Babe Pig in the City
USA/Australia 1998
Reviewed by Nick Roddick
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
Having won the local sheep trials, Babe the pig returns to Hoggett Farm in triumph as his fame spreads around the world. Farmer Hoggett and his wife Esme turn down all invitations for Babe to make personal appearances, until an accident leaves Hoggett laid up in plaster. Esme is unable to cope and the bank threatens foreclosure. The Hoggetts then accept an invitation for Babe to open a state fair for a large appearance fee, and Esme and Babe set off for the city by air.
Babe strikes up a conversation with a drug-sniffing dog at the airport, resulting in Esme being detained and them missing their connecting flight. Stranded in the city, they end up in the Flealands Hotel - the only one which will take pigs. The Flealands is home to a wide selection of animals, many of whom work in Fugly Floom's circus. Excepting Babe's difficulty with a group of light-fingered monkeys, things go well enough until the little pig disrupts one of Fugly's shows, setting off a series of disasters which culminate in a raid on the Flealands by the city authorities, who impound all the animals.
Babe and several others escape and mount a successful rescue plan, after which Esme returns to the farm with rather more animals than she left with.
Review
Although there can be no denying its extraordinary (and well deserved) success, the original Babe was never quite the out-of-nowhere film hailed by commentators at the time. Like Crocodile Dundee, it carefully calculated its appeal for the North American market; and, as with the Paul Hogan hit, international distribution was handled by a US major, ensuring that worldwide release would follow if it scored in the US. But, for all the calculations that went into its making, it did preserve a sweetness and a limited focus - with the exception of the prologue and the climactic sheep trials, it never left Hoggett Farm - which, in retrospect, account for much of its success. Babe Pig in the City, by contrast, goes for the big effect wherever possible and adds so many new talking animals that Babe himself (or herself, as one injudicious close-up reveals) begins to function rather like Spanky in The Little Rascals: as the leader of the gang but no longer the subject of the film.
It starts promisingly, with Babe's triumphant return from the sheepdog trials, even if the crowds do look a little thin. And the farcical series of events that leads to Farmer Hoggett's injury, perfectly timed and counterpointed by the deadpan narration, has all the élan of the earlier film, culminating in the sequel's best single moment, when the Singing Mice burst into a passionate rendition of 'Je ne regrette rien'. After that, however, it's all downhill.
True, production designer Roger Ford's 'global city' is a triumph: a surreal juxtaposition of a Gaudíesque neighbourhood vaguely modelled on Venice, California, a megalopolis that seems to be Sydney Harbour out of Fritz Lang, and the Manhattan skyline (with Rio's Sugar Loaf, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and the Hollywood sign thrown in for good measure). But, for all the pre-release talk of a "dark, Felliniesque vision" which was supposed to have scared Universal into cancelling preview screenings, what we get is not so much Fellini as John Landis, as each potentially comic set-up is laboriously worked through and gussied up with stunts.
Comedy, it seems, is not writer/director George Miller's forte. Some ideas, like the enormous cats' chorus lined up in one room of the Flealands, are simply wasted. Others, like the climax, in which Esme, Babe and assorted animal aides disrupt a charity dinner, seem not to know when to stop - particularly so with an extremely difficult stunt which has Esme bouncing across the room on some kind of elasticated harness. Frankly, the whole thing was done much better in Dunston Checks In, which had several of the same jokes, but the added bonus of seeing Faye Dunaway buried in a giant cream-cake.
