Themes: Talking Animals, Down on Their Luck, Heroic Mission
Main Cast: Magda Szubanski, James Cromwell, Mary Stein, Mickey Rooney, Julie Godfrey
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
The 1995 Academy award-winning film Babe was Australian-made and featured the latest in talking animal anima-tronics. It told the heart-warming story of a sheepherding pig named Babe and his rise to community fame. The film was a tremendous hit, both financially and critically. Babe: Pig in the City is the higher budgeted American-made sequel that picks up where the original left off. It was directed by George Miller (Mad Max trilogy) who produced the original Babe film, and received a lot of criticism for being much darker than the original. The story owes more to George Orwell's Animal Farm or Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist than the original film. Having triumphed at the National Sheepdog trials, Babe returns home a hero. But after farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) suffers from a farming accident, Mrs. Hoggett, a naive portly woman, is left to work the ranch alone. It's not long before the bank comes knocking. Desperate to save her farm from foreclosure, she accepts an offer for Babe to perform his sheepherding abilities at an overseas state fair. Babe, Mrs. Hoggett, Ferdinand the duck, and the singing mice travel across the ocean to a surreal metropolis, where they suddenly become stranded and separated. Soon Babe is performing with circus apes, being chased by wild strays (sounding a lot like Marlon Brando in The Godfather), and making a new wheelchair-bound canine friend (voiced by Adam Goldberg). He also is anointed leader of the animal community. What Babe lacks in street smarts he makes up for in honest goodness as he teaches audiences yet again that "an unprejudiced heart can mend a broken world." ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
Review
The sequel to the 1995 sleeper hit Babe, Babe: Pig in the City may have been deemed occasionally too intense for the child audience, but that didn't prevent it from being as inventive and enchanting as the first film. Directed by Babe producer (and Mad Max auteur) George Miller, Babe: Pig in the City surpasses the original's visual riches when the guileless sheep pig, Ferdinand the duck, and the chorus of Edith Piaf-singing mice become stranded in a stupendous megalopolis that is an amalgam of several major international cities. The slew of animals Babe meets, including antagonistic dogs and cats, a dignified chimp, working circus monkeys, and a canine enforcer who sounds like a famous mafia don, may all sport an urban edge, but Babe's boundless generosity of spirit still prevails -- though he does acquire a punk collar. The animatronic beasts and lip-synched animal dialogue are as seamless and literately witty as in the first film, while the numerous urban perils -- particularly the city pound -- provide another lesson on animal rights and self-worth within elaborate, outrageously choreographed adventures. Opening against stiff competition from the animated A Bug's Life (1998), Babe: Pig in the City failed to match its predecessor's success. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Colin Gibson - Art Director, Rhythm & Hues Studios - Animator, Animal Logic Film - Animator, Mill Film - Animator, Colin Gibson - Associate Producer, Guy Norris - Associate Producer, P.J. Voeten - Associate Producer, Catherine Barber - Associate Producer, Alison Barrett - Casting, Barbara Harris - Casting, Nikki Barrett - Casting, Norma Moriceau - Costume Designer, P.J. Voeten - First Assistant Director, George Miller - Director, Margaret Sixel - Editor, Jay Friedkin - Editor, Barbara Gibbs - Executive Producer, Nigel Westlake - Composer (Music Score), Roger Ford - Production Designer, Andrew Lesnie - Cinematographer, Bill Miller - Producer, George Miller - Producer, Doug Mitchell - Producer, Kerrie Brown - Set Designer, Tony Raes - Set Designer, Rhythm & Hues Studios - Special Effects, Animal Logic Film - Special Effects, Mill Film - Special Effects, Ben Osmo - Sound/Sound Designer, Guy Norris - Stunts Coordinator, Tad Pride - Special Effects Supervisor, Judy Morris - Screenwriter, George Miller - Screenwriter, Mark Lamprell - Screenwriter
The soundtrack album to Babe: Pig In The City, the critically acclaimed, commercially disappointing sequel to Babe, is a heavily padded disc containing five selections said to have been "inspired by the motion picture" (even though one of them carries a 1992 copyright!), dialogue excerpts, Chipmunks-like performances by the mice that appear in the film, some brief bits of Nigel Westlake's orchestral score, and a few miscellaneous tunes (Edith Piaf's "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien," Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," Dean Martin's "That's Amore") with sound effects and dialogue mixed in. The highlight is Peter Gabriel's performance of the Randy Newman-written, Academy Award-nominated theme song "That'll Do," but this is a classic example of a soundtrack album that has very little reason for existence. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
The Chieftains (Performer), The Mavericks (Performer), Dean Martin (Performer), Peter Gabriel (Vocals), Peter Gabriel (Performer), Edith Piaf (Performer), The Modernaires (Performer), E.G. Daily (Performer), Black Dyke Mills Band (Performer), Terem Quartet (Performer), Tex Beneke (Performer), Tony Berg (Producer), Christo Curtis (Engineer), Christo Curtis (Editing), Christo Curtis (Mixing), Bob Ezrin (Producer), Jimmy Hoyson (Engineer), Stephen McLaughlin (Engineer), Stephen McLaughlin (Mixing), Doug Sax (Mastering), Edward Shearmur (Arranger), Edward Shearmur (Orchestration), Doug Mitchell (Executive Producer), George Miller (Executive Producer), Nigel Westlake (Conductor), Nigel Westlake (Producer), James Watson (Performer), Bill Miller (Executive Producer), Jim Atkins (Engineer), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), London Metropolitan Ensemble (Orchestra), Rudolf Osadnik (Leader), Paddy Maloney (Performer), Richard Evans (Engineer), Michael Kisin (Leader)
Babe: Pig in the City is a 1998sequel to the 1995 film Babe. It occurs in the fictional city of Metropolis. Due to the unexpected darker and more mature subject matter (the film includes a scene in which a dog almost drowns while hanging from a bridge), the film was not received as well critically as the first Babe film was, and reviews were generally mixed. However, it was also praised by some, and gained a cult following.
