kid, or if you really like farm animals." Unlike other films they have enjoyed, however, the kids haven't mentioned this one again.

If, like so many other fans of the book, your family is intent on seeing this film, I recommend you wait until it comes out on video and rent it. This is not a film that will lose anything in the transition from large to small screen. Charlotte's Web, the book, is generally considered a classic, and I have no argument with that. However, I would argue that neither film adaptation has done the book justice. I believe some books fare better in the realm of the imagination, where they are free to be wonderful in their own terms.

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