To say I look back on enjoying E.B. White as one my favorite author’s growing on up, is something I am immensely proud of to this day. Whenever I think of his classic beloved stories, two come to mind, Stuart Little being one of them, and the other…
Well, you clicked on this link to find out more about the other well known story, right? If not, stay tuned for when I do Stuart Little and Stuart Little 2. With that in mind, let’s take see at some things that you may have not known regarding both the original 1973 film version of Charlotte’s Web and its 2006 remake.
Trivia exclusive for the 1973 original animated film:
- Originally, Tony Randall was in mind for the voice of Templeton, but because he couldn’t do a nasal voice, Randall was kind enough to recommend Paul Lynde as a good alternative option.
- During overseeing the making of the film, E.B. White was not too happy with the songs thought up by the Sherman Brothers, instead, he envisioned using Mozart music as the score for the film.
- As a man who loves his share of Classical music, I personally don’t blame Mr. White, this would have been a good idea, not that I condemn the original film’s songs, they’re pretty entertaining just the same to me.
- Well, that and Mozart is one of my favorite Classical music composers.
- As a man who loves his share of Classical music, I personally don’t blame Mr. White, this would have been a good idea, not that I condemn the original film’s songs, they’re pretty entertaining just the same to me.
- It turns out this film was originally would’ve had competition with another film, which was instead released in November of 1973.
- Can’t put your finger on it? It was Disney’s anthropomorphic version of Robin Hood (1973).
- Believe it or not, there’s actually a deleted scene you can’t find anywhere else on video in the US, it is only seen in Germany and Sweden.
- In the scene it shows what happened to Jeffrey the gosling after Wilbur is taken to the fair. He is heartbroken to say the least on the grounds he didn’t get to go, but his mother insists it’s time for him now to learn how to swim.
- You’d think that she would’ve at least show some sympathy towards her son about Wilbur’s situation, but no, she doesn’t. What a bad parent!
- In the scene it shows what happened to Jeffrey the gosling after Wilbur is taken to the fair. He is heartbroken to say the least on the grounds he didn’t get to go, but his mother insists it’s time for him now to learn how to swim.
- This is one of the few film soundtracks that took years to be released on CD, I can’t imagine why this was the case.
- I was fortunate enough to get a copy years ago at the San Diego Comic-Con before its official release.
- Another thing that may surprise you is who did the animation for the film, it was William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
- Who are best known for the works like The Flintstones (1960 – 1966), The Jetsons (1965 – 1987), Tom and Jerry (1940 – 1967), Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969 – 1970), etc.
Trivia for the live-action 2006 remake:
- For starters, the names of the crow villains who try to eat Templeton may surprise you, they are named Elwyn and Brooks, this is a nod to the book’s and both film’s author E.B. White, Elwyn Brooks is coincidentally his first and middle names.
- Tim Burton was in mind for directing the film, but he turned it down. Good thing too, I wouldn’t be able to see the good in him again, especially after his monstrous take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- This is the second film in which Thomas Haden Church, Abraham Benrubi and John Cleese appeared in together. The first was George of the Jungle (1997).
- In that film, Thomas Hayden Church played the villain Lyle Van de Groot, Abraham Benrubi played one of Lyle’s loyal henchmen named Thor and John Cleese played the character of An Ape Named ‘Ape’.
- In this film, Thomas Haden Church plays the crow named Brooks, Abraham Benrubi plays the pig Wilbur whom has competition with at the fair named Uncle and John Cleese plays Sampson the sheep.
- In that film, Thomas Hayden Church played the villain Lyle Van de Groot, Abraham Benrubi played one of Lyle’s loyal henchmen named Thor and John Cleese played the character of An Ape Named ‘Ape’.
- The film score composer Danny Elfman dropped out of another arachnid related film to score this film.
- Which one you may ask? Simple, it was Spider-Man 3 (2007). It’s a pity though, especially seeing as he composed the scores the first and second Spidey films from 2002 and 2004 respectfully.
- When Charlotte introduces herself as Charlotte A. Cavatica, it may interest you to know that this refers to her barn spider’s scientific name, Araneus cavaticus, the old scientific name was feminine in this case, or Aranea cavatica.
- It should be noted Henry Fussy’s mother was a character who was cut from this film, in the 1973 film, she was very harsh and overly critical, in the films deleted scenes, she was more sweeter.
- And finally, the words of the film are different compared to that of the original book and film, they are as follows: “And in an ordinary barn, an ordinary pig, a runt no less, stood surrounded by friends welcoming his second spring. And that spring was followed by many, many more. All because someone stopped to see the grace and beauty and nobility of the humblest creature. That is the miracle of friendship. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”
- In the original book and film, they were as follows: “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It’s not often that someone comes along who is a true friend, and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”
That’s all for today, but as always, stay tuned for the next movie I will make note of its trivia. Until then, I’m Big Max signing off…
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