Credits
- Producers
- George Miller
- Doug Mitchell
- Bill Miller
- Screenplay
- George Miller
- Judy Morris
- Mark Lamprell
- Based on characters created by
- Dick King-Smith
- Director of Photography
- Andrew Lesnie
- Editors
- Jay Friedkin
- Margaret Sixel
- Production Designer
- Roger Ford
- Music/Music Conductor/Orchestration
- Nigel Westlake
- ©Universal City Studios Inc
- Production Companies
- Universal Pictures presents a Kennedy Miller film
- Executive Producer
- Barbara Gibbs
- Associate Producers
- Colin Gibson
- P.J. Voeten
- Catherine Barber
- Guy Norris
- Production Associate
- Kennedy Miller:
- Martin Wood
- Production Co-ordinator
- Lorelle Adamson
- Unit Production Manager
- Barbara Gibbs
- Post-production Supervisor
- Marcus D'Arcy
- Additional Unit Director
- Daphne Paris
- Assistant Directors
- P.J. Voeten
- Philip Hearnshaw
- Jacinta Hayne
- Julian Ryan
- Additional:
- Debbie Antoniou
- Sophy Robertson
- Karen Mahood
- Additional Unit:
- Topher Dow
- Simon Warnock:
- Naomi Enfield
- Jean Leacey
- Tanya Jackson-Vaughan
- Paul Sullivan
- Giovanni Pacialeo
- Script Supervisor
- Sophie Fabbri-Jackson
- Continuity
- Linda Ray
- Additional Unit:
- Andrew Upton
- Margot Johnson
- Technical Continuity
- Joanne Carmichael
- Geoff Blee
- Sue Lee
- Additional Unit:
- Sam Collins
- Casting
- Alison Barrett
- Nicki Barrett
- Barbara Harris
- UK Voice:
- Brian Mitchell
- Additional Unit Director of Photography
- Ian Jones
- Camera Operators
- Colin Deane
- Andrew Lesnie
- Visual Effects
- Director of Photography:
- Steve Newman
- Technical Continuity:
- Damon Escott
- Andrew Commis
- Sound Recordist:
- Ross Boyer
- Co-ordinator:
- Matt Villa
- Avid Editor:
- Jason Ballantine
- Visual Effects/Animation
- Rhythm & Hues
- Visual Effects Supervisor:
- Bill Westenhofer
- Visual Effects Producer:
- Crystal Dowd
- Animation Supervisor:
- Nancy Kato
- Lighting Supervisor:
- Eileen Jensen
- Plate Producer:
- Jil Sheree Bergin
- CGI Producer:
- Chad Merriam
- CGI Supervisors:
- Mary Lynn Machado
- Todd Shifflett
- Compositing Supervisor:
- Betsy Paterson
- Visual Effects Editor:
- Michael Backauskas
- Technical Supervisor:
- Juan Luis Sanchez
- Visual Effects Co-ordinator:
- Rachel Fondiller
- Animation Leads:
- Keith Roberts
- Erik de Boer
- Animators:
- Brian Dowrick
- Ian Hulbert
- John Goodman
- Roberto Smith
- Glen Ramos
- Kent Yoshida
- Melanie Cordan
- Lyndon Barrois
- Scott O'Brien
- David E. Smith
- Animation Set-up:
- Hans Rupkema
- Joe Mancewicz
- J.J. Blumenkrantz
- Lighting Lead:
- Betsy Asher Hall
- Match Move Leads:
- David Sudd
- Stephen Dobbs
- Composing Co-ordinator:
- Jenny Groener
- Inferno Artists:
- Dawn Bowery
- Mark Felt
- Tim Miller
- Colleen Smith
- Tristan James Tang
- Ricardo Torres
- Compositors:
- Anita Cukurs
- Bill Gilman
- Katie Hecker
- Yukiko Ishiwata
- Bonjin Byun
- Craig Seitz
- Texture Painter:
- Joe Strasser
- Software Development Programmers:
- Steve Sullivan
- Denise Chen
- Perry Kass
- Brian Green
- Peter Huang
- Greg Yepes
- Eugene Vendrovsky
- Marin Vasilyeva
- Keith Goldfarb
- Bob Powell
- Scan/Record Supervisor:
- Megan Bryant
- Hardware Manager:
- Will McCown
- Scan/Record Operators:
- Erik Akutagawa
- Jeffrey Cilley
- Homer Cruz
- Executive Producer:
- Peter Takeuchi
- Director of Digital Production:
- David Weinberg
- Visual Effects/Animation
- Mill Film
- Visual Effects Supervisor:
- Grahame Andrew
- Stage ? Sydney
- Visual Effects Producer:
- Mike Chambers
- Visual Effects Co-ordinator:
- Anna Laurie
- Motion Control Cameraman:
- Malcolm Wooldridge
- London
- Digital Effects Producer:
- Martin Hobbs
- Executive Producer: Robin Shenfield
- Visual Effects Co-ordinator:
- Lorea Hoye
