Babe: Pig in the City Movie Review
Babe: Pig in the City Review
"Babe: Pig in the City" Overview

Rating: G
1998
Cast and Crew
Director : George MillerProducer : Bill Miller,George Miller,Doug Mitchell
Screenwiter : George Miller,Judy Morris,Mark Lