However, Fern's brother, Avery, discovers another pig named Uncle has won first place, though the county fair staff decides to hold a celebration in honor of Homer's miraculous pig, and rewards him $25 and a gold medal. He then announces that he will allow Wilbur to "live to a ripe old age". Exhausted from laying eggs and writing words, Charlotte tells Wilbur she will remain at the fair to die. Not willing to let her children be abandoned, Wilbur has Templeton retrieve her egg sac to take back to the farm, just before she dies. Once he returns to Homer's farm, he guards the egg sac until the winter. The next spring, Charlotte's 514 children are hatched, but leave the farm, causing Wilbur to become saddened to the point of wanting to run away. Just as he is about to do so, the ram points out that three of them did not fly away. Pleased at finding new friends, he names them Joy, Nellie, and Aranea, but as much as he loves them, they will never replace the memory of Charlotte. Five members of the cast (Henry Gibson, Paul Lynde, Agnes Moorehead, Danny Bonaduce, and Dave Madden) had previously appeared on the ABC television sitcom "Bewitched" (1964-1972). Hanna-Barbera also animated the opening credits of the show. However, Bonaduce and Madden are better known for their roles on another ABC-TV sitcom, "The Partridge Family" (1970–1974), which was still in production when the film was made. Ferdin and Lynde also both appeared on "The Paul Lynde Show", another ABC sitcom created to fill the contract of "Bewitched". Bonaduce, Lynde, Gerber, Messick, and Stephenson had previously worked for Hanna-Barbera in their television shows: Lynde appeared in "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop" (uncredited), Bonaduce and Gerber were stars in "Partridge Family 2200 A.D.", and Stephenson and Messick were Hanna-Barbera regulars who regularly lent their voices to many of their shows. In 1967, animators John and Faith Hubley were interested to purchase the film rights of "Charlotte's Web" in hopes of producing a feature-length animated adaptation. E.B. White, who had liked the Hubleys, sold the film rights, but the Hubleys were unable to acquire financial backing and the project languished.