Babe

Rating:
Summary: A Thoroughly Charming and Magical Family Movie
Review: This film works on every level. The story tells us about Babe, a pig who misses his mother so much that he manages to get himself adopted by a mother sheepdog. He works hard at becoming a sheep-pig (the book it's based upon is called "The Sheep-Pig") and succeeds, with advice from many of the other farm animals. Oh, by the way, all of the animals talk. Besides Babe, the dogs, and the sheep, there is also a duck who insists that he is a rooster because roosters perform a function on the farm and don't get cooked for the holidays. And, there is a chorus of singing mice who fill the transition sections. The quiet farmer of the farm, playing to perfection by James Cromwell (he should have won the Oscar, but was at least nominated), senses a bond with this the strange little pig who wants to be a sheepdog, and agrees to use him as in that capacity. The farmer's wife thinks the farmer's love of his animals is nonsense, and is only interested in being proper and socially acceptable.

The movie did win an Oscar for special effects. This was deserved, as the talking animals do look like they're talking. The look of the film is perfect too; this is basically a fairy tale, and the farm does not look quite real. Instead, it looks like either a cartoon farm come to life, or a three-dimensional version of an American primitive painting of a farm with slightly overdone but simplified colors. The colors are reminiscent of films like "Gone With Thw Wind" or "The Wizard of Oz" -- only more surreal.

The ending of the film (I won't give it away for those who have not seen it) ranks right up there with movies like "Dead Poets Society" and "Rocky", and makes you want to cheer. The story is mature enough for adults to enjoy but simple enough for children to understand.

While the singing mice are mildly annoying after a while, there are no flaws in this movie. This is a keeper that should be on your shelf for rainy afternoons when the kids are bored.

Rating:
Summary: I love this film even more than the first time I saw it
Review: I've seen this film several times since I bought it several years ago. The only bad thing about it is that it's not in letterbox format, which I have always preferred to the pan-and-scan method. There are some TV shows these days that are in widescreen, so why is it that so many movies have never been released this way? I'm getting off the subject, though.

I never really thought I'd like this movie. The first thing I thought of when I heard it was out in theaters was, "It's 'Charlotte's Web' in a different form". Well, in a way this was accurate, but in other ways it was dead wrong. Yes, the animals do talk, but this is defintely not "Charlotte's Web"! I suppose I still have an image of the animated version of that book. Babe proves himself to be a much more capable pig, even if he is a little young and in need of some help sometimes, but I would have to say that I found this film much more endearing. It's got heart and feeling to it, but it also isn't overly-sentimental or sappy. The animatronics are done very well. I've seen films that use puppets or animatronics (think of them as mechanical puppets, like what the Henson people use) before and after I saw this film, and I think this film still has some of the best work in it. It's very hard to tell which are the real animals and which are the mechanical.

It's also hard to tell where this film takes place. It looks as if it could be in Scotland or the USA. The landscape has a very timeless feel to it, too--even though a fax machine is present in the film, I couldn't help but feel that most of the film took place in a time before telephones.

This is one of those films that adults wouldn't mind taking their kids to. Heck, I don't even have any kids, but once I finally saw a copy of this movie at my friend's house (he's way older than me, and also has no kids), I no longer thought he was a lunatic for owning a copy of a kid's film. The opening credit sequences are some of my favorites, and I also enjoy the song the farmer sings to Babe (though one of the first things my friend did was buy a copy of the classical piece it was based on for me :).

This film will be in my collection for a very long time.

Rating:
Summary: 5-Star Movie with a 2-Star Presentation...
Review: Here is one of the best movies ever made, but with 1/3 of the image missing. Don't buy this one, folks, wait and buy the wide-screen version.

Rating:
Summary: Great film with one disappointing note
Review: Absolutely splendid film, enjoyable by both children (other than the very young) and adults alike. The big disappointment, though, is the lack of widescreen format, especially missed in a film with such breathtaking cinematography, for which I've docked this DVD a star. Now available at half the price in a two-DVD package with the lesser sequel, "Babe : Pig in the City".

Rating:
Summary: NOT just another cute talking animal pic
Review: A friend of mine told me, "See this movie. It's about a talking pig." I said, "You have GOT to be kidding." But on his continued urging, I saw it (in the theatre, no less) because this particular friend isn't really the kind to be moved by just another cute talking animal movie.

I was just flatly blown away, in tears many times, left the theatre singing the beautiful hymnic song set to the Saint-Saens melody, replaying my favorite scenes over and over in my head ... I bought the VHS the instant it came out, and the DVD the instant /it/ came out. And like my friend, I say to you: see this movie. Then see it again, for all the details you missed the first time (there're lots). Then see it again.

You can watch this movie on all kinds of different levels -- yes, including the "cute talking animal" level, and probably even the animal-rights-activist approach given by an earlier reviewer. But to do so does BABE a disservice; this is neither a simple kiddie movie, nor is it a moralistic PETA-informed fable. It's actually deeply mythic -- Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey set in the beautiful archetypical rolling green countryside and James-Herriot-esque farmyard, right down to the intervention of the wise mentor, the adventures and misadventures, rescues and failures, the dark night of the soul, and the ultimate triumph of the one who dares to "follow his bliss".

Would we could all be so authentic and filled with the power of certainty. BABE inspires me anew every time I watch it.

