Charlotte's Web (U) <!-- none onestar twostar threestar fourstar fivestar -->

Oh no, it's the cycle of life, Hollywood-style. Adapted from EB White's much-loved book, this recounts the tale of a friendship between a pig and a computer-animated spider named Charlotte (voiced by Julia Roberts). To save the pig from the butcher's knife the spider spins a web of words in praise of her porky friend, and soon the farm where they live is a local legend.

Steve Buscemi, vocally typecast as the barn rat, enlivens an otherwise dreary exercise in soppy anthropomorphism. Dakota Fanning, as the cold-eyed midget who adopts the pig, is (as ever) terrifying.