Pet Lessons from the Stars of 'Charlotte's Web'

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Well, I am not a pet person because my first pet was a dog named Tasha. My sister named the dog Tasha, and I could not stand the name. We kept the dog for a while and one day the dog got off the chain, and he looked back at me right when he was running away. I was calling the dog, "Tasha! Tasha!" And I swear the dog looked back at me and was like, "Man, you won't be playing [with me] anymore." After that, I never saw Tasha again. I decided that I didn’t want animals anymore.

[Oprah Winfrey and I] actually recorded together. We played husband and wife, so [the director] wanted the back-and-forth bickering in that relationship. Once we got inside the studio, we got a feeling of [Oprah] being this wife that's domineering, and I'm a little brow-beaten, but I've got all this bravado whenever she's not around.

I was 36 when I first read it. I remember seeing the book as a kid, and I always thought it was a girl book, a little girl with a pig. I was able to read the book to my kid a while ago. And I cried.

You see the circle of life with Charlotte, the spirit of friendship and loyalty when [all the animals] get together to try to save Wilbur. You learn about self-worth, value, who you are, why you're a necessary part of the whole wheel of life. These are back-to-basic lessons in life, for which we can all use a refresher course from time to time.

I think one of the major points of this story is death. And my dog--my little puppy--died because I left some candy (still in its wrapper) out on the table and the puppy tried to eat it, choked on it, and died. So my dog taught me the lesson of death. I was probably five or six at the time.

He's kind of like a little thinker even though his brain's not that little. I worked with Thomas [Haden Church, who plays Brooks, the other crow] so we could face off each other. It's like when you do a Laurel and Hardy thing where you play your role off the other actor.

There are three: The first one is the relationship between Wilbur and Charlotte; they're these animals from two totally different sides. They're not supposed to be friends, but it's about loyalty. At the same time, I think a major message in the movie is this barnyard atmosphere. You have all these different animals--they look different, they talk different, they eat different things, and it's kind of represents the world. And [the animals] all get along. I think that's cool. Then of course there's the first introduction to death as a kid, because it can be pretty hard. But seeing it in the film kind of eases the blow.

I grew up in the city. My first pet--well, my only pet--was a French poodle named Tiger. And it was a pain because I never wanted to go downstairs and walk him. You know, I used to kill everything that moved in my apartment--the cockroaches I still do. But the beauty of "Charlotte's Web" is seeing the spirit and the humanity in every little thing.

I was so passionate about telling an intimate story--the relationship between Wilbur and Charlotte, and [the friendships between all] the animals in the barn. The responsibility not to mess it up was such an important thing. I wanted to do a classic, straightforward cinematic film. "Babe" was a template; I knew that if I could get my film half as good as "Babe," I’d be in great shape.

For me this is a beautiful story about the values of friendship.