Babe

Composite Score: 86.2

Starring: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes, Danny Mann, Hugo Weaving, Miriam Flynn, Russi Taylor, and Roscoe Lee Browne

Director: Chris Noonan

Writers: George Miller and Chris Noonan

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy

MPAA Rating: G

Box Office: $254.13 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Babe is the film adaptation from Chris Noonan and George Miller of Dick King-Smith’s novel The Sheep-Pig about a pig who wants to take on the duties of a sheep dog. The film features a combination of live action and animatronic animals alongside the real humans who run the farm on which they live. It features the voice talents of Christine Cavanaugh as the titular pig, Miriam Margolyes as the female sheepdog Fly, Danny Mann as Ferdinand the duck who wants to be a rooster, Hugo Weaving as Rex the male sheepdog, Miriam Flynn as the aging sheep Maa, and Roscoe Lee Brown as the narrator along with physical performances from James Cromwell as Farmer Hoggett and Magda Szubanski as his wife Esme. The film received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Cromwell), Best Picture, and a win for Best Visual Effects. The film is also considered one of the best family films of all time, delivering on laughs, heart, and effects in equal part.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                On some level, Babe requires a suspension of disbelief that an unfortunately increasing number of adult audiences simply refuse to allow for in their films. This is a feel-good family/children’s movie about talking animals who live on a sheep farm and have a hierarchy based on their roles; I don’t know who would come in looking for some grounded look at sheep farming and sheep dog raising and accurate depictions of farm life here, but I’m sure there’s someone out there who’s so mad that the duck can crow like a rooster. If you want that fun feel and a solid story to go along with it, there’s really not too much in the film that should bother you. Alternatively, if you’re someone who prefers to go the cinemasins route and nitpick everything that doesn’t add up to your expectations for reality, first, I’d say that you really don’t enjoy film like you think you do, and second, I’d say that this kind of film certainly won’t be for you, nor are most fictional films, if we’re being honest.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                It’s refreshing to see that a film like Babe has had the critical and commercial success that it has because of how much of a feel-good family film it is. So many of these films that I write about and watch seem to be heavy and dark and less than optimistic, which is also fine and good if done well. That does make it all the more fun, though, when there is a film that looks at life and people through a more positive lens that everyone can potentially engage with. Yes, it’s a film about a talking pig who herds sheep, but it’s also a film about found family, believing in yourself, being kind to others, and not letting your circumstances determine your potential – all lessons that are equally as important for its young target audience and the adults that are most likely watching along. It’s helped along in achieving this wholesomeness by the creative visuals and props that bring the animals to life and by the reserved but emotionally impactful turn from James Cromwell. There’s humor that’ll engage all levels of audience, memorable characters, and lessons to be learned; what more can you really ask for?

                Babe is one of the single best family movies ever made, telling a story that’s relevant not only to the youngsters in the audience but adults as well, and telling its story with technical and prosaic excellence that earn the film a place of greatness. While its whimsy might be too much for some viewers to handle, those who can engage with it and watch it will find themselves refreshed by the film’s message and the characters who deliver it. Currently, you can stream this film with a Starz subscription or rent it on most other streaming platforms if you’d like to watch it.