| Director | Gary Winick |
|---|---|
| Genre | children's film, comedy film, film based on a novel |
| Runtime | 97 min |
| Country | Germany, United States |
| Budget | $85 million |
| Box office | $148.9 million |
During springtime on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, 8-year-old Fern Arable discovers that her father John is about to kill a runt of a litter of newborn pigs. Fern successfully begs him to spare the piglet's life, whom she names Wilbur and nurtures him lovingly. The next morning, Fern sneaks Wilbur into her school desk, which causes her to be caught by the teacher and be sent to the principal's office along with Wilbur, resulting in her mother, Mrs. Arable, being called to pick them up from school.
When Wilbur has matured, Fern is regretfully forced to take him to her uncle Homer Zuckerman's barnyard. Mrs. Arable feels slightly concerned for her daughter's behavior and one night, she prevails upon Fern to stay home, do her homework and go straight to bed without visiting Wilbur. During this time, Wilbur feels abandoned and is left yearning for companionship, but is refused by the other barn animals - a comedic, mischievous, rebellious, misunderstood, and "potentially dangerous" rat named Templeton; a serious and steadfast sheep named Samuel; a fun-loving and kindly goose couple named Gussy and Golly; two beautiful and laid-back cow sisters named Bitsy and Betsy; and a cowardly and humorous horse named Ike - until he is befriended by Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful barn spider who lives in the space above Wilbur's sty in the Zuckermans' barn.
When the other animals reveal to Wilbur that he will be prepared for dinner by Christmas, Charlotte promises to hatch a plan guaranteed to save Wilbur's life. With the help of Templeton, Charlotte convinces the Zuckerman family that Wilbur is actually quite special by spelling out descriptions of him in her web such as "Some pig", "Terrific", "Radiant" and "Humble" in the opening to the barn for the Zuckermans to see. These descriptions are even posted in newspapers that the whole town read and came out to see.
Eventually, the Arables, Zuckermans, Wilbur, Charlotte and Templeton go to a fair where Wilbur is entered in a contest. While there, Charlotte produces an egg sac containing her unborn offspring while Wilbur, despite not winning the blue ribbon, is later given a bronze medal and celebrated by the fair's staff and visitors, making him too prestigious to justify killing him. Exhausted from laying eggs, Charlotte can't return home because she is dying. Wilbur tearfully bids farewell to her as she remains at the fair and dies shortly after his departure, but he manages to take her egg sac home with the help of Templeton.
Wilbur then lives to witness his first Christmas and by the next spring, hundreds of Charlotte's offspring emerge; most of the young spiders soon leave, but three named Joy, Aranea and Nellie stay and become Wilbur's friends.