- Digital Composite Supervisor:
- Karl Mooney
- CGI Supervisor 'Thelonius':
- Alison Leaf
- Digital Compositors:
- Sophie Chometton
- Sara Bennett
- Steve Murgatroyd
- Ian Plumb
- Richard Roberts
- Nick Seresin
- Simon Stanley-Clamp
- Additional Compositors:
- Hani Alyousif
- Tim Burke
- Klaudija Chrmak
- Mike Connolly
- John Hardwick
- Rob Harvey
- Steve Hiam
- M.J. Azzopardi
- Pete Smith
- Digital Preparation:
- Maria Antoniv
- Svetlana Baibekova
- Dave Early
- Andi Sholer
- Additional Digital Preparation:
- Joe Pavlo
- Sandra Roach
- CGI Artists:
- Tanya Doskova
- Mike Eames
- Andy Kind
- Dave Lomax
- Ivor Middleton
- Quentin Miles
- Kevin Modeste
- Craig Penn
- Mike Perry
- Chris Shaw
- Tim Zaccheo
- Additional CGI Artists:
- Rob Allman
- John-Paul Harney
- Linda Johnson
- Charlie Lovette
- Carol Ostick
- Ben Morris
- Ben White
- Digital Matte Painters:
- Michele Moen
- Michael Lloyd
- Additional Matte Painting:
- Simon Wicker
- Visual Effects Editor:
- Jody Rogers
- Technical Supervisor:
- Martin Parsons
- I/O Manager:
- Tim Caplan
- Visual Effects/Animation
- Animal Logic Film
- Visual Effects Supervisor:
- Chris Godfrey
- Visual Effects Producer:
- Fiona Chilton
- Design:
- Simon Whiteley
- Senior Compositors:
- Charlie Armstrong
- Kirsty Millar
- David Dulac
- Justin Bromley
- Paul Kirwan
- Digital Compositors:
- Krista Jordan
- John Breslin
- Naomi Hatchman
- Aaron Barclay
- Robin Cave
- Janice Jones
- Lee Bramwell
- 3D Modelling/Animation:
- Peter Richards
- Rachel Ward
- Michael Twigg
- Brett Feeney
- Systems Administration:
- Mary-Jane Smyth
- Ron Korpi
- Glen Sharah
- Research/Development:
- Chris Bone
- Special Effects
- Supervisor:
- Tad Pride
- Co-ordinator:
- Tom Davies
- On Set Supervisors:
- Alan Hall
- Ted Ross
- Design Engineers:
- David Pride
- David Young
- Technicians:
- Billy Aziz
- Lyall Beckmann
- Herman Bron
- Gerard Collins
- Marcus Erasmus
- Ray Fowler
- David James
- Shane Murphy
- Dan Oliver
- Arthur Spink
- Taj Trengove
- Matthew Ward
- Model Maker
- Peter Owens
- Graphics Artist
- Beth Pickworth
- Animatronics
- Neal Scanlan Studio
- Creative Supervisor:
- Neal Scanlan
- Co-ordinator:
- Laurie Faen
- Animatronic Designers:
- Vince Abbott
- Tim Jordan
- Greg McKee
- John Osborne
- Jason Reed
- Andrew Roberts
- James Sandys
- Guy Stevens
- Technicians:
- Chris O'Dwyer
- Aiden O'Keefe
- John Van Der Pool
- Thomas Van Koeverden
- Technical Designers:
- Anton Boniface
- Ben Morris
- James O'Connor
- Electronic Technician:
- Daniel Carlisle
- Hardware/Software Development:
- Paul Hatcher
- Julian Hepworth
- Softimage Programmer:
- Adrian Hill
- Character Sculptors:
- Nigel Booth
- Jeremy Hunt
- Esteban Mendoza
- Ray Scott
- John Searle
- Joanne Thompson
- Belinda Villani
- Mould Designer:
- Barry Fowler
- Mouldmakers:
- Brett Beacham
- Penny Brown
- Adam Johanssen
- John Murch
- Chris Norris
- Keith Rae
- Michael Ricci
- Silicone Technician:
- Simon Clutterbuck
- Hair Design:
- Victoria Stockwell
- Hair Technicians:
- Andrea Hochgatteren
- Jeni Walker
- Feather Design:
- Valerie Jones
- Feather Technician:
- Sarah Brunsdon
- Fabrication Design:
- Brian North
- Fabricators:
- Mark Bailey
- Simone Hiley
- Alan Murphy
- Jo O'Connor
- Finishing Artists:
- Simon Alberry
- Anne Bowman
- Original Animatronic Sheep
- Robotechnology
- Chris Chitty
- Greg McKee
- Matt Ward
- John Cox
- Additional Motion Control
- Photon Stockman
- Operator:
- Murray Pope
- Rotovision Camera:
- Bruce Mcnaughton
- Additional Editor
- Dany Cooper
- Art Director
- Colin Gibson
- Set Designer
- Tony Raes
- Set Decorator
- Kerrie Brown
- Concept Artist
- Peter Pound
- Computer Draftsperson
- Jules Cook
- Scenic Artists
- Eric Todd
- Billy Malcolm
