the movieGOOMBA

4 GOOMBAS

Now I don't know if it was because it already had the classic story going for them or because I thought I was in for a terrible rendition of our favorite pig (low expectations always help a good movie look even better). Either way, I was pleasantly surprised.

A young girl named Fern walks in to find her father about to slay a piglet. As the runt of the litter, the father explains that the pig doesn't have a chance of survival, so he'll just speed up the process. Even as a child, she insists on the injustice of it all and refuses to let her father kill the animal. She becomes its surrogate mother and named the pig Wilbur. After he is too large to keep in the house, Wilbur, innocent and optimistic, moves into the barn where he makes friends with Charlotte, a spider. Their unlikely friendship and their loyalty to one another share a powerful message about seeing extraordinary things in seemingly ordinary places.

The innocence and true blue tone that this movie creates is so moving, and you can't help but wish the world really worked this way. While the other barn animals shuddered at the sight of Charlotte, Wilbur calls her beautiful. When Charlotte makes a promise to keep Wilbur alive, she does not break it, despite the hardships that she must face in order to accomplish her goal. Wilbur loves Charlotte as much as she loves him, and like any great friendship, they'd even give their life for them.

Charlotte's Web, the movie, was capable of capturing the idyllic childhood that some longed for and others were blessed to have. This is a great movie that teaches kids so many things about life, the ideals that adults may come to forget, and the difference a friendship can make. Watch it, and I know you'll fawn over Wilbur as much as I did.