User reviews

I went to see Babe: Pig in the city with a friend who had loved the original Babe movie. We both came away from this movie disappointed. Recently I watched it again on DVD (because it came with the original Babe movie so I watched both together).

The story involves Babe going to the big city with Mrs Hoggett. There they have a lot of wacky adventures, but Babes heart of gold wins through (you can hear the sound of me gagging on this sickly sweet idea).

The story is an original written by George Miller and not based directly on a Babe book. Here lies the folly. Miller did such classics Mad Max (Road warrior to the Americans), The Year my Voice Broke and Flirting. Great adult movies.

So he though he could create the definitive children's movie, but unfortunately it overloads the audience with far too many characters, is too dark for young children and is just an unending story of bad things happening to Babe and friends. This is about budget overload. So much is done, just because it can be.

There is no story, no universal struggle for good in the face of evil. Just wacky characters....yawn.

In essence it covers the big topics of children's story telling, birth, death as well as modern social issues, community, poverty and so on.

But without a compelling story this movie contains too little to see it through.

Nice try George....I am still waiting for Mad Max, Beyond Hoggetts farm

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.

I remember watching this movie when I was very very young and I kinda remembered parts of but I kept procrastinating watching it again now because I remembered I loved it when I was young. So finally came the day I saw it and I must say even after all these years it's quite enjoyable.

I want to talk about a few aspects of the movie very briefly

The story. ( Easy to watch, engaging, made up of multiple small chapters which lead to the final conclusion. It's a Cartoonish fairyland mixed with some dark real-life messages which I overlooked when I was younger. It's very interesting how realistic they made this movie and personally, I couldn't believe it was shot in 1998. We are once again reunited with the little innocent pig called Babe and his adventures which helps him slowly grow up and teaches him good values. But compared to the first movie this has more darker twists and turns which eventually lead to something good.

Sound design. (Excellent. When I watched the movie everything with music felt just right like you would expect.)

Stunts. ( I wasn't expecting much stunts at all from this franchise but it surprised me with the second movie which is filled with quite a lot of amazing quality stuntwork. From dog chases which feel like car chases but with animals to all the other acrobatic things that happened. I'm still amazed.)

Overall I think quite a lot of people will enjoy it and very few won't. Personally, after watching it this feels like not the greatest movie and not the worst one so it's somewhere in the middle around 7 out of 10. Would recommend to anyone but it wouldn't be my first choice as a family movie.

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.

I watched Babe quite often as a child. I don't know really why, I just did-that's kids for yah. But as I have grown older, I have found the film's charms not as alluring. While it is fun and I liked it's unusual sense of humor, I thought it was drowned out by the uneventful story and a cop out ending. Babe: Pig in the City however-no pun intended- is a different kind of animal all together. A few months after the original, Babe accidentally injures the farmer and because of that, a chain of events unfold that might cause them to lose the farm. The Farmer's wife decide then to enter Babe into a sheep herding contest to win some money but due to all sorts of confusion, they wind up stuck at a big city simply called Metropolis-a compilation of major cities from around the world- instead. Babe gets mixed up with some weird animals like a lame dog, a choir of cats and a family of mischievous chimpanzee bandits who are owned by Mickey Rooney-of all people. The story itself is pretty crazy and even hard to follow if you aren't paying attention. But that's the charm of this picture. It's controlled chaos. It is trying to go for this larger-than-life slapstick epic with colorful visuals. In that way, I think it is better than the original, Babe: Pig in the City's story is just as thin as the original but it contains the same sense of humor only amplified to 11. It's also much darker than the original kids film which I think more children need to be exposed to. The world is pretty messed up but that doesn't mean you can't be a good person. Babe: Pig in the City is certainly underrated and deserves much more attention just for it's quirky charm.

Too much slapstick for my liking. And yet much was too subtle

for kids, too silly for adults. Way too surreal. Innocence,

magic, and sheer novelty of the 1st film were inevitably not

there -- and destroyed by the inclusion of far too much of the

Real World. Effects sometimes intruded -- don't want to notice

when a character is a live animal vs. animatronic as much as

this. This didn't happen in the 1st film because it captured me.

This one distracted. Overall, they tried too hard.