- Ken Crawford
- Ian Richter
- Storyboard Artists
- Mark Sexton
- Peter Pound
- Charles Kenway
- Mark Rastrick
- Head Sculptor
- Tony Less
- Sculptors/Model Makers
- John Murch
- Joanna Pullen
- Costume Designer
- Norma Moriceau
- Costume Supervisors
- Paula Ryan
- Robyn Elliot
- Stand-by Wardrobe
- Heather Laurie
- John Power
- Jamella Hassan
- Hair/Make-up Design
- Lesley Vanderwalt
- Hair/Make-up Artists
- Bec Taylor
- Lynn Wheeler
- Kerry Lee Jury
- Additional:
- Toni Ffrench
- Mary Georgiou
- Trish Glover
- Ashley Johnson
- Karen Johnson
- Deb Lancer
- Trish Newton
- Wendy Sainsbury
- Adele Wilcox
- Cheryl Williams
- Paul Williams
- Simon Zanka
- Jason Taylor-Gardiner
- Animal Wig Maker
- Kylie Clarke
- Opening Titles
- Animal Logic
- End Titles
- Optical & Graphic
- Opticals
- Roger Cowland
- Ken Phelan
- Music Performed by
- The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
- Conductors
- Nigel Westlake
- Brett Kelly
- Orchestral Leaders
- Rudolf Osadnik
- Michael Kisin
- Music Supervisor
- Christine Woodruff
- Co-ordinator
- Jan Loquet Westlake
- Additional Music Producers/Editors
- Anthony Partos
- Paul Healy
- Supersonic
- Christo Curtis
- Music Editor
- Christo Curtis
- Recording Engineer/Mixer
- Christo Curtis
- ABC Recording Engineers
- Jim Atkins
- Richard Gervin
- Soundtrack
- "That'll Do" by Randy Newman, performed by Peter Gabriel; "If I Had Words" from "Symphony No. 3" by Camille Saint-Saëns, arranged/lyrics by Johnathon Hodge; "Rushin", "The Future", "Condition Red" by Ben Suthers, Pee Wee Ferris, performed by Pee Wee Ferris; "Girl from Ipanema" by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, English title by Norman Gimbel; "Non je ne regrette rien" by Charles Dumont, Michel Vaucaire, performed by Edith Piaf; "The Anvil Chorus" from "Il Trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi; "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Roy Turk, Lou Handman, performed by The Mavericks; "Largo al factotum della città" from "The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini; "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Harry Warren, Mack Gordon, performed by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, featuring vocal by Tex Beneke & the Modernaires; excerpts from "Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini; "Boum!" by/performed by Charles Trenet; "Barnyard Boogie" by Louis Jordan, Wilhelmina Gray, performed by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five; "Symphony No. 3" by Camille Saint-Saëns; "That'll Do" by Randy Newman, performed by James Watson and The Black Dyke Mills Band; "That's Amore" by Jack Brooks, Harry Warren, performed by Dean Martin; "Protected by Angels" by Paddy Moloney, performed by The Chieftains; "Jingle Bells" by James S. Pierpont; "Three Blind Mice" arranged by Llew Kiek, Mara Kiek; "Cat's Warmup" by Llew Kiek
- Sound Supervisors
- Julius Chan
- Gareth Vanderhope
- Wayne Pashley
- Sound Recording
- Ben Osmo
- Additional Unit Sound Recordist
- Peter Grace
- Mix Co-ordinator
- Wayne Pashley
- Sound Mixers
- Roger Savage
- Ian McLoughlin
- Michael Thompson
- Phil Heywood
- Gethin Creagh
- Peter Smith
- Supervising Dialogue Editor
- Julius Chan
- Sound Editors
- Brent Burge
- Liam Egan
- Angus Robertson
- Lisa Bate
- Phil Winter
- Sonal Joshi
- Jenny Ward
- Craig Carter
- Antony Gray
- John Penders
- Delia McCarthy
- Sara Van Gyen
- Libby Vanilla
- Frank Lipsom
- Sound Effects Design
- Gareth Vanderhope
- ADR
- Recordists:
- Tami Treadwell
- Jeff Barnett
- Mixer:
- Robert Deschaine
- Foley
- Artists:
- Gerry Long
- John Simpson
- Engineers:
- Steve Burgess
- Tony Young
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Guy Norris
