Babe: Pig in the City (1998)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

George Miller (written by) &
Judy Morris (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family

Tagline:

This little pig went to the city...

Plot:

Babe, fresh from his victory in the sheepherding contest, returns to Farmer Hoggett's farm, but after Farmer Hoggett is injured and unable to work, Babe has to go to the big city to save the farm.

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Farm | Hotel | Cat | Big City

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations

Cast

Magda Szubanski	...	Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett
James Cromwell	...	Farmer Arthur Hoggett
Mary Stein	...	The Landlady
Mickey Rooney	...	Fugly Floom, the Speechless Man in Hotel
Elizabeth Daily	...	Babe the Gallant Pig (voice) (as E.G. Daily)
Danny Mann	...	Ferdinand the Duck / Tug / Additional Voices (voice)
Glenne Headly	...	Zootie (voice)
Steven Wright	...	Bob (voice)
James Cosmo	...	Thelonius (voice)
Nathan Kress	...	Easy / Tough Pup (voice)
Myles Jeffrey	...	Easy (voice)
Stanley Ralph Ross	...	The Pitbull / The Doberman (voice)
Russi Taylor	...	The Pink Poodle / Choir Cat (voice)
Adam Goldberg	...	Flealick (voice)
Eddie Barth	...	Nigel / Alan (voice)

Also Known As:

Babe 2 (USA) (working title)
Babe in Metropolis (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:All | USA:G (edited for re-rating) (certificate #36360) | USA:PG (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Country, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Trivia:

The monkey named "Thelonious" is a reference to the jazz pianist, Thelonious Monk.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The dog listed as The Pitbull is actually a Bull Terrier.

Quotes:

The Pitbull: [during jelly bean distribution to the hungry animals] Thank the pig.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Bye Bye Nerdie (#12.16)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

The Anvil Chorus

Give it another chance!

In my opinion one of the year's best films, I cannot help but pity poor Universal and director George Miller for the loss of the sequel to "Babe." Kudos go to them for making a film so original and daring, so out of place in the family film market today, as it defies almost everything that stands for these days: you don't forget the entire movie within a few hours; rather, it stays with you, filling your head with bold and imaginative images that rival those of the best children's books out there.

"Babe: Pig in the City" is much like many other great sequels ("The Empire Strikes Back," "Aliens") in that it is superior to the original but so different from it, that it is not even worth making a comparison of the two. Why have so many people rejected it? Why was it on so many critics' ten best lists, and the public shunned it so much? It is really rather simple. There is no place for a THOUGHT-PROVOKING family film in this day and age, with the exception of perhaps "The Prince of Egypt."

The thing that makes me laugh here is, teenagers and adults alike are commenting on how violent "Babe 2" is, yet if I remember correctly few or no animals at all die in the film. And no big deal seems to be made when the same stuff happens to human beings in "family films."

To be honest, I don't think they should have rated it G, simply because it seems that anyone seeing this under the age of nine would be confused and perplexed by it. Most people over that age however should be able to follow it well, and understand that the things happening in it are no worse than what kids (and especially teens) see everyday, whether it's on TV's "The Simpsons" (my favorite show) or something at the multiplex (a whole ARMY of people gets drowned in "The Prince of Egypt"- a PG rated film).

In the end I am truly hoping that "Babe: Pig in the City" is given at least some Oscar nominations, especially for the art direction, cinematography, and visual effects- all of which were superb. A great movie, even though it has not found an audience.

This movie just screams: "Give it another chance!"