“That’ll Do Pig”

Upon reflecting the many different and peculiar films, shows and even books that I perceived in my days growing-up as the youngest of the family, what’s rather apparent to consider is how a lot of your perspective when viewing certain things is transfixed by anthropomorphic protagonists that are innately charming and good-willed yet can bring silliness and incongruity all the same. It’s these said facets of these particular characters that makes their respective stories that much more enjoyable, which naturally makes us remember them so easily over time. Indeed, in thinking about this, many of you would turn your thoughts on this towards the Disney strain of films where they so notoriously imbue anthropomorphic characters that while they are charming in their goofy and good-natured sensibilities, they equally bring forth important messages for the younger demographic to learn from. Much of the same can be seen through the sub-genre of the talking animal movie; a live-action film where real animals are brought to life through cinematic means. Although talking animal movies date back to the early days of Hollywood, the sub-genre has remained an industry staple ever since and were rather flourishing in the decade of the 90’s. Whereas many will point towards Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey as the rightful starting point of this weirdly yet wonderful family film trend, much of this sub-genre’s popularity and success can be arguably seen through Chris Noonan’s Babe, an adaptation of Dick King-Smith’s 1983 novel that ultimately won an Oscar for its effects works. Yet, with it receiving such an accolade for it’s filmic formality, does its effects alone warrant a satisfied viewing of this day and age?…

Farmer Hoggett wins a runt piglet at a local fair and Babe, as the piglet decides to call himself, befriends and learns about all the other animals on the farm. He becomes special friends with Fly, one of the sheep dogs. With her help and Farmer Hoggett’s intuition, Babe embarks on a career in sheep-herding with some surprising and spectacular results…

Despite my pre-misconceptions of a film that’s solely aimed towards the younger generation, what was rather pleasing in revisiting Noonan’s Babe was not only it’s meticulous craftsmanship in amalgamating animatronics with the training of real farm animals, but how it never once panders to its target demographic with senseless sappy platitudes that are implemented solely for ‘entertainment’ itself. Sure, while you can’t ignore the fact that the entirety of the said feature revolves around animals that seem to physically talk to one another and centring around an ‘underdog’ story of a pig – raised as livestock – wanting to become a sheepdog, it’s because of this very strange tale where the younger audiences can learn; since the film in questions in actuality promotes important themes and messages. Without eluding to it unnecessarily, the story applies its central message in an effective and corny manner and never once becomes condescending with the moral message; with the motif being that it doesn’t matter who you are and where you come from, you can always achieve your dreams if you believe you can do it. While many films of similar ilk promote this message as if it’s gospel, Babe approaches this without being heavy-handed and rather guides our point of view through different means; whether it’s through the different farm animals that Babe encounters or the many happenings at Hogget farm. As a matter of fact, it’s a film which begins rather boldly in commenting on the real-life abuse of pigs and needless slaughtering of animals; that, at the time, resulted in a major growth of vegetarianism (something which Bong Joon-Ho attributed to as well in his film of Okja). However dark you can interpret some of the sequences in the film, at the heart of it is a tale that see’s the central figure of Babe wanting to achieve his goal of becoming a sheepdog and there are many recognisable filmic tendencies to showcase this. The more notable aspect is that of the other farm animal characters neglecting Babe’s dreams as a wishful thought, especially seen with the border collie of Rex (voiced by Hugo Weaving) who dismisses Babe completely until he has to concede his place for Babe himself to take charge in a finale that is considered, in my own opinion, as one of the best conclusions to a family-friendly film. The super-friendly and adorable pig that is Babe himself portrays himself as the personification of innocence, and his gleeful and inquisitive demeanour brings him into contact with a host of farmyard animals; especially with the likes of a duck who’s terrified of Hogget’s house cat and Fly – another border collie who eventually teaches Babe everything there is to know of being a sheepdog.

What was surprising to fathom and eventually admire as the film went along were the technical aspects. This is obviously, most notably, perceived through the technology that was heavily implemented in the time of the films release – animatronics and the combined use of well-trained animals. While it’s noticeable through adult eyes when you’re seeing the not-so-seamless editorial transition from an animatronic to a real animal, it’s commendable in of itself really that when the said technology is implemented, it doesn’t look as if you’re watching a really dreary puppet act. It’s used in a way that adheres to the light-hearted family sensibilities of the film and compliments the formulaic comic-relief moments; especially when Babe and Ferdinand the duck roam through the Hogget house whilst Duchess, Hogget’s cat, is chasing them down. One also has to appreciate the manner in which the story is broken down into nice and neat chapters where we’re presented with little stories of Babe’s time at Hogget farm. It doesn’t necessarily play-out as a coherent structure, rather a mode of means that’s broken down where, for the younger viewers, it’s presented in a clear fashion and rather hallmarks classic cartoons; particularly when sequences are broken-up with the help of cue cards that the three little mice introduce whenever the story of the film moves on-wards to a different segment. Then comes the conclusion of the film which, for me, stands as one of the better endings to any film and had me personally and internally teary-eyed when all Hogget says to Babe is, “that’ll do pig, that’ll do” as Babe inevitably proves himself to be a sheepdog.

Admittedly, when coming across films of my own upbringing, I do find it hard really to be too analytical with them considering that I not only have a intrinsic affection for the majority of them – where memories of yesteryear come flooding back as if it was only yesterday – but how Babe and many others of its ilk rather uphold the same admirable and charming qualities that, oddly, don’t really appear in films of today’s generation. What’s rather bold to say of the films that were a part of my own upbringing were that they took risks unlike today where the realm of the internet and social media has allowed us all to dictate our opinions to the point where studios are listening and making films that are ‘safe’ and well-accepted. Improvement of technology of film-making has rather dismissed films like Babe as a near forgotten and appreciated genre, which isn’t something that I’m necessarily begrudging. With change comes new ideas and ways of showcasing these concepts and it’s unfortunate that a film such as Babe doesn’t really take-up the cinematic space anymore. That being said, it’s a said-feature that non-the-less exists and while it can be arguably relegated as just a typical family-friendly film, there are serious undertones of which the younger generation today can learn from; especially when it comes to the mistreatment of animals. From a positive point-of-view, it’s equally a film that can teach all audiences to always believe in your dream and never doubt that you can achieve what you want. For me, Babe will always remind of the blissful times I spent at my grandma’s; how wholesome those times were and how I cherish the fun and laughter that was imbued through laughter and entertainment; of which Chris Noonan’s film provided with a whole host of other VHS’s and DVD’s…

On that note, it’s time for me to end this week’s retro film review. As always’s everyone, thank you for reading my latest retro film review of Babe and I hope you’ve all enjoyed the read! If anyone has an opinion on either my review or the animated series itself, you’re more than welcome to share your thoughts down below. Thank you once again for reading my latest Blog Post and I hope you all have a nice weekend! Adieu!

★★★★☆ – Alex Rabbitte