After the victory in the shepherding contest, Farmer Arthur Hoggett and Babe return home to a warm welcome. While repairing the well, Farmer Hoggett is injured and cannot work, so his wife attempts to take up the duties of the farm. Facing foreclosure, Esme Hoggett resolves to show Babe at a faraway fair for an appearance fee. On the way to the fair, Mrs. Hoggett and Babe are unexpectedly detained at an airport, and are forced to stay in an unfamiliar city. They find the only hotel in town that accepts pets but soon become separated from each other. Babe encounters cats, dogs, and a family of apes, and is quick to earn the respect of all the animals after he rescues a malicious dog.
A neighbor's complaint sends animal officials over to the hotel, and most of the animals are quickly caught and sent away. Babe, who manages to stay free, decides to help his new friends and gets unexpected help along the way.
Esme, Arthur's wife, tries to rescue Babe in an atrium, where a ceremony is being held. The animals spread out and Babe is captured. Esme ties herself to a rope hanging from the chandelier and tries to rescue Babe. She is unsuccessful, and the chef pulls the DO NOT PULL tag off of the clown suit she wears. A flesh-colored rubber suit under the clothing then proceeds to inflate itself, tearing off her pants. In the end, Babe is saved and the Hoggetts are able to keep the farm with the hotel's money. Farmer Hoggett is then successful in repairing the well and once again says "That'll do, pig."
Prior to the film's theatrical release, it was originally rated PG by the MPAA; this was because of the dog violence that was too scary for little children and the death of Fugly Floom was a bit overwhelming. The TV spots for the film's theatrical release mentioned this rating. When the film was released in theaters, it was re-rated G by the MPAA, so the TV spots for the film's theatrical release currently mentioned this rating instead of its original rating. The reason why the final cut was rated G by the MPAA was because most of the dog violence was cut, leaving a shot that shows the pitbull pushing down Babe into the river. Some people thought it was rated PG by the MPAA as they saw the poster mentioning the film's original rating. The home video release still has a G rating from the MPAA. This was Universal's last theatrically-released feature-length film to be rated G by the MPAA until 2006's Curious George. It was also Universal's last theatrically-released live-action film to be rated G by the MPAA until 2007's Mr. Bean's Holiday. However, when the film aired on Superstation WGN on November 18, 2007 and AMC on December 9, 2007, the shot that shows Ferdinand almost getting shot by humans was removed.[citation needed]
Reviews of the film were mixed. Audience response was polarized, with viewers either finding it great, or disliking it strongly. Most of the negative reviews came from people who enjoyed the first Babe, as well as those who were expecting a more family-oriented film, like the first installment. Many people think it should have retained its original PG rating. Also, like its predecessor, it was banned in Malaysia.[1] However, the film has developed a cult following[2], and film critic Gene Siskel named it as his choice for the best movie of 1998 and claimed it to be better than its original. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1998. The Nostalgia Critic placed the film as #3 on his list of The Top 11 Underrated Nostalgia Classics.[3]
Soundtrack
The score is again by Nigel Westlake, it also includes sound clips taken from the film. There is also a big band classic "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller, and "That's Amore" by Dean Martin. More tracks including "That'll Do", the Academy Award-nominated theme song, and a song at the end sung by Babe's voice actress.
September 23, 2003 (DVD - The Complete Adventure Two-Movie Pig Pack, this DVD box set was released in separate widescreen and pan and scan formats, due to the DVD re-release of the first film)
February 1, 2005 (DVD - Family Double Feature, this contains Babe) (Note: This DVD shows pan and scan versions of both films and the widescreen version of this film.)
