作者与原著
Charlotte’s Web改编自美国散文名家E. B. White (1899~1985)所著的同名童话。从小喜欢动物，长大后更拥有自己农场的作家White，对于动物的刻画细腻传神而不落俗套，故事的铺陈更是充满惊奇引人入胜，搭配上流畅生动的行文，读过的孩子都爱不释手。Charlotte’s Web自1952年出版迄今，已经在全球各地以23种语言版本推出，陪伴了世界各地无数儿童与青少年成长，其在欧美之经典地位足以媲美《小王子》。White的另两部经典儿童小说分别是Stuart Little(《精灵鼠小弟》)和The Trumpet of the Swan(《真爱伴鹅行》)。
故事梗概
小猪Wilbur出生在新英格兰的一个农场，除了有鹅、牛、羊等为数众多的动物伙伴，还有老鼠等邻居。可是，农场的动物们都明白一件事，总有一天，Wilbur会变成圣诞大餐上的熏肉或香肠。不过，幸运的Wilbur遇到了农场主善良可爱的女儿Fern(Dakota Fanning饰演)，Wilbur还在谷仓结识了鹅太太Gussy(Oprah Winfrey配音)和鹅先生Golly、老山羊Samuel、老鼠Templeton、马大叔Ike……其中与Wilbur最为要好的，就是美女蜘蛛Charlotte (Julia Roberts配音)。日子一天天过去，Wilbur也越来越胖了，看来只有奇迹才能救它的命。Charlotte想到了一个拯救小猪的办法，她在蛛网上织出了“Some Pig(好猪)”的字样，农庄沸腾了，人们觉得小猪一定是只不同寻常的猪。不过渐渐地，人们就淡忘了这件事。为了救小猪，在农场动物的帮助下，Charlotte又织出了“Terrific”和“Radiant”，提醒人们Wilbur不是一只普通的猪。但遗憾的是，在County Fair上，Wilbur没能获得最高奖赏蓝带，似乎难以摆脱宿命，但是Charlotte又织出的“Humble(谦卑)”使人们彻底信服，这真是一只神奇的猪。终于，小猪摆脱了被宰杀的命运……
Charlotte’s Web讲述了关于友谊、磨难与生命轮回的故事，它不仅是儿童的最爱，也感动了无数成年人。作者White在写给小读者的一封信中，这样写道：“Although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too—truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.” Charlotte’s Web被影评人誉为“2006年最佳家庭影片”，在这个炎炎夏日，让我们一起重温那份温暖吧。
Friendship, Caring
& Promise
友谊、关爱与誓言
小猪Wilbur刚出生就面临被淘汰并处死的命运，因为它是猪妈妈一窝11只猪崽里最瘦弱的一只，吃不到奶水。危难之际，主人的女儿Fern挺身而出，从父亲Mr. Arable的利斧下救出了Wilbur。
Fern: You’re not going to kill it, are you?
Mr. Arable: It’s a runt (一窝动物中的最小的动物). Now, go back to bed.
Fern: No, it’s not fair! It can’t help being born small.
Mr. Arable: Careful.
Fern: If I’d been born small, would you have killed me?
Mr. Arable: Of course not. A little girl is one thing. A runty pig is another.
Fern: There’s no difference! This is unfair and unjust. How could you be so heartless?
Mr. Arable: Come here. I want to show you something. You see that? You see? There’s 11 pigs and only 10 teats. Sow can’t feed it, honey.
Fern: Then I will. I’ll feed you and take care of you and...absolutely will not let you kill him.
Fern把Wilbur像宠物一样对待，用奶瓶给它喂奶，带它到学校上课，用婴儿车带它外出，在洗碗池里给它洗澡，唱催眠曲伴它入睡。父母试图说服Fern把猪送到隔壁Uncle Homer Zuckerman家的谷仓里，Fern却坚持由自己来照顾Wilbur，因为在她幼小的心灵里，早把Wilbur当成了朋友，自己曾许下过诺言要照顾它保护它，所以宁肯违背父亲的意愿。 [page]分页标题#e#
Mr. Arable: Pretty soon there’s gonna be no place in the barn for a pig.
Fern: I promised I’d take care of him.
Mr. Arable: Well, I’l letting you out of your promise.
Fern: I didn’t promise you. I promised Wilbur.
朋友间的誓言是如此神圣不可侵犯，哪怕是人与动物之间的约定。影片中Fern眼中的坚毅与勇敢让人折服。最终为了维持家里的生计，懂事的Fern不得不将Wilbur送到Uncle Homer的谷仓。Wilbur也不舍与Fern分别，试图冲破谷仓栅栏去追赶Fern乘坐的校车，在撞得头晕眼花之后，终于撞破了栅栏的一块木板，成功突围……不料却阴差阳错撞见了不远处一栋陈旧的smokehouse(烟熏室)，年幼不谙世事的它当然不懂得这个外表阴森的房子是做什么用的。而谷仓里的动物们此刻却都心知肚明，同情起这头可怜的spring pig，原来春天出生的小猪难逃成为岁末圣诞大餐的命运。故事就此拉开了帷幕。
Wilbur刚搬进新谷仓，便与蜘蛛Charlotte结成了好朋友。这份友谊感动了谷仓里的动物，使大家融合成一个团结友爱的大家庭。Wilbur还与“人人”都退避三舍的老鼠Templeton成了朋友，宽容地让它在自己的食槽里大快朵颐。其实，在Wilbur到来之前，动物们对蜘蛛和老鼠并不友好，甚至含有敌意，大家称Templeton为“disgusting creature”，Charlotte在谷仓现身时，谷仓更是炸了锅，动物们无不“见蛛色变”。
Ike the Horse: Spider! Spider! Get it away from me! Get it away! Get it away!
Samuel the Sheep: All right, keep your distance there.
Golly the Goose: That thing is creepy(恐怖的).
Gussy the Goose: Golly! You’re not being rude, are you?
Golly the Goose: No, no, no. I meant “creepy” in a nice way. You know, creepy good.
Others: Disgusting!
Others: They eat their menfolk, you know.
而Wilbur生性纯朴天真，心无芥蒂，对世俗的东西都无偏见，见到谁都问人家“What’s your name?”然后乐呵呵地咧嘴说“Great name”，并乐于跟每一个动物成为朋友。正是这份质朴与善意，拉拢了动物彼此之间的距离。连Templeton这只好吃懒做、自私势利的老鼠，在单纯善良的Wilbur面前，也渐渐显露了可贵的侠义之气，为拯救Wilbur立下了不小的功劳，两次冒着被乌鸦攻击的危险为Charlotte织网上的字寻找素材。Wilbur与Templeton的第一次见面颇具喜剧效果，被世人贬低看不起的Templeton想在新人之前竖立一点权威，而Wilbur却无视Templeton的傲慢与无礼，一心想交个朋友。
Wilbur: Hi, there.
Templeton: Oh, you’re a pig. You’re a pig. Pig equals slop (泔水). The rat is happy.
Wilbur: My name’s Wilbur. Do you have a name? Or is it just“the rat”?
Templeton: Did you say “just the rat”?For your information, pig, the rat rules. We were here long before your kind, and we’ll be here long after. So, you just keep that in mind next time you feel like reducing me to “just the rat.”
Wilbur: You called yourself “the rat.”
Templeton: I can call me that. You can’t.
而影片中两位主人公Wilbur与Charlotte的友情始于一个晚上，Wilbur因为没有等到前来说晚安的Fern，烦躁不安，不肯睡觉。为了安慰孤独的Wilbur，Charlotte善意地安慰它，告诉Wilbur如果它肯乖乖入睡，第二天便与它“交谈”。
Wilbur: Good night. Good night. Good night!
Charlotte: Good night.
Wilbur: Huh? Who said that? Who are you? Where are you? Are you invisible?
Charlotte: No, I’l nocturnal, which means I work at night, when you should be sleeping. Now, I need to concentrate, so, good night. [page]分页标题#e#
Wilbur: But I can’t sleep now! Please, tell me who you are. I’l just really lonely.
Charlotte: So I’ve seen. Look, you seem like a very nice pig, so I’ll tell you what. If you go to sleep right now and let me work, we can converse tomorrow.
Wilbur: Converse?
Charlotte: I think your word was “chat.”
Wilbur: Oh. Great! All right. Good night. Good night. Good night.
Charlotte: Good night.
Wilbur与Charlotte成为朋友后，兴奋异常，谷仓里的其他动物都觉得荒谬至极。
Wilbur: Why would anyone despise Charlotte? She made that amazing web, and she keeps bugs out of the barn.
Templeton: Look at her. I mean, don’t you think she’s a little...What’s the word?
Wilbur: I think she’s beautiful.
Samuel the Sheep: I beg your pardon. She is hideous! Are we even seeing the same ruddy creature?
Wilbur: I guess not.
Templeton: Hopeless.
Bitsy the Cow: What a sorry little friendship that’s going to be.
大家眼中，Charlotte几乎就是冷酷、丑陋、冷血的代名词！连Templeton都鄙视Charlotte，但在Wilbur看来Charlotte却是美丽、神奇、勤劳的化身！正是这一份被认为是“a sorry little friendship”，打动了Charlotte，打动了大家，并最终创造了奇迹！
一天，Templeton告诉Wilbur它将在圣诞时被制成bacon和sausage，Wilbur十分伤心，Charlotte就此对Wilbur郑重地许下了誓言。
Charlotte: I’l making you a promise right now. I am not going to let them kill you.
Wilbur: You’re a spider. You’re little. They’re huge! How are you going to stop them?
Charlotte: I have no idea. But it’s a promise, and promises are something I never break.
为了拯救这只可爱的小猪，聪明的Charlotte在蛛网上先后织出了“Some pig”、“Terrific”、“Radiant”等字样，让人们相信这是一只special的猪。Charlotte也因此得到了谷仓所有动物的认可，成为了大家心目中的智慧女神，变成了友善、慈爱、睿智的象征。谷仓的动物们也不再心胸狭窄、斤斤计较，大家齐心协力，拯救可爱的小猪。也许观众一开始并不明白为何Charlotte会帮助小猪，直到影片快结束时Charlotte说，“You made me your friend, and, in doing so, you made a spider beautiful to everyone in that barn.”原来将心比心，给与和收获是诠释友谊的最佳法宝。同时，对朋友许下的诺言，是不可亵渎的： “Once a promise is made, it needs to be kept.”小猪也为朋友做了它能做的，影片最后它希望能带产卵后奄奄一息的Charlotte回家，许诺照顾她一生一世。当它知道这不可能的时候，它向Templeton求助，愿意用自己的每一餐作交换，等Templeton吃完它才会吃。势利依旧的Templeton最终答应了Wilbur的请求，把Charlotte的宝宝们带回了家。Wilbur: I’ll carry you the rest of the way. We’ll go back to the barn, and I’ll take care of you...You’ve done so much for me!
Charlotte: No, Wilbur. Don’t you know what you’ve already done? You made me your friend, and, in doing so, you made a spider beautiful to everyone in that barn.
Wilbur: I didn’t do anything, Charlotte. You did it all.
Charlotte: No. My webs were no miracle, Wilbur. I was only describing what I saw. The miracle is you.
Miracle & Life Circle
奇迹与生命轮回 [page]分页标题[/page]
这原本是一个平凡的小镇，一个平凡的谷仓，平凡的人们和平凡的动物，正如影片开头的旁白所言：“There was nothing special about Somerset County. It was a deeply ordinary place. No astonishing thing ever happened there. The people who lived there were just regular people. And the animals...Well, they were just plain old animals...”正是因为朋友之间的promise以及小姑娘Fern决心保护Wilbur的promise，友情创造了奇迹。这里，Charlotte’s Web向我们阐述了有关生命的意义：那就是生命是平凡的，而平凡的点滴之间却又蕴含着奇迹。
然而，奇迹不是麻木、封闭的心可以发现的：是Wilbur与Charlotte让人们感到了自己的不平凡、小镇的不平凡、周围人和事的不平凡，人们缺少的，只是关注的心。在County Fair上，Charlotte为落败的Wilbur织出了“Humble(卑谦)”一词，再次轰动了人群，Wilbur因此得到了大会主席亲自颁发的特别奖章。连Wilbur的主人、三番五次提出要把Wilbur做成圣诞大餐的Uncle Homer也动情地表示：“A lot of you have asked me, ‘How could this have happened?’ I don’t know. But it has happened in a time when we really don’t see many miraculous things. Or maybe we do. Maybe they’re all right there around us, every day, and we just don’t know where to look.”
是啊，生活总会在不经意之间充满惊奇，峰回路转之时，人生之路往往会豁然开朗。如果我们用心生活，肯付出辛苦、关爱与努力，还有什么是不可能的呢？这个小小的奇迹，让小镇上的人和动物都有所改变，因为他们觉得自己住在一个不寻常的地方：“Something had changed in Somerset County. It was as if people knew they lived in a special place now. And, in small ways, they started being special people, a little bit kinder, a bit more understanding. And the animals felt different, too.”所以，生活中相信奇迹吧，有爱，有朋友，一切皆有可能。
然而，遗憾的是，就算拥有奇迹，我们也没有办法得到永恒，生命不是永恒的。Charlotte实现了自己最初对朋友许下的诺言，用最后一口力气产下了514个卵后，与Wilbur告别：
Charlotte: I’l languishing.
Wilbur: What does that mean?
Charlotte: It means I’l dying.
Wilbur: What? You can’t die!
Charlotte: Wilbur, we’re born, we live, and, when our time comes, we die. It’s just the natural cycle of life.
Charlotte离开了……生活，就像她所说，四季交叠，生命轮回，一切顺其自然吧。圣诞节终于到了，Wilbur如愿以偿地看到了white snow；冬去春回，大地回春，万物生长，Charlotte的孩子们也在这时破壳而出。Charlotte的生命得到了延续，应验了那句life had come full circle。在曼妙的音乐中，小蜘蛛们纷纷离开谷仓，去寻找自己的归宿。有三只小蜘蛛选择留了下来，继续留在妈妈曾经呆过的地方。生命在继续，希望在继续，友情同样也在继续……
童话介绍：夏洛特的
2010-08-07学习总结