- Animal Action
- Karl Lewis Miller
- Primates Animal Trainer
- Steve Martin
- Animal Department Manager
- Tic Carroll
- Department Manager
- Dogs:
- James Hopwood
- Training Supervisors
- Pigs:
- Joanne Kostuik
- Dogs:
- Genny Kearns
- Stacey Brehm
- Cats:
- Terry Knapp
- Ducks:
- Geoff Curtis
- Mice/Birds/Fish:
- Katie Brock
- Farmyard:
- Caroline Girdlestone
- James Delaney
- Trainers
- Primates:
- David Allsberry
- Kim Bonham
- Michael Boxer
- Ursula Brauner
- Hubert Wells
- Fernando Celis
- Reggie Reynolds
- Amy Schulz
- Dogs:
- Scott Rowe
- Sam Torrisi
- Kirsten Feddersen
- Linda Graham
- Peta Clarke
- Lindy Coote
- Handlers
- Dogs:
- Glen Jenkins
- Annette Gray
- Dillon Yeats
- Hamish McDonald
- Dimity Bjork
- Mick Lester
- Suzy Hodge
- Flock Sheep Supervisor
- Bruce Patterson
- Helicopter Pilot
- John Barneo
- Cast
- Magda Szubanski
- Mrs Esme Hoggett
- James Cromwell
- Farmer Hoggett
- Mickey Rooney
- Fugly Floom
- Mary Stein
- landlady
- Paul Livingston
- hot headed chef
- Babs McMillan
- matriarch
- Matthew Parkinson
- nervous waiter
- Julie Godfrey
- suspicious neighbour
- Kim Story
- judge
- Richard Carter
- Simon Westaway
- detectives
- Margaret Christensen
- haughty woman
- Janet Foye
- Pamela Hawken
- Mrs Hoggett's friends
- Basil Clarke
- doctor
- Cecilia Yates
- flight attendant
- Damian Monk
- Terrell Dixon
- customs guards
- Gabby Millgate
- female officer
- Anthony Phelan
- security guard
- Van Epperson
- night cleaner
- Mark Gerber
- Ken Radley
- motorcycle cops
- John Samaha
- van cop
- Paul Moxey
- Gareth Clydesdale
- tough guys
- Ken Johnson
- court stenographer
- Jennifer Kent
- lab lady
- Richard Huggett
- cop
- Ric Herbert
- David Allsberry
- Michael Boxer
- Steve Martin
- Hubert Wells
- John Walton
- raiders
- Gandhi MacIntyre
- Christian Manon
- lab technicians
- Sacha Horler
- night nurse
- John Upton
- sick boy
- Peter Callan
- hospital doctor
- Dean Nottle
- doctor in tails
- Paul Maybury
- hospital orderly
- Saskia Campbell
- woman in billowing gown
- Kristoffer Greaves
- chef
- Dominic Condon
- kitchen hand
- Elizabeth Allen
- Lady Zammitt
- Voice Cast
- E.G. Daily
- Babe
- Danny Mann
- Ferdinand
- Glenne Headly
- Zootie
- Steven Wright
- Bob
- James Cosmo
- Thelonius
- Nathan Kress
- Myles Jeffrey
- Easy
- Stanley Ralph Ross
- the pitbull/the Dobermann
- Russi Taylor
- the pink poodle
- Adam Goldberg
- Flealick
- Eddie Barth
- Nigel/Alan
- Bill Capizzi
- the sniffer dog
- Miriam Margolyes
- Fly
- Hugo Weaving
- Rex
- Katie Leigh
- kitten
- Evelyn Krape
- old ewe/alley cats
- Charles Bartlett
- cow
- Michael Edward-Stevens
- horse
- Al Mancini
- Larry Moss
- feisty fishes
- Jim Cummings
- pelican
- Danny Mann
- Tug
- Russi Taylor
- choir cat
- Nathan Kress
- tough pup
- Lisa Baily
- Blayn Barbosa
- Victor Brandt
- Jeannie Elias
- Pippa Grandison
- J.D. Hall
- Mark Hammond
- Wendy Kamenoff
- Scotty Leavenworth
- Danny Mann
- Julie Oppenheimer
- Deborah Packer
- Roger Rose
- Carly Schroeder
- Joseph Sicari
- Aaron Spann
- Drew Lexi Thomas
- Naomi Watts
- Barbara Harris
- The Looping Group
- additional characters
- Leslie Andrews
- Christine Douglas
- Jenny Duck-Chong
- Daryn Elston-Smith
- Michael Halliwell
- Gordon Holleman
- Tyrone Landau
- Catherine Lukin
- Susan Reppion-Brooke
- Kate Swadling
- Vicki Watson
- Brett Weymark
- Mara Kiek
- Jane Birmingham
- Stuart Davis
Joanne Maunsell- singing animals
- Patrick Comerford
- Richard Coombs
- Barnaby Harrison
- Phill Woodfine
- animatronic performers
- Roscoe Lee Browne
- narrator
- Certificate
- U
- Distributor
- United International Pictures (UK) Ltd
- 8,605 feet
- 95 minutes 37 seconds
- Dolby digital/SDDS/Digital DTS sound
- In Colour