Really old pure movie about little pig. Which shows that even the most dirtiest animal can look and act amazing.

Yes, the animals are cute, Babe is a charming creation, and the movie looks like a million (or 90 million) bucks. As the saying goes, it's all up there on the screen. But what's also up there is a weird mean-spiritedness and a sense of frantic desperation. I wasn't hoping for a mere rehash of the first film (in fact, I was hoping it wouldn't spawn a sequel at all), but "Babe: Pig in the City" follows the standard blueprint for sequels: bigger, faster, louder, MORE! Not to mention unnecessary and utterly inferior.

In my opinion one of the year's best films, I cannot help but pity poor Universal and director George Miller for the loss of the sequel to "Babe." Kudos go to them for making a film so original and daring, so out of place in the family film market today, as it defies almost everything that stands for these days: you don't forget the entire movie within a few hours; rather, it stays with you, filling your head with bold and imaginative images that rival those of the best children's books out there.

"Babe: Pig in the City" is much like many other great sequels ("The Empire Strikes Back," "Aliens") in that it is superior to the original but so different from it, that it is not even worth making a comparison of the two. Why have so many people rejected it? Why was it on so many critics' ten best lists, and the public shunned it so much? It is really rather simple. There is no place for a THOUGHT-PROVOKING family film in this day and age, with the exception of perhaps "The Prince of Egypt."

The thing that makes me laugh here is, teenagers and adults alike are commenting on how violent "Babe 2" is, yet if I remember correctly few or no animals at all die in the film. And no big deal seems to be made when the same stuff happens to human beings in "family films."

To be honest, I don't think they should have rated it G, simply because it seems that anyone seeing this under the age of nine would be confused and perplexed by it. Most people over that age however should be able to follow it well, and understand that the things happening in it are no worse than what kids (and especially teens) see everyday, whether it's on TV's "The Simpsons" (my favorite show) or something at the multiplex (a whole ARMY of people gets drowned in "The Prince of Egypt"- a PG rated film).

In the end I am truly hoping that "Babe: Pig in the City" is given at least some Oscar nominations, especially for the art direction, cinematography, and visual effects- all of which were superb. A great movie, even though it has not found an audience.

This movie just screams: "Give it another chance!"

I don't know, folks, I just couldn't get too worked up over this picture.

Everybody's talking about the violence, and the darkness of George Miller's vision--does anybody remember "A Clockwork Orange"? or "Se7en"? Those movies are dark--this one was just . . . okay.

For kids? Yeah, I suppose it'd be all right. Nobody gets seriously hurt in this movie, except the Mickey Rooney character. And there are some cut-diamond moments, like Mrs. Hogget walking over bridge and street with the clown costume, or when she's arrested at the airport. There are real touches of imagination throughout.

But on a critical level, I have just one word: meandering. The movie wasn't just footloose and fancy-free, it was random and arbitrary.

The bottom line is this: I was tickled pink by the first film, but also, as a movie-lover, I appreciated the rhythm of that picture, and the feeling of directorial discipline. The best Disney features have these rare qualities, as well as Stanley Kubrick, Bob Fosse, and Alex Proyas pictures.

"Babe: Pig in the City" was fun, with a few laughs, but it didn't do it for me.

This is a sequel which doesn't really follow the original, but will bring in viewers because of the success of the original, which we really enjoyed. The story line was far-fetched, and the humor slapstick. The singing mice were cute but were totally detached from the rest of the characters and the story line. Could not understand why they were there. The only entertainment I had was to wonder "Now how did they do that!" when observing the special effects. Mickey Rooney's cameo was sick! It was not clear whether he was a good guy or a bad guy. I was not sure whether he looks that bad for real, or the make-up guys did it to him. Save your money unless pure chaos is your idea of great humor.

A truly visionary, intelligent and funny follow-up to the simplistic, sugarsweet first film.

Miller simply pulls of this wildly ambitious tale.

And folks.....there's nothing wrong with some darkness in children's stories. Ask Roald Dahl or the brothers Grimm.

I don't remember the first babe very well, it's been a while since I've seen it, but over all I remember loving it as a kid. So I think that's what struck me to see the sequel. Figured I should give it a shot. I watched it a couple days ago and I have to say that for a kid's movie this was a very strange one, it just seemed a little dark. I mean, pigs in leather, scary and odd looking people, apes getting dressed before escaping a science lab, I mean, maybe it's just me, but it just seriously disturbed me.

