SILVER

Leave it to Hanna-Barbera Productions (THE FLINTSTONES, THE JETSONS, SCOOBY-DOO) to turn E. B. White's beloved children's book into a deeply affecting, animated musical about coping with grief and the power of friendship. Wilbur the pig (voiced by Henry Gibson) has plumped up so much you'd never guess he was the runt of his litter. He tries to befriend his fellow farm animals, but the Goose only cares to warm her eggs, Templeton the rat is too mischievous and the lambs won't associate with a pig destined for the slaughterhouse. Fearing what the future holds, Wilbur's cries are heard by a compassionate spider named Charlotte (tenderly voiced by Debbie Reynolds), who weaves a plan to save him by writing words in her web that will make the porker too famous to eat. DIR Charles A. Nichols, Iwao Takamoto; SCR Earl Hamner Jr., from the book by E. B. White; PROD Joseph Barbera, William Hanna. U.S., 1973, color, 94 min. RATED G

AFI Member passes accepted.