The Power of the Moving (Animated) Image

To cartoon or not?

I fondly remember E.B. White's classic book Charlotte's Web from my childhood, and of course also remember the animated movie that came out in the '70s. I figured that my son, who's about to turn 4, would love the new live action (as live action as a CG-heavy movie can really be) version that came out a while ago, so I added it to our Netflix queue. Meanwhile, my wife bought the DVD of the old animated version, so we had the opportunity to watch the two films back-to-back. Whoopee. Funny thing is, we only got about halfway through the new version, but we've watched the old animated one about, oh 823 times. What is it about animation that entrances kids so much? The movies are pretty much carbon copies of each other, although one lacks musical numbers. I guess there's just something incredibly appealing about cartoons. Perhaps it's the colors, or the simplification of form and setting that is necessitated by the medium.

I recall that when I was a child I had a similar craving for animation. If there were cartoon versions of Kafka's The Castle or a VW Beetle repair manual, I'd be right there to watch them. I remember being gravely disappointed--and more than once, mind you--that the opening of Bewitched reruns wasn't really a cartoon. Anyhow, I guess we can pop the new version of Charlotte's Web back in the mailbox, secure in the knowledge that we'll be watching the old version at least another 823 times.