Babe has come back from the fair winning the sheep herding award. But the boss gets injured and cannot do any work on the farm, so when no work gets done, the bank is after the farm and is about to take it away from him and his wife. But when his wife finds out that Babe could win a prize that would be worth good money to save the barn. But Babe and the wife quickly get separated in the city of New York. Babe finds a group of show apes that try to help him get money, but it gets difficult when the ape's owner passes away. Now the animals are on their own and continue to try to help Babe.

Babe: Pig in the City is over all not a bad film at all, but it's just a very strange film for children. Not to mention darker compared to the first film. I think most of the reviewers agree, this was a 360 compared to the first film. But if you wanna check it out, go ahead, but I don't think it's a necessary watch if you enjoyed the first one. It was just weird seeing Babe in the leather collar, it was pretty disturbing.

6/10

When George Miller's sequel to the popular and prestigious family film Babe hit cinemas in late 1998 it was squeezed into a crowded family film market, having to share the spotlight with Pixar's second film A Bug's Life and the surprising popular cinematic debut of Nickelodeon's Rugrats. As a result very few people actually saw Babe: Pig in the City while it played in theatres. In proportion to the film's budget so few that it lead to the dismissal of several high-ranking executives at Universal. While it is true that the public cannot truthfully dislike a film it has not seen, I think it's fair to say that the film got an at best mixed response among those of the public that did see it both on it's original theatrical release and subsequently on video and TV, with many viewers alienated by it and few finding it as endearing as the original. Yet there have been many vocal and noteworthy fans of the film ever since its release. The much missed Gene Siskel placed Babe: Pig in the City at the very top of what would tragically turn out to be his last annual Top 10 list. His on screen partner Roger Ebert also found room for it on his Top 10. While not many professional critics quite shared their level of enthusiasm (although the film received generally decent reviews) the film nonetheless developed a kind of cult following who did, among their number being acclaimed musician Tom Waits and popular "internet personality" the Nostalgia Critic.

I saw Babe: Pig in the City upon its UK television premier when I was 13; not really, in my opinion, still a child, yet not at an age where I feel I had fully developed critical facilities that might appreciate the nuances and qualities the film's strongest advocates see in it. At the time I thought it was pretty much a fiasco. Would I keep that opinion or join the film's list of fans after revisiting it as an adult?

Well I'm sorry to say I side with the public over the critics on this one, and still found it to be pretty much a fiasco. I can't even really see what the film's fans see in it. Ultimately, it's a pretty dull slog of a film, with not enough of interest to justify even its slender running time. Granted, there is some good stuff in here. The cinematography, camera-work and production design are often sumptuous, and far above anything you would normally see in a live action kid's movie. The early scenes, set on the same farm the first film took place in, do have the kind of mythical, fairy tale quality Miller clearly intended the whole film to have, but which didn't come across in later parts of the film. And towards the end there is a imaginatively staged and pleasingly old-fashioned slapstick romp involving a clown suit, a lot of bouncing, a well-stacked pyramid of wine glasses and a frustrated waiter. And... that's about it. Which is not to say I cannot appreciate the level of ambition Miller brought to the movie. I think it's ultimately failed ambition, but I can certainly appreciate the effort. Pig in the City is certainly one of the more unusual big budget sequels out there and about as far away from a carbon copy of the original you can get (although perhaps the mice and "that'll do pig" could have been left out this time). But sometimes you find failed ambition entertaining and interesting to watch in it's own right, and sometimes you merely appreciate it. Unfortunately for me, Babe: Pig in the City falls into the later category.

I also find Pig in the City to be short on the charm that its fans must see in it. After the early scenes we are "treated to" near-fatal injuries, a (thankfully off-screen) cavity check, an group of terminal ill children, starvation and a dog facing something which comes disturbingly close to water-boarding. That's could all be fine in the right context, but this time out Babe doesn't have an interesting enough adventure or a strong enough narrative to get us through it; we just slog from one depressing incident to the next. Do I think kids will be adversely affected by this stuff? Not for a minute, but I don't think they'll be particularly entertained either. I know I wasn't.

