For generations, children have clung to E.B. White’s deceptively humble story about the unlikely friendship between a clever spider and the sweet pig she tries to save from slaughter. For many young readers, this was the first time words simultaneously captured the world’s cruelty and natural beauty. At its best, this live-action adaptation competently captures the novel. There is nothing magical here, but there is nothing blasphemous either. The filmmakers are dealing with something as delicate as a web, and they’re careful not to make any unnecessary rips in the narrative.
