The story tells of a different drama taking place on a farm through a farmer named Arthur. That story began with the gentle farmer Arthur Hogget who wins a small pig called Peep in a county fair. Arthur was able to hold the pig for a long time. After a long time, with the help of Arthur Hoggit, Peeb learns to graze sheep himself, which may be of great interest to Arthur.
Thanks to well-trained live animals, clever voice characterizations and a big dash of muppetry from Henson's Creature Shop, Babe and his barnyard friends not only walk the walk and trot the trot, they also talk the talk.
The movie is at times raucous, but its spirits couldn't be higher, and the tale teaches a good-natured lesson about why cooperation is better than coercion.
He's brave and bright, good-natured and ambitious, naive and vulnerable. All in all, he's probably the most winsome orphan to appear on the screen since Freddie Bartholomew impersonated David Copperfield 60 years ago.
For children, the movie will play like a storybook come to life. Adults, at first, will marvel at the special effects and puppetry. But ultimately, they'll be won over by the nuances of a story that finds a fresh way to deliver a timeless message.
Here's the summer's sleeper for kids and their parents, a terrific picture that takes a lot of risks and makes them all pay off in a charming story about a pig who fancies himself a sheepdog -- or sheep-pig.
The hero of the children's movie Babe is probably the summer's most likable character -- a pig so appealing he may have your family swearing off hot dogs.
Much to my surprise, I found Babe charming in an eccentric, oddly tough-minded sort of way. And if it isn't quite good enough to change my mind about the entire critter-chat genre, it is certainly good enough to recommend.
