Directed by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto from a story by Earl Hamner Jr., it stars the voices of Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde, and Henry Gibson, alongside narration by Rex Allen.

The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall on February 22, 1973, and was released on March 1 to moderate critical and commercial success.

Early one morning, Fern Arable prevents her father, John, from slaughtering a piglet that's the runt of the litter that was born the night before.

Horrified at this depressing discovery, he reduces himself to tears until a mysterious voice tells him to "Chin Up", and waits until the next day to reveal herself to him.

The following morning, she reveals herself to be a spider named Charlotte A. Cavatica, living on a web on a corner of Homer's barn overlooking Wilbur's pigpen.

However, Avery discovers another pig named Uncle has won first place, though the county fair staff decides to hold a celebration in honor of Wilbur, and rewards him $25 and an engraved, bronze medal.

[3] In September 1970, the Los Angeles Times reported that White had sold the film rights to Charlotte's Web to Edgar Bronfman Sr.'s Sagittarius Productions, which intended to produce a feature-length animated adaptation of the book.

Later, in November, Henry White, president of Sagittarius Pictures, and Campus approached director Gene Deitch to direct Charlotte's Web.

"[9] In January 1972, it was reported that Henry Gibson, Debbie Reynolds, and Tony Randall had signed on to provide the voices of Wilbur, Charlotte, and Templeton.

Barbera felt Randall had to be replaced, and approached Paul Lynde, who was voicing characters in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop and other Hanna-Barbera TV shows at the time, to do a reading.

[14] It premiered at Radio City Music Hall on February 22, 1973,[15][16] which was followed with its general release on March 1, 1973, by Paramount Pictures in the United States.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times described the music and visuals as "exceedingly uninteresting," but noted that the screenplay "has followed the original so closely that it's still possible to be moved by the story.

[21] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars out of four, writing that although "the animation style is television-quickie (bland, static backgrounds), White's story is so blessed nice it is doubtful that anyone or anything could ruin it.

The grownups will miss some of the artful appeal the book has, but can settle gladly enough for a cheerful and enthusiastic piece of children's fare.

"[23] In a negative review for The Monthly Film Bulletin, Clyde Jeavons criticized the animation as "stiff, basic and two-dimensional" and the music as lacking "that instant catchiness which has always been a successful feature of Walt Disney's cartoon melodies.

"[25] Among retrospective reviews, Craig Butler of All-Movie Guide criticized the animation and the musical score, but called it a faithful adaptation, noting that "no attempt has been made to soften the existential sadness at the story's core".

[26] Dan Jardine criticized the songs and the "Saturday morning cartoon quality" of the animation, but also says that Hamner "retains just enough of White’s elegant prose in the dialogue and narration to keep the film from being simply a painfully well-intended experiment.

"[27] Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com stated that the animation is sometimes "downright bad", but that White's classic fable needs little to make it come to life.

[28] TV Guide reviewed the film with generally positive remarks, stating that "The voices of Reynolds, Lynde, Gibson, and all the rest are perfectly cast, and the songs by the Sherman brothers are solid, although none of them became hits like those they wrote for such Disney movies as MARY POPPINS.

The Hanna-Barbera version has never pleased either of us ... a travesty ..."[3] White himself wrote of the film, "The story is interrupted every few minutes so that somebody can sing a jolly song.

Debbie Reynolds has stated that in her later appearances, when fans handed her items to autograph, most of them were soundtrack albums of the film.

It centers on Wilbur's relationship with a lonely lamb named Cardigan and also shows Charlotte's children as adolescents.

Irwin Kostal arranged, supervised, and conducted the music, resulting in his fourth out of five collaborations with the Sherman Brothers.

It was written by the Sherman Brothers and arranged as a barbershop quartet by Irwin Kostal, in keeping with the time and place of the story.

In March 2018 the Original Cast Soundtrack was released on CD for the first time by the Varèse Sarabande record label, followed by a vinyl reissue a few months later.