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Babe
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Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Find all by Universal Studios
Directed By: Chris Noonan
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Theatrical Release: August 4, 1995
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
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Starring: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes, Danny Mann
The surprise hit of 1995, this splendidly entertaining family film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture, director, and screenplay, and deservedly won the Oscar for its subtly ingenious visual effects. Babe is all about the title character, a heroic little pig who's been taken in by the friendly farmer Hoggett (Oscar nominee James Cromwell), who senses that he and the pig share "a common destiny." Babe, a popular mischief-maker the Australian farm, is adopted by the resident border collie and raised as a puppy, befriended by Ferdinand the duck (who thinks he's a rooster), and saves the day as a champion "sheep-pig." Filled with a supporting cast of talking barnyard animals and a chorus of singing mice (courtesy of computer enhancements and clever animatronics), this frequently hilarious, visually imaginative movie has already taken its place as a family classic with timeless appeal. --Jeff Shannon
User Submitted Babe Reviews
October 21, 2008
A Must-See for Animal Lovers
This truly is a movie that can be enjoyed by animal lovers of all ages. Young children will enjoy the talking animals and their antics; older children and adults will appreciate the sociological nuances in this well-crafted fable.
September 2, 2008
Pig of Destiny
A fable celebrating the triumph of the improbable in the face of convention. Clever use of storybook titles, narrative, lighting & music make this a captivating experience. Ntl Soc Film Critics, Best Film. Golden Globe Best Film (music / comedy). 6 Academy Award nominations incl Best Director
August 22, 2008
It's like `Charlottes Web', only better...
I know, I know; very bold statement, but I challenge you to watch `Babe' and not draw the same conclusion. When I first saw `Babe' all those years ago I was like ten and I adored it. But here is the true testament to the brilliance that is `Babe'; I watched it just this past week and LOVED it.
Yes, `Babe' ages very, very well. It is pure family entertainment that shines brightly, giving the audience laughs and tears and heartwarming moments of beauty and peace. `Babe' is a monumental achievement in the world of family (or children's) entertainment for it reaches a level of overall satisfaction without ever having to spice the film with adult humor or forced maturity. This is a children's film that appeals to adults without ever catering to adults, and that is a feat in itself. Unlike `Shrek' and recent so-called children's films that have followed, `Babe' never goes over the child's head yet it always maintains the adult's attention.
`Babe' tells the story a young orphan pig who escapes slaughter by displaying his ability to herd sheep. His owner, Arthur Hoggett enters Babe into a sheep-herding contest despite everyone's disapproval.
The beauty within `Babe' is not found in the plot (which is pretty simple) but in the underlying emotional connection between Hoggett and Babe and, well, Babe and everyone. It really shows that family can never be defined and that you can be loved and show love to any and everyone, regardless of race or even species. At its heart Babe is a story about acceptance and love.
James Cromwell is amazing as Farmer Hoggett. There is a beautiful scene where he nurses Babe back to health after a night spent in the rain and he does this little jig to try and cheer him up and his performance is so sincere and so genuine, which must be hard to muster when working with a mechanical pig. It's a wonder to me why he didn't win that Oscar, I mean Spacey was good (albeit nominated for the wrong performance) but of the final five Cromwell was by far the most deserving. The voiceover actors are all flawless as well and truly add to the cartoon-like vibe of the film.
In the end there are few films this heartfelt and moving, at least in this genre. It is not a sappy saccharine type film that plays too heavy on the heartstrings but this is a pure and emotionally balanced film that manages to appear real and raw despite its very fairytale like prose.
August 15, 2008
Great for kids!
Very cute story and great for kids! If you are an animal lover, this is the movie for you!
June 5, 2008
Love the movie, not the previews...
First and foremost: Babe is one of my favorite movies.
If you haven't seen it, you're missing out.
But this movie has "coming attractions", previews that cannot be skipped. Granted, they're only a few minutes long. But you have to watch them each and every time you play the disk. No skipping to the title menu.
If there were other versions available, I'd buy them.
Hey studios: Ineffective marketing tool. Next time I'll research before I buy, and won't buy a movie with forced previews.
