Babe

Plot

A young pig fights convention to become a sheep dog -- or, rather, sheep pig -- in this charming Australian family film, which became an unexpected international success due to superior special effects and an intelligent script. The title refers to the name bestowed on a piglet soon after his separation from his family, when he finds himself on a strange farm. Confused and sad, Babe is adopted by a friendly dog and slowly adjusts to his new home. Discovering that the fate of most pigs is the dinner table, Babe devotes himself to becoming a useful member of the farm by trying to learn how to herd sheep, despite the skepticism of the other animals and the kindly but conventional Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell). Because technically impeccable animatronics and computer graphics allow the farm animals to converse easily among themselves, first-time director Chris Noonan can treat the film's menagerie as actual characters, playing scene not for cuteness but for real emotions. The result is often surprisingly touching, with Noonan and George Miller's script, based on Dick King-Smith's children's book and, indirectly, a true story, seamlessly combining gentle whimsy and sincere feeling. These same qualities are embodied by in Cromwell's beautifully understated performance as Farmer Hoggett, which anchors the film. Despite its unlikely premise and low profile, Babe's inspirational story was embraced by audiences and critics, and the movie became an international sleeper that won an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It was followed in 1999 by the less successful Babe: Pig in the City. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Review

The biggest surprise about Chris Noonan's 1995 family classic wasn't that Mad Max auteur George Miller co-wrote and co-produced it, but that this exquisitely crafted work was the rare children's story as appealing to grown-ups as to children. Seamlessly combining live animals, animatronic beasts, and computer effects, Babe's fable about a pig's aspiring to prove his worth to his eccentric master and the rest of the barnyard animals was rendered intelligently and poignantly through the eyes and talking mouths of that menagerie. Amid the metaphorical caste system of supreme humans, ruling dogs, pliant sheep, a devious cat, and a Greek chorus of mice, Babe the piglet reveals the ageless need for an "unprejudiced heart," aided by an anorexic duck and the singularly open-minded Farmer Hoggett. Opening in the depths of summer, Babe impressed critics and audiences with its masterful effects, sly wit, and treacle-free emotion; the National Society of Film Critics voted it the year's best film. Babe went on to earn seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor for James Cromwell's low-key performance as Hoggett; it won Best Visual Effects. Its darker sequel Babe: Pig in the City, however, was lost in the 1998 holiday movie shuffle. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast

• James Cromwell - Arthur Hoggett
• Magda Szubanski - Esme Hoggett
• Christine Cavanaugh - Babe
• Miriam Margolyes - Fly
• Danny Mann - Ferdinand
• Hugo Weaving - Rex

Michael Edward-Stevens - Horse; Miriam Flynn - Maa; Paul Goddard - Son-in-Law; David Webb - The Vet; Marshall Napier - Chairman of Judges; Matthew Long - Sheepdog Trial Officer; John Doyle - TV Commentator; Charles Bartlett - Cow; Russie Taylor - Cat; Courtland Mead - Puppy; Rosanna Huffman - Sheep; Paige Pollack - Sheep; Maeve Germaine - Sheep; Jane Alden - Sheep; Kerry Walker - Sheep; Kimberly Bailey - Sheep; Patrika Darbo - Sheep; Michelle Davison - Sheep; Julie Forsyth - Sheep; Tina Lifford - Sheep; Helen O'Connor - Additional Voices; John Erwin - Additional Voices; Jacqueline Brennan - Additional Voices; Justin Monjo - Additional Voices; Neil Ross - Additional Voices; Doris Grau - Additional Voices; Tony Hughes - Additional Voices; Roscoe Lee Browne - Narrator

Credit

Colin Gibson - Art Director, Kerrie Brown - Art Director, Charles Gibson - Animator, Daphne Paris - Associate Producer, Liz Mullinar - Casting, Valerie McCaffrey - Casting, Roger Ford - Costume Designer, Chris Noonan - Director, Marcus D'Arcy - Editor, Jay Friedkin - Editor, Nigel Westlake - Songwriter, Roger Ford - Production Designer, Andrew Lesnie - Cinematographer, Bill Miller - Producer, George Miller - Producer, Doug Mitchell - Producer, Charles Gibson - Special Effects, John Cox - Special Effects, Ben Osmo - Sound/Sound Designer, Chris Noonan - Screenwriter, George Miller - Screenwriter, Karl Lewis Miller - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Scott E. Anderson - Visual Effects, Neal Scanlan - Visual Effects, Dick King-Smith - Book Author

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