Also, I hate to say this as I know they can't talk back and are maybe even dead now and certainly didn't ask for this kind of exposure, but a lot of the animals in this movie are awfully hard on the eyes. Am I alone in really not liking looking at monkeys wearing T-shirts, dresses and lipstick? About the only likable animals who have considerable screen time are Ferdinand the Duck, and Babe himself (adorably voiced by singer Elizabeth Daily, ironically perhaps best known for voicing Tommy Pickles from the Rugrats), both of whom can be enjoyed in the vastly superior first film.

Babe: Pig in the City is well intentioned and in some areas well executed, but if you want to be charmed or entertained you're probably better off watching Peppa Pig!

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.

When Babe is gratified with a prize and wins the rosette at the trials , he goes back to the farm , but the joy doesn't last long . Babe's secrete is politeness which gets better results than barking and raising lots of laughs . Meantime , the taciturn farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) has an accident and before an imminent foreclosure Babe along with farmer's wife , Mrs Hoggett (Magda Szubanski) go to the city to participate at a contest in order to Babe's fame get a little cash . Along the way , they miss the connection flight in the city and are forced to bear some distresses . They eventually stay at a peculiar hotel , only one in town that accepts pets . There Babe befriends and learns about all the other animals (three chimpanzee partners , various dogs and cats) on the big town. Later on , neighbours send officials who catch all animals from the hotel, then Babe embarks on a career in saving his friends with some breathtaking and spectacular results .This little pig went to the city , there he learns that a pig can be anything that he wants to be ! . In the heart of the city, a pig with heart ! . A little pig goes a long way !.

In the enjoyable former part Piglet Babe beats the slaughterhouse and is adopted and raised by a matriarch sheepdog who coaches him in the art of rounding up or herding sheep along with his canine brothers , while he learns about all the other animals on the farm , in this sequel he goes to city where he becomes involved into multiple adventures . Charming eccentric and very amusing but being an inferior entry than the original first installment . Whimsy and agreeable that never crosses the line into treacle or bad taste . Degree difficulty apart , including difficulty involved making an entire farmyard of real animals talk , these merits of Babe are those of Dick King-Smith's classic ¨The Sheep-Pig¨ . The best scenes are those in which Babe uses all possible means to save the imprisoned cats, dogs, chimps and many others that had been taken by city officials . Various different special effects houses were used to make the surprising animals talk and walk . Shot on location in several locations in Australia , being colorfully photographed by Andrew Lesnie , adding a sensitive as well as emotive musical score by composer Nigel Westlake . Technically well done and sporting an imaginative story , but may be a little sinister and dark for the younger kiddies.

The first part ¨Babe¨(1995) Chris Noonan with voices from Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes , Danny Mann , Hugo Weaving , this second outing ¨Babe : Pig in the city¨ (1998) with Magda Szubanski , James Cromwell, Mary Stein , Mickey Rooney in a creepy clown suit and voices from Elizabeth Daily , Danny Mann , Glenne Headly , Steven Wright, James Cosmo , being professionally directed and in similar style by George Miller , though with no originality . Miller takes over the filmmaker's chair for this trip and he brings more effects , more money, more animals and more unsettling frames than anyone saw the original would expect . Miller is author of the excellent post-apocalypse ¨Mad Max¨ trilogy along with the writer and producer Byron Kennedy. The first was ¨Mad Max¨ (1979) with Mel Gibson . Followed by a sequel titled ¨Mad Max 2, the Road warrior¨ with Gibson , Bruce Spence , Vernon Welles and Mike Preston . It's continued by ¨Mad Max beyond Thunderdome¨ with Gibson , Tina Turner, and finally ¨Max: Fury Road¨ (2015) with Tom Hardy , Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult. Rating : 6/10 . Decent but inferior follow-up .

This takes place right after the contest of the original movie. Babe and Farmer returns to the farm. One day Babe's curiosity causes Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) to be severely hurt. The farm starts to get into trouble with the bank, and Mrs Farmer Hoggett (Magda Szubanski) is forced to take Babe to another contest. On the way they got into trouble with airport security and they're stuck in the big bad city.

