Babe (1995)

Babe, a pig raised by sheepdogs, learns to herd sheep with a little help from Farmer Hoggett.

Director:

Chris Noonan

Writers:

Dick King-Smith (novel), George Miller (screenplay)

Stars:

James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Christine Cavanaugh

Won 1 Oscar. Another 19 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christine Cavanaugh	...	Babe (voice)
Miriam Margolyes	...	Fly (voice)
Danny Mann	...	Ferdinand (voice)
Hugo Weaving	...	Rex (voice)
Miriam Flynn	...	Maa (voice)
Russi Taylor	...	Cat (voice) (as Russie Taylor)
Evelyn Krape	...	Old Ewe (voice)
Michael Edward-Stevens	...	Horse (voice)
Charles Bartlett	...	Cow (voice)
Paul Livingston	...	Rooster (voice)
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Narrator (voice)
James Cromwell	...	Farmer Hoggett
Magda Szubanski	...	Esme Hoggett
Zoe Burton	...	Daughter
Paul Goddard	...	Son-in-Law

Storyline

Gentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet named Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner when Farmer Hoggett decides to show him at the next fair, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he can herd sheep too. But will the other farm animals, including Fly's jealous husband, Rex, accept a pig who doesn't conform to the farm's social hierarchy?

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Plot Keywords:

farmer | pig | sheep | farm | sheepdog | 

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Taglines:

A little pig goes a long way.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most films released in the German-speaking parts of Europe are dubbed in Germany with standard (Prussian-German) pronunciation. This film, however, was released in a special re-dubbed version in Austria. Each of the animals speaks in a very specific regional Austrian accent: Ferdinand the Duck sounds like a Tyrolean, Duchess the cat has a Vorarlberg accent and so on. To an American speaker of English, the accents might sound like Deep South, Australian or Scottish English, including regional words and figures of speech.

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Goofs

In the final act, just after Farmer Hoggett latches the pen, there are three long shot views of the field, two from deep in the grandstand and one from the view of Rex and Flye. In only the latter can Farmer Hoggett and Babe be seen, there is no sight of them in the shots looking out from the grandstand.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: This is a tale about an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever. There was a time not so long ago when pigs were afforded no respect, except by other pigs; they lived their whole lives in a cruel and sunless world. In those days pigs believed that the sooner they grew large and fat, the sooner they'd be taken into Pig Paradise, a place so wonderful that no pig had ever thought to come back.

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Crazy Credits

Jonah Michaud and Karen Bruner are listed as being "Internet Bandits".

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Alternate Versions

Most films released in German-speaking areas in Europe are dubbed in Germany with the same standard German pronunciation. This film, however, was also released in a special version that was re-dubbed for Austria. Each of the animals speaks in a very specific regional Austrian accent: Ferdinand the Duck sounds like a Tyrolean, Duchess the cat has a Vorarlberg accent and so on. The mice sing Styrian folk songs. This Austrian version was included on the DVD, however not on the Blu-ray.

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Connections

Referenced in Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure (2001)

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Soundtracks

Jingle Bells
Written by James Pierpont (as J.S. Pierpont)

User Reviews

Positively Sublime

An extremely quirky film that you won't mind watching with the kids. Not full of sappy platitudes, this strange little tale of a pig that wants to be a sheep dog is extremely effective in it's message without hitting you in the head with it. No doubt because it wasn't made in Hollywood... we Americans have never been good at telling children's stories without being condescending and heavy-handed with the moral message.

The story takes place in some fairy tale amalgam of all the rural cultures of the English-speaking world - Sometimes it seems like England, other times Kansas, Australia, New Zealand, it's really never anywhere particular. The acting is superb, the animatronics are unrecognizable as such, and James Cromwell is superb as the taciturn farmer willing to give the little pig a chance.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Babe

Filming Locations:

Illawarra Highway, Albion Park, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,742,545, 6 August 1995

Gross USA:

$63,658,910

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$254,134,910

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (Digital DTS Sound) Dolby SR DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1