Babe, le cochon dans la ville

Very, and I do mean very, strange picture that is suffering an identity crisis in every major cinematic area. "Babe: Pig in the City" is of course the sequel to the critical and box office smash of 1995. This time the titled animal must go to the city with its owner's wife (Magda Szubanski) to raise money from guest appearances after his success in the original. The farmer (barely seen and totally wasted James Cromwell) suffered an accident and his property is about to be taken by the bank. Thus Babe must come to the rescue once more. In the city Szubanski finds a hotel full of dogs, cats and even monkeys and stays there. The story-line then goes out of focus as animal rights and the place that all of God's creatures have in the world becomes the major focal point. The subject matter is dealt with in a distorted way that is more dark than funny. Director George Miller (who produced the original and assisted with Chris Noonan's Oscar-nominated direction in 1995) does a great job with visual effects and art direction, but struggles with a screenplay that has no earthly idea what it wants to do. The fact that Miller is not the director that Noonan is becomes an apparent problem pretty quickly as well. The original worked because of warmth, compassion, intelligence and believability. None of those attributes are in this sequel. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Babe: Pig In The City is captivating; a triumph. It's right up there with other subversive, surreal masterpieces like Delicatessen and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover, but in spite of what you might have heard Babe 2 isn't too dark for children, or for any older human. It's full of many wonderfully melancholy moments but it's not nasty. Above all Babe: Pig In The City is a triumph for gentleness and a plea on behalf of the marginalised; the weak in our community. It's one of the best films yet made and an ideal film for children to see.

What did Hollywood expect? Writer/director of Babe: Pig In The City, Australian George Miller couldn't be expected to roll over and produce a sweet (read merchandisable) sequel to the original Babe. He's far too human and thoughtful for that.

George Miller for heaven's sake has been intimately involved with The Mad Max Films, Lorenzo's Oil, Flirting, Dead Calm, Bangkok Hilton (TV), The Year My Voice Broke and The Dismissal (TV) a list that has no hint within it of a thoughtless panderer to the consumer society. The Witches Of Eastwick was the only aberration and Miller reportedly hated that experience, swearing to never work with Hollywood again, not on their terms anyway.

But then there was the phenomenon of Babe which made a fortune. Miller consented to do a sequel but demanded final cut and dismayed the toy makers when they found that Babe 2 didn't fit in with the money machine. So Babe: Pig In The City was dumped, with bad reviews generated probably from people who haven't even bothered to see it.

Babe: Pig In The City sees James Cromwell as Farmer Hoggett dumped (down a well) early in the film and the famous sheep-pig heading off to the city with Mrs Hoggett (Magda Szubanski) to earn some money to save the farm. The Pig gets separated from Mrs Hoggett and becomes aligned with a set of urban frightened animals who are threatened with being evicted from their homes. Babe saves the day by means of his sweet, giving nature.

This film looks wonderful. The same digitalised mouth movements to match speech are used as in the original movie. Similarly amazing animal training has the stars doing wonderful things as they tell the story and the sets are simply superb. The city is a composite of Sydney, New York , Paris, London and others with the copperplate ETERNITY graffiti well known by older Sydneysiders sitting gently above it all; an appropriately sensitive emblem for the world Miller has created.

Babe 2 is about innocence; about children. Some would say that the film is concerned with Animal Rights but I don't think it's drawing too long a bow to say that the film is commenting on the loss of power and self determination many millions are feeling in the western world as their jobs are disappearing. The lost, threatened animals in Babe have an aura of hopelessness, or at least helplessness before the bright and brave Babe shows them the way to assert themselves.

Babe: Pig In The City is also often very funny, very human, even if animals are the stars. It's an absolute must see for all animal lovers, of any age. And if you think it's too dark, well grow up. That's life.

Those who liked 'Babe' will wonder whether 'Babe: Pig in the City' is a good enough sequel. My answer is: definitely! Here are adorable pig is seen with some new colourful friends, lots of them, in a new adventure. Just like the first one, this one too is sheer delight, albeit a little more serious. I don't understand why people are complaining that this isn't a movie for kids. Why not? I think it's an excellent family film. There is no death or blood. It portrays a part of reality (e.g. that accidents happen, that there are others who are less fortunate than us etc) without getting to graphic and that's why it's great for kids too. It's a lot of fun and even suspenseful. I was in my teens when I first saw this film. There's one scene where Flealick follows the van but one he loses hold, he slides onto one side of the street and lies there motionless while the wheels on his 'scooter' rotate. For a moment my heart had stopped beating (as I thought he was dead) and I was so hoping that he hadn't passed away. The sequence that followed brought me back to laughing mode. Magda Szubanski has more to do here and she displays her comic abilities brilliantly. A strange thing I noticed was she had an American accent in the first film but here it's Australian and British. The rest of the voice-acting is done very well and in sync. The fictitious city (it may be Sidney as the famous opera-house was visible in one scene) is suitably dark and mysterious. I found 'Babe: Pig In The City' more uplifting than the first movie. I wish there was a third movie that would have made it a complete trilogy.

Many people just don't get it. They may tell you this movie is too dark for children. Don't believe them. This is a great movie for children. Didn't "Snow White" have an old hag try to kill her with a poison apple. Death is darker than any "dark tone" laid out in this gorgeous piece of cinema, but "Snow White" didn't get as many negative comments as this movie. The kids that watched the original "Babe" have grown up, and so did the franchise. Sure the movie may have a few adult moments than the original; for instance, most kids won't understand the whole Mrs. Hoggett cavity search incident. But overall this movie presents the great moral that everyone should be good to each other over everything else, even to someone who might have done something wrong to you. That is a message that everyone, adults and children, should hear and consider. In the end, "Babe" achieves respect and gains a whole new group of friends from his good deeds, and everyone is happy including the audience. I think this movie will be considered a classic sometime in the future, as it should be.

The wildest thing about Babe: Pig in the City isn't that it's directed by George Miller, it's that it's recognisably a George Miller film. The narration, chaptered structure and overall insanity are thoroughly his plus there's a lot here that either comes from his Mad Max Saga or would end up in it afterwards. This may look family friendly but it goes to some dark places.

Elizabeth Daily nails the endless optimism of Babe, a character who always does the right thing no matter what and her voice acting matches that straight away. Everyone else does a good job of voicing their on screen animals opposed to any signs of stunt casting, making it one of the least uncanny versions of this mostly bygone trend.

George Miller's direction powers through any and all flaws on sheer weirdness alone. The world building is really fascinating as the titular city is a real smorgasbord of recognisable landmarks and iconography from across the globe which keeps the whole thing interesting, even when some set pieces start to overstay their welcome.