This is an ugly movie. No matter how bright the picture is, the city is full of uncaring mean-spirited people. It is completely opposite of the nice fun gentle hopeful spirit of the original. The exterior shots have it's fanciful charm, but the interior of the hotel is just completely artificial. Also the movie misses the presence of James Cromwell. He's only in the movie for about 15 minutes. He provides the steadying influence of his acting prowess. Without him, all that's left is the animals and Esme doing some funny bits.

Talking animals are no longer a thing of legends and fairy tales, not anymore since the film industry has discovered the use of computer animation. And let's be honest: who wouldn't like to be able to talk with his/her dog, cat, bird, fish or whatever kind of pet that you own. So when a movie is made with talking animals, success is almost guaranteed, certainly when the main "character" is a young animal.

But we also know that when a movie is successful, a second one will soon follow. That's how we got "Babe: Pig in the City". The biggest problem with sequels is that they almost never seem to reach or improve the standards of the original. Somehow it always seems that sequels aren't much more but easy money makers and I'm afraid this movie isn't an exception.

It's still very nice to see that little pig walking around, talking with all kinds of animals, but a pig belongs on a farm or at least in the countryside, not in a city. But OK, even when the location isn't too well chosen, that still doesn't mean that the movie can't be good, right? Right, but not entirely true in this case. The makers of the movie have made some kind of caricature of the entire city and its inhabitants, making it all very weird and sometimes unbelievable. If only the city had looked a bit better, I wouldn't have had such a problem with it. Now it looked more like a Disney version of Venice.

But not everything about the movie was bad of course. What I did like was the story: The piggy has to raise some money, because otherwise the farm will be sold. It will go to a sheep herding competition with the farmer's wife, but never gets there because of some circumstances.

All in all this isn't a bad movie, for grown-ups as well as for children. Children will love the animals, adults may see some underlying messages in it. I give it a 6.5/10

I commend the effort to make this sequel different from the original, but this movie was TRASH! What exactly did Babe DO? Farmer Hoggit almost died, he had Mrs Hoggit strip searched and probed, missed the fair so they didnt get money for the farm, he ruined, then killed a clown, had an animal sanctuary shut down, dozens of animals impounded, destroyed a party, and along the way encouraged a bit of jellybean communism by forcing (by BRUTE FORCE) the monkey's to share, rescued a dying fish by spitting him in the water, and earned a monkey's respect. AMAZING stuff.

Where's the fun? Whats the morals? Be nice.....and you will survive the scary dog chase, the lack of food, the theiving and scheming monkey's, the pig-napping clowns, the evil pound that takes monkey mug shots, pig-killing chef's. No sorry, I forgot. There are some nice people. Creepy pig-men who would give me nightmares if I was 6.

Not to mention, if you don't like monkey's, avoid this at all costs. Most of the movie seems to be an excuse to dress up chimpanzees in dresses, which is, undoubtedly, creepy.

And how were all these problems resolved? What was Babe's solution to the absolute mess he created? Was it me, or DIDN'T he fix things up? Instead, the weird lady who looks like a pencil started a nightclub. And everyone lived happily ever after. Farmer Hoggit even congratulated Babe at the end........because the tap worked. And I guess maybe for bringing 50 stray animals into his home aswell. (He sells the puppies in the first movie, but keeps a monkey and a poodle in the sequel - logic?)

And for those of you who support the dark tone? A scary dog chase IS STILL a scary dog chase, despite the "morals" in the movie. A farmer falling down the well IS ALWAYS violent and disturbing for a child, despite what some people may think. Animals cruelly being captured and abused IS NEVER a nice thing to watch, even if Babe "saves" them in the end. The closest thing to cuteness was the animals walking through a childrens hospital, which still brings a tone of dying children.

In short, Babe earns the respect of a monkey, kills a clown, saves a baby monkey, and introduces communism. It's the sort of movie that critics enjoy reviewing, describing it as "a gem", while they don't realise that it isn't actually entertaining to watch. Bland, pointless, and disturbing. At least they achieved what they were aiming for - a different movie to the original.

First off, this movie is not a kids' movie. Many critics have accused Babe: Pig in the City of being too dark and violent for children. Let's remember that George Miller also filmed the three Mad Max films - what did you expect?

