Babe

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Worthless DVD
Review: Babe is a great movie, but the DVD is really lacking (3 stars for the movie, -2 for the DVD). As others have mentioned, where's the widescreen? Where are the extra features? It seems very strange that a DVD for a movie as popular as this would be so sparse and uninspiring.

In addition to the above, the DTS soundtrack is very underutilized. While this may not be a huge issue since Babe isn't an "effects" movie, it is still disappointing. No doubt there will eventually be a "Babe, Special Edition" in the future that "may" remedy the problem, so avoid buying this DVD until that fairer day.

Rating:
Summary: THIS HAS TO BE THE BEST FAMILY MOVIE OF TOME
Review: IT THINK TAHT THE TILE OF MY REVIEW SAYS IT ALL. I HAVE NEVER MEET ANYBODY WHO DID NOT LIKE THIS MOVIE. I THINK IT SHOULD HAVE WON BEST PICTURE THE YEAR IT WAS NOMINATED.

Rating:
Summary: Flawless Film, Flawed Product
Review: I don't like schmaltz. I like a movie with a chip on its shoulder. Case in point: I think "Fight Club" is one of the best and most important films to come out of Hollywood in a decade. I thought I'd get wasted and see "Babe" because it seemed like a good afternoon's diversion.

But "Babe" is not shallow fare. From the opening images it begins to draw you into a world of awe and innocence -- but this film has a dark streak, too. It's the brainchild of George Romero ("Night of the Living Dead"), and you know you're in for more than a kiddie movie when a pig, apparently promoted out of the pen and sent to some supposedly utopian paradise, is carted away in a meat truck. The secret is this: unlike kids' movies, "Babe" doesn't try to convince us that all is right in the world; instead it speaks to us in the innocent tones of the farm animals while it allows us to see the dark corners.

And the characters! Neurotic ducks try to find their backbones. Mother dogs mourn the loss of their litters to adoption. And a bitter old sheep dog, perfectly voiced, swallows his pride and begins to deal with a tormented past. Some of the internal dramas are of Shakespearian depth and power.

Parents, do not fret. Kids will love this movie in the way you loved "Charlotte's Web" or "Bambi". I loved it like "Animal Farm" or "Beauty and the Beast". There's something here for everyone.

Unless you're one of those people who wants to see all of the movie as it was shot. Why is this masterpiece not letterboxed in its DVD release? Because the studio considers it a kids' movie and kids have an aversion to the widescreen aspect ratio? I saw this film 10 times in the theaters; it would be my first DVD purchase if the studio didn't insist on lopping off the sides of the frame to fill a stupid, outdated (HD is coming) TV format. For this reason alone, I'm holding off on buying the DVD until this travesty is corrected.

Rating:
Summary: you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll stop eating bacon!
Review: I was given some free passes to see this film right before it came out. I had seen the trailers, and they looked cute, but if I hadn't gotten the free passes, I might have skipped over this gem. This is far more than a children's movie.

The voice of the pig is absolutely perfect... sweet, innocent and believable. Babe's tender heart will remind you of Wilbur from E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" but this is a story in its own right... and there is no talking spider.

James Cromwell received an Oscar nomination for his role as Farmer Hoggett, a sweet, somewhat hen-pecked sheep farmer who wins the piglet as a prize in a county fair.

Babe is a lonely little piglet... he's had to say goodbye to his siblings and his mother at a tender age and is thrust into a barn with all sorts of strange animals he's never seen before. All of the animals, dogs, horses, the cows, etc. feel sorry for Babe and look out for him. There is rivalry with the top Border Collie, but Babe's sweet and innocent disposition wins the hearts of all reluctant farm dwellers.

The farmer's wife initially sees Babe as just a ham on legs, but the farmer sees more and finds a friend that changes his life.

It is impossible to see this film and not get at least a lump in your throat and many scenes will make you laugh outloud. I wish the DVD included more features, like a behind-the-scenes featurette outlining how they got the animatronics (which won a much deserved Oscar) to work. Perhaps it was felt that children would be dismayed that the pig really can't talk or that it took nearly 30 pigs to make the film due to the speed in which they grow into 1-ton hogs... I'm not sure, but as an adult, i would have enjoyed seeing more features on the DVD. This is still a wonderful family film and unforgettable and sweet characters.

Rating:
Summary: La la la, La la la, La la la la laaaaaa!
Review: This is the story of a survivor, the only little pig not to get taken to the butcher. He was just a little pink pig, and what was his usefulness. The family cat told him he was the bacon on the family table, the pork chops in the freezer. So little pink Babe had to prove his worth, and thereby not become a meal on the family table.

He could talk to the sheep and the sheep finally listened because they thought he was such a sweet little thing. He could round them up and tell them to do stuff and they would do it because he was always polite when he asked.

At the county fair, there was a sheep rounding contest. All the other contestants had dogs, but it was Babe the Pig who won.

I'm sure anyone who watches TV on a regular basis has seen this sweet little movie. If you have not seen it, you are missing a great show. I highly recommend the movie Babe.

Rating:
Summary: Chock full of wholesome goodness
Review: When Babe came out it was a refreshing change to all the Tarantino foul mouthin and gun shootin tough guy business. This movie is in no way pointlessly 'controversial,' it represents something more difficult to accomplish - a story that translates to all audiences.

I dare you to hate a talking pig!

I dare you!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful surprise!
Review: Going into the movie, I expected a silly children's story that would be unappealing to anyone older than seven. I was terribly wrong. "Babe" is a beautiful movie. It has a near perfect blend of tension, comedy, and heartfelt drama. What may be most surprising about the film is that all of this comes from talking animals (and a fine performance by James Cromwell as Farmer Hoggett). The movie has a timeless, magical quality that is helped by its excellent cinematography. The film works both as a delightful children's story and a pattern of beautiful metaphors, including a powerful one of a child's relation to their parent or even as a person's relation to God. "Babe" also includes an excellent musical score using a nice variation on Saint Saen's Symphony No.3. "Babe" is a treat for the whole family and an instant classic.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Film, but what about the full picture?
Review: Babe is the only series of films that through playing the theme song I actually start tearing up. The first one is simple, and so meaningful. Every moment is crafted to stick in a persons head forever, and that makes the film that much more precious. Everything about this DVD is excellent, but what I ask is, where is the WIDESCREEN VERSION! The images in this film are so meticulously crafted, depths of fields are perfect, composition is subtle, but it really matters. Everything about this movie is quite brilliant, but the DVD is lacking the original filmmakes vision to it's fullest extent. Yes buy this film, because it is the best of the available editions of it, but be prepared when half a sheep in the foreground is cut off, or when Babe and His Owner walk onto the field at the end, and it doesn't seem half as big as when you saw it at the movie theatre, and therefore far less imposing. And I give it a 4 out of 5 because of that alone.

Rating:
Summary: DTS but no Widescreen?
Review: What the hell were they thinking? The DTS sounds fine, but not really neccesary with this title. Giving only the "pan&scan" version is a crime.

5 Stars for the movie and DTS

1 Star for the lack of features and no widescreen.

Rating:
Summary: This movie is something I can't quite put my finger on....
Review: I saw this movie presented in a high-school auditorium, it's a remotley good heartbreaking tale, but I can't quite put my finger on it. There's just something so indescribile about this movie...maybe how curiously short it is, but how it seems much longer, or the fact this movie is too fantasy-like, or maybe that this movie was "divided" into chapters, narrated by mice. But either way, there's just something about this movie I don't think I'll ever figure out.