May 27, 2008
I just love this movie
I just love this movie -- if I have to watch tv with the kids, this is my choice. It gives models for great virtues:
+ innocence
+ trust
+ defending the weak
+ good manners
+ patience
the little mice that sing and talk at the opening/closing of each "Chapter" are hilarious.
The movie has no dark and scary parts -- my kids are still too little to handle much suspense. It is a gentle and sweet kids' (and adults') movie
and I get a big kick out of it.
May 22, 2008
If I had words.....
If you can suspend your disbelief and cynicism for an hour or two..., then you may leave this movie feeling that despite all of our flaws that there is something good, true and dare I say it noble in all of us.
You can read the other review for a synopsis of the film, but for me two scenes come to mind that reveal the true magic of this wonderful film
When James Cromwell as Farmer Hoggett sings and dances for the sick little pig, a truly human and tender gesture of affection for Babe, I find myself choking up with emotion (that's not a tear, that's a speck of dust in my eye).
Similarly when the Farmer Hoggett places his faith and trust in Babe to be able to perform in the sheep trial, when despite all the laughter and ridicule he stands firm, until the trial is over and the gate is closed, that moment my friends is pure bliss and transcendence.
Perhaps it is become there are few characters as masculine or manly as an Australian farmer, but beneath his gruff exterior there lies a human being, and this film shows that sometimes despite what the world tells us, our humanity can only be found in our most human of moments.
Cheers!
March 9, 2008
Our Favorite!
This is one of our all time favorite movies and we were happy to find it on DVD!
January 29, 2008
Forced previews
The movie is fine, but the DVD has previews of other movies that cannot be skipped over. Please don't pay money to support this practice. If you pay for the movie, you shouldn't have to pay again by watching ads.
January 19, 2008
A Crunchy Parental Review of "Babe"
I had a hard time with whether or not to recommend the movie "Babe" in this review. Overall, it is a cute movie, but it has a lot of issues, and so I would not recommend it readily, and certainly not for someone under the age of, say, 12, and then only with eyes wide open.
It isn't the language (there is only one notable language issue - when one of the animals calls another a "butt head").
It's the violence. This is a very violent movie; much more so than I had remembered from the first time I saw it, back when it first came out.
It starts with the farmer taking the baby pig ("Babe") out to shoot him for Christmas dinner. He carries a loaded shotgun, and you see him walk out with it, you hear the shot, and then you see him walking back to the house with a dead animal (which turns out to be a duck, not Babe).
Then you see several animals looking through a window into the house, at the Christmas dinner scene, including a different duck, who is mourning the dead duck that they are eating.
And that's only the beginning.
As Babe becomes more of a favourite around the farm, and starts trying to herd sheep, one of the two real sheep dogs - the male - goes crazy, and attacks his mate (the female sheep dog - "Mom" - Babe's `adopted mother') in a fight which leaves her and the farmer wounded, and causes the male dog to be chained, muzzled, and drugged into a near comatose state.
During this time, Babe is making friends with the sheep, whom the dogs consider stupid and worthy of contempt - a feeling which is returned by the sheep.
The oldest sheep - Ma (or, in sheep, "Ma-a-a-a") - is a wise old female sheep, and is very sweet to Babe. In a horrific scene, she is attacked by a pack of wild dogs, brought down, and killed. The entire ruff around her neck is bloody. Babe, who drives the dogs off, sobs by her dead body, his own nose bloodied. That is how the farmer finds them, and he believes that Babe has killed the sheep. The next scene is of the dead sheep being driven back to the farm, on the back of a flatbed truck, her head flopping along the edge of the bed of the truck. The next scene is a very tense several moments of the farmer loading his shotgun, and taking Babe out to the shed, cocking the shotgun, and aiming it at Babe's head... finger on the trigger, slowly squeezing. (Because, you see, the rule is that any animal that kills a sheep has to be killed, and the farmer thinks that Babe killed Ma.)
In addition to the violence, there is bullying and intimidation (dogs to the sheep, a cat to Babe), and, of course, the "butt head", which in contrast to the violence seems tame, but is, none the less, pretty objectionable.
Perhaps I wouldn't have been so surprised and disappointed if "Babe" had garnered at least a PG rating, but these sorts of scenes are not what I expect - or want - in a G rated movie.
Anne
http://www.CrunchyReviews.com
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