This film is a masterpiece - it has a story that may seem simple but is full of symbolism; it is full of amazing special effects and animatronics; and it has incredible compositions and film directing.

The special effects have improved considerably since the first film. In fact, one scene involves over 300 talking animals! The goldfish were very convincing and the cute little cat is adorable.

The filming of this movie was incredible. No one can forget the shot of his silhouette as he looks out the stain-glass window at his owner. Or the shot of Polonious holding the goldfish in the center of the room.

In no way can the first Babe movie and its sequel be compared. The two are entirely different. And though the story may seem childish, the film has so many sub-plots that can teach us a lot. The one that stands out the most to me is Polonious and his "Godfather"-like role. He strives so hard to be human, and when he accepts the fact that he is a monkey he comes the closer to being human then he had ever been. So many people today need to accept who they are in order to become what they want.

Don't quickly dismiss this film as one for children. Give it a chance and you will be rewarded.

I very much enjoyed Babe II. If you are expecting it to be better than Babe (I) - it isn't - but rather it is different, with a greater emphasis on the animals and slap-stick humor.

Try to spot where "The City" is. I noticed elements from Sydney, Paris, London, San Francisco, New York, and possibly Portland.

As a *huge* huge fan of the original Babe, I was hoping for at least a mildly amusing sequel. What I got was a disgusting waste of money on useless effects and pointless action scenes. The plot was so random & aimless, I'm not even sure what the point was. We actually walked out of the movie after an hour, I just couldn't bear to watch them ruin what was a perfectly good franchise. There were scenes that upset me to the point of near-tears and I am an adult. I think taking a child to see this film would be a huge mistake. The pointless vilification of Animal Control was entirely unnecessary and the gratuitous slapstick was entirely useless. Babe 2 was an utter mockery of what made the first film great, and should have been released straight to landfill.

The original is a beautiful, heart-warming film, that enchanted me when I was little and still enchants me now. While slightly inferior, the sequel Babe:Pig in the City is very entertaining but noticeably darker, with some suitably heart-warming moments and really stunning visual design and cinematography(some of the best of its year actually for me). Yes, it's not perfect, but it is one of the better sequels to anything I've seen. The main merit would have to be the animals, the adorable Babe, the chimpanzees, the singing cats and my favourite the mice who stole every scene they were in. I also really liked Ferdinand, but if anything I wish he was in more of the film. The lip movements are excellent, and the animals are well voiced by the likes of EG.Daily, Miriam Margoyles, Hugo Heaving and James Cosmo. However, the human characters weren't quite as impressive- Mickey Roony is given very little to do and James Cromwell doesn't quite have the warmth he brought to the first film. The most impressive was Magda Szubanski, and some of the most priceless scenes of the film was with her. I liked the story, and the script in general, but what I liked most aside from the animals was the music, with Organ Symphony, Il Trovatore(there was a time when I didn't like the Anvil Chorus very much, but it's growing on me) and Non Je Ne Regrette Rien, where can you go wrong? Overall, not terrific, but very enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Best movie of the year? No. Among the most interesting, though. Minimal spoliers follow.

George Miller has concocted a movie here with a firm but somewhat unknowable vision. It reminds me, in this way, of lesser Coen brother movies: it's ultimately not satisfying, but you can be sure that the director got it on screen exactly how he wanted it.

Some set pieces are very good and a little terrifying -- Hoggett's accident and the hanging/near-drowning of a vicious dog. Another -- a roundup of animals -- is very touching but goes a shade too long; another featuring Mrs. Hoggett bounced about a dining hall is an altogether misfire.

Overall, a fine movie with some laugh-out-loud lines and jaw-dropping sequences. Worth a rental, but not unmitigated reverence.

The original (Babe) was a charming, low-key movie. The sequel has taken Babe to the city, but ignores the charm of his naievity which made the original such a success.. Instead, we're treated to animals being run over by trucks (almost, but scarey), drowned (almost, but frightening in the possibilities) plus a chase scene that goes on forever and in its length becomes pointless. How much nicer it would have been to have Babe be awestruck by the sights and sounds of the city--and how much funnier. After having seen this I would not take a child to this show. An adult daughter walked out and I suspect others did, too.