Movie Review
BABE
Reviewed by: Tim Emmerich
CONTRIBUTOR

 Moral Rating: Good

Moviemaking Quality: starstarstar½

Primary Audience: All Ages

Style: Comedy

Length: 89 min.

MPAA Rating: G

Bane to Butchers!

Talk about role reversals! What if you thought you were a sheepdog? It would be strange ... a human who thought they were a sheepdog. Folks would stare! Especially when you scratched your head in public with your leg or spent considerable amounts of time sniffing a fire hydrant. You could maybe justify it if you were raised by a sheepdog! Needless to say, a pig who was raised by a sheepdog, might be a bit confused too. So is the case with the star of this movie, Babe. The star, Babe, just happens to be a pig. Yes, that is swine. The living version of pork chops and ham.

Babe is just a cute little piglet when Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) wins him in a raffle. It is always nice to be parented and Fly fills that role for piglet. Fly is a sheepdog on the farm and helps to raise Babe. Perhaps this was a natural response since Fly had other puppies at the time. Nevertheless, Babe grows up and it is evident that he is a special pig! All the other animals like him a lot. Even Farmer Hoggett trains him along with the other young sheepdogs!

Needless to say, Babe exceeds at being a sheepdog. You will find this story developing with unique and funny twists. A lesson to be learned is that anyone can succeed if good teaching and learning takes place. Also, self-confidence is a strength. However, Babe's push for acceptance could be taken to the extreme. A human corollary would be a young child striving too hard to be part of his peer group. As in life, most things can be taken to the extremes.

Seriously, if your livelihood is made from any meat industry, you may want to think twice before the kids watch this one. The younger ones especially may protest eating meat again. You think I'm joking, eh? I would not mention it except that I have witnessed many examples of it in kids.
From a Christian standpoint, this movie does not affront any morals. In fact, it shows a family hard at work on the farm. Some younger kids may be confused by the animals talking, but a parental chat can probably clear this up. Hopefully, the kids will pick up on the politeness of Babe and practice it.

Year of Release — 1995

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