Should you bring the kids? Yes. My grade-schoolers (9 and 12) got a little antsy in the middle, and my daughter enjoyed it more than my son (who only went along so he could go to GameStop in the mall). All that said, this is a sweet, timeless story about the power of friendship and the acceptance of loss. The sad moments are balanced out by the joyful moments. For more info, see "Bringing the Kids" below.

THE STORY: It's all about The Pig in this re-telling of the classic children's tale by E. B. White. You know the story: When a litter of pigs is born, Farmer Arable (Kevin Anderson) decides to axe the runt right then and there, thinking it'll save both he and the pig a lot of grief. But when his sensitive daughter, Fern (Dakota Fanning) catches wind of it, she intervenes and saves the little pig from certain death.

Fern adopts the little pig, names him Wilbur, and raises him as her pet and friend. With time, Wilbur (voiced cutely by Dominic Scott Kay) bulks up and moves into the barn, where he meets a whole host of new buddies. There's Gussy the mother goose (Oprah Winfrey), Golly the father goose (Cedric the Entertainer), Samuel the sheep (John Cleese), Bitsy and Betsy the cows (Kathy Bates and Reba McEntire), Ike the horse-who's-afraid-of-spiders (Robert Redford), and Templeton (Steve Buscemi), a self-serving rat who's always working the angles.

And then Wilbur meets Charlotte (Julia Roberts), a wise, caring spider with an impressive vocabulary! When word gets around that Wilbur is destined to become Christmas dinner, Charlotte is determined to save her new friend. She instructs Templeton to gather up words from scraps of newspaper lying around, then she weaves the words into her web: "some pig," "radiant," "humble," and "terrific". Yeah, there's something in it for Templeton – Wilbur's table scraps.

When Wilbur is entered into the state fair, he and Charlotte have to do some pretty fancy footwork to spark interest from the crowds – and hopefully save him from the butcher's block. Charlotte's artistry with her web is truly magical.

This is another sweet movie from Walden Media, the company famous for bringing classic kids' books to life, including "Hoot," "How to Eat Fried Worms," and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". "Charlotte's Web" was recently listed as the best-selling children's paperback of all time, having sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. Award-winning author E.B. White penned the novel, first published in 1952 with illustrations by Garth Williams.

BRINGING THE KIDS:

PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): Yes, there are a few tense scenes, like when Wilbur narrowly escapes the axe and when Charlotte goes to that great web in the sky. Still, it's a good mix of extremely cute characters (Wilbur is adorable!) and valuable lessons about life and death. Also the characters are real, not animated, and yet the animals appear to be talking, thanks to the magic of CGI (the same technique used in "Racing Stripes"). That will go a long way to earn this movie a special place in the heart of preschoolers. 

GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6 - 10): With just a smidgeon of crude humor (the usual passing-gas scene – with cows, in this case), this is a fun film for grade-schoolers. It stays true to the book and touches on essential lessons of loyalty, trust, sacrifice, and true friendship. There's enough action to keep kids happy (like two crows determined to make Templeton's life miserable), and enough wit and wisdom to satisfy parents. As Charlotte says, "With the right words, you can change the world."

TWEEN / TEEN (ages 11+): The take-away message is an appreciation and respect for all living beings, and a reminder to look beyond the outer layer to see what's inside. Who knew a creepy spider could be so loving? Not only that, Charlotte inspires all the animals to come together as a family.  This feel-good movie also has a terrific music score by Danny Elfman. A highlight is "Ordinary Miracle," a new song co-written by David Stewart and Glen Ballard and performed by Sarah McLachlan. Keep the Kleenex handy!

SCORE: 3.5 out of 4 Reels