Babe: Pig in the City [Blu-ray]

Just before he passed away, Gene Siskel made this his best picture of the year. I just watched this movie again and enjoyed it more this time than I remembered. Babe has a unique visual quality that this movie takes to another level. The representation of the Metropolis is fairly amazing.In this movie we get a fable more about the animals than the people. Farmer Hoggett appears only in the beginning and end and Mrs. Hoggett has the job of delivering the pig to the city and taking him back home while providing some determined comic relief (as she did in the first movie). Mickey Rooney has an amazingly touching almost-a-cameo role, as well.I think of this as a fable with the animals and shows how approaching a harsh and hopeless situation with a good heart (such as Babe's) can transform it into something livable and meaningful. Ferdinand seeking out Babe to be with his Luck Pig is a very neat sub-story that provides some great laughs as well. I found the scene where Flealick is thrown hard from his bite on the captors' truck and ends up in a broken heap to be quite touching. His semi-conscious dream of being whole again and leaping for butterflies is just right.You either like Babe's sweetness or you don't. I do. When he is sent to face his doom with the Doberman and the Pit Bull because he is told they are sheep he tries to handle it with what he knows and what he is told. Still, when it all goes bad he does his level best to survive and when he does, he goes back to rescue his tormentor. Nice stuff.Probably the lackluster reaction to the movie came more from its split character as a slapstick comedy (when Mrs. Hoggett reclaims Babe at the formal dinner in the clown suit) and as a somewhat grim morality play (when the animals struggle to survive on their own and their capture and escape from the authorities). Such intensity mixed with a stack of champagne glasses at risk can confuse.

This movie looks like it was done by Fellini, Dali, Rube Goldberg, and George Miller. The most mind blowing spectacular fantasy fest you could ever want. If you thought Babe was wonderful, this will blow your mind totally. It is not the same kind of movie even though it has the same characters, plus some new ones and the farmer, James Cromwell, is only in it briefly while Magda Szubanski takes the lead and how wonderful she is. If you didn't get enough of her in Babe, this will totally be a treat as she is one of the most comedically talented actresses you could ever want with her roly poly cheeks and body and a scene where gallons of shellac gets dumped on her and, well, I won't ruin it for you, but what happens to her wardrobe after it dries will cause you to laugh so hard you may need adult diapers. And the city. You just will not believe this city. It's a composite of every famous city in the world with all the most picturesque buildings and architectural structures from every famous from Paris to New York, maybe even San Francisco or Seattle. This is not only a fantasy, it is also an art film and unlike art films you will not be bored for an instance. Loved this movie and though I saw it many years ago, I always wind up watching it at least once a year, or when ever I see that it's showing on HBO. Oh, yes. I also forgot to say, this film is made with love and there are loads of lovely sentiments expressed throughout. You may also need a Kleenex with those adult diapers.

I have owned this in VHS for years and have made tons of people sit down and watch it. First saw it when I was taking a group of youngsters to whom I am related to see the sequel to Babe. Babe won the big award and it is nice and cute and all, but did not really foreshadow this. I was sitting in the theater--I remember this very distinctly--wondering if I was imagining what I was seeing. "Do they know what they are doing here? Is this all in my imagination and is it just going to fall apart?" But it didn't. It is a wonderful, deeply sensitive parable. And having Edith Piaf in the soundtrack is just exceptionally satisfying gravy. I didn't know until I read some of the reviews of this when I was looking to find the blue ray that Siskel and Ebert described it as "one of the best movies of the year." The negative reviews I read at the same time are just silly. It was as if, as I was viewing it the first time with children, I had damned it for not living down to my "probably a cute kids movie" expectations.

Great movie one of my favorites as a kid

As an adult I noted some of the scenes/messages that might be too strong for young children, such as a round-up by activist-animal control officials, especially with the little dog being caught by the animal control truck and being dragged along by the truck until released. So this movie is not all sugar and honey, but overall I found it humorous, charming, and well done.

Ok. You might not believe this but I had to buy this movie for Tucker, our 7 yr. old Golden Retriever. Our house sitter accidentally deleted the recording a few months ago, & we bought this to replace it, as this is his all time favorite movie. He actually watches TV - not everything, mind you - he is very discerning, sometimes only a glance at a dog on screen, then, on rare occasions, or for his two favorites, (Lassie Come Home is the other) he'll watch almost an entire movie. But Pig in the City is his favorite. I say - "Want to watch Pig in the City'?" & he stops what he's doing, lays down with his head on his front paws, & settles for much of the movie. I even bought him a piglet stuffed hand puppet that he knows by name - it's his favorite soft toy.Too funny - I know. And this movie doesn't scare him at all!

Great, funny movie. Similar to a cartoon, some scenes are odd, such as the animals walking through a children's ward as they execute an escape, but this movie is definitely a rib tickler for young and old!

Weird. We kept waiting for the movie to improve & it did not. Will not watch again.

good movie

Cette belle histoire de ce petit cochon craquant peut être montrée dès 3 ans ,ma petite fille l'a regardé avec attention, -ce qui est bien vu la durée de ce film d'environ 1 h et demie -un beau moment de partage et d'admiration pour cette petite bête qui réussit à passer tous les obstacles du quotidien difficile d'un cochon dans une ville, petite épopée dynamique ,dans un style un peu vieillot mais plein de charmes et qui laisse une trace dans la mémoire car elle m'a demandé à le revoir !Enfin, pour une inconditionnelle du respect absolu de toute vie animale telle que je suis , ce film est un régal ,et transmet cette valeur .On est loin de la Reine des neiges ( qui a sa valeur aussi dans un autre genre) .

I bought this Blu-ray to replace my DVD copy, the change to Blu-ray makes it look like your watching a new film because you notice details that you hadn't seen before, so I can recommend this Blu-ray. Babe in the city is a film that expands on the first film Babe, and is even better for it with many more characters to enjoy. A film for all the family, and appeals to young & old alike, before long you will forget that the animals are talking, as you get drawn into the plot. A lovely film.

I like dis movie

Loved this movie