You see, we ageing Englishmen whose kids have left home - well, we like our spaceships and explosions and rough tough cops, and the last thing we want is adaptations of soppy American kids' books which we haven't read (even if they do have that precocious Fanning kid in them), especially if they feature cutesy talking animals and a moralising spider voiced by Julia Roberts who is one of my least favourite actresses. What a recipe for yuck, don't watch it! OK, so I have to acknowledge that the CGI and animation were pretty good. And I have to admit that the Fanning kid was as good as usual. And I have to admit that the voice casting was spot on, with Steve Buscemi particularly well matched with his character. And I have to admit that Julia Roberts was actually very good.
But there were no spaceships or explosions or rough tough cops. And it made me cry, and I wasn't expecting that.
So I think, on balance, it was pretty good.
But there were no spaceships or explosions or rough tough cops. And it made me cry, and I wasn't expecting that.
So I think, on balance, it was pretty good.