Post Updated: November 3, 2025
Directed by: Charles Nichols, Iwao Takamoto
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Animated adaptation of E.B. White’s beloved novel about a pig named Wilbur (voiced by Henry Gibson) who is befriended by a clever spider named Charlotte (voiced by Debbie Reynolds).
Cartoon Cat: At one point in the film Charlotte holds a meeting with the animals of the barnyard, but Templeton the rat (voiced by Paul Lynde) refuses to attend. Charlotte sees a way of getting back at him when she spots a gray cat sneaking towards Wilbur’s pen.
When Templeton emerges from his hole beneath Wilbur’s trough, Charlotte suggests he check by the fence, saying that farm hand Lurvy dropped half a sandwich there. The cat watches from behind the slats around the pen.
Templeton approaches the fence then darts away as the cat leaps over, trying to get him.
Templeton barely manages to get back to his hole as the cat lunges face first into the trough, knocking itself silly before stalking away angrily.
Many thanks to Erin T. Aardvark for letting us know that the cat also makes a brief appearance during the earlier song “I Can Talk.”
Final Mewsings: Cats appreciate spiders who try to sacrifice rats to them.
Many thanks to Nick Wale for reminding us of the cat in this film!
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