Rating:
Summary: Teaches your kids the value of all lives
Review: Ferdinand the duck screaming "Christmas is Carnage" is right on the money. People eat ham, turkey, lamb and so on on holidays and don't understand that animals do have feelings. They don't understand about the world as much as the ones in this film do, but then humans don't understand what happens to non-humans in the factory farms and slaughterhouses. In fact, this film paints a rosy picture of life for animals that humans eat. It's awfully nice for those dogs and pigs and cows and sheep living on that farm, and this can be misleading to children. But it hopefully makes them understand that eating another living being is, indeed, WRONG. You can turn a blind eye to the facts if you like and tell yourself that killing a pig for your Christmas dinner is a-ok, but perhaps this film will tell you otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: Lessons to be learned...
Review: "Babe" is a perfect film - funny, touching, wise. I, as many people, thought this was simply a kiddy film and I resisted seeing it. How wrong I was! Underneath the funny story line is a message of faith, love, loss, and tolerance. These messages are not lost on kids - there is much to learn from this wonderful film.

Rating:
Summary: Amusing, yet some messages too adult for children!
Review: One of my best friends collects "everything pig." We both think pigs are adorable and I myself will go to fairs just to see the new little piglets.

In that regard, I found this movie irresistible. Many people do have pigs as pets, so the affection between Babe and farmer Hoggett is realistic to a point. Babe's friendship with Ferdinand the duck is amusing and you will laugh until you cry in one scene where Ferdinand is going crazy outside a window! The funniest part of the movie for sure.

This movie is set up like a story book. Each "chapter" begins with the chorus of three silly singing mice and a bold heading to signal the "new chapter" or new part of the story. This created a certain "silliness" which children would enjoy.

Yes, this is a very Charlotte's Web type movie. The pig is recognized as having great talent and is therefore saved. When Babe decides he is a sheep dog instead of a pig, that is when he is the cutest. I loved how the animals all talked and it was very amusing. The animals were given "souls," personalities and judged the humans on their own "moral" ideas. My husband says pigs are quite smart, but to have to train so many pigs must have been a great effort!

What I found somewhat disturbing was the underlying messages we have to endure through so many movies. The message was that it is wrong to eat animals and that people who do are evil, cruel and stupid. The farmer and his wife were portrayed as less intellectual than the animals. It is true (in my life at least) that the more you treat an animal as a human, the more human it becomes.

While I would have been horrified if Babe had been killed and eaten, I think the duck shouting "Christmas is Carnage" was a bit much for young children. If you do choose to watch this movie, I hope you will explain some things to your children. First, some people do eat meat and it is not wrong. Some people choose to be vegetarian, and that is their right and choice.

There were also quite a few scenes where babies were taken away from their mothers. Animal babies that is. That I found might also be disturbing to very young children. It is interesting that this movie almost seems to be made for 5-7 year olds, but has a much more adult message. Of course, it can be enjoyed by a much wider audience. I enjoyed the movie and I think you will too. I just thought I would give parents some insight into what they might have to deal with when their children start to question them eating bacon with their eggs in the morning!

Rating:
Summary: i cried and cried.
Review: the other reviewers here tell about this movie far better than i can. but i had such a strong reaction to this movie i HAD to add a repetitious YES! buy this movie. i saw this in a theatre, and as expected was one of the few adults there. i embarrassed myself by helpless crying at the end of the movie. it was SO HAPPY of a movie! the first time i saw Its a Wonderful Life i cried and cried too. like the Jimmy Stewart movie, Babe is so life-affirming and positive. i call these movies in the 'make lemonade out of lemons' category, but say it so strongly without too much sentiment or sugary pollyanna statements. the humor is perfectly pitched, and appropriate.

Rating:
Summary: Top five best childrens movies of all time
Review: The story opens to 'Babe' at the pig farm with his mother, brothers and sisters enjoying an affectionate family moment. Out of the blue the mother is dragged away to 'pig paradise', a place so wonderful that no pig has been known to come back. Because Babe has such a special loving heart he is crying in his pen and is thus easy to catch when a couple of farmers arrive to catch a baby pig to take to the fair for a 'guess the weight of the pig' fund raiser. In this way is Babe saved from the butchers knife for the first, but not the last, time, and thus begins his life on 'Hoggett Farm'. Here he meets many animal friends, is adopted by an Australian Shepherd Mother dog who has had to say farewell to her puppies, and finds his place, eventually, herding sheep who respond to him because he is such a nice little pig and always polite. This movie broaches some pretty serious issues (first of all - yes - people do eat pigs, and ducks too, but also subtler ones like stepping out of your predetermined niche in society, being kind and loving when it doesn't always seem benificial on the surface of things, that sometimes people (or animals) can appear 'bad' because of bad things that have happened to them), yet does so in such a gentle, caring and humorous way that even the youngest child is unlikely to be upset by it. The imagery is very lush, old fashioned and 'romantic', the acting is superb. And HOW DID THEY DO THE ANIMATION?? It is beyond me. You would swear that these really are talking animals. Adults and children will enjoy this film. My daughter fell in love with it when she was less than a year old and I have seen it easily fifty times now. I still love it. I can not find a flaw in the plot, the acting, the deeper philosophical issues brought up. It is just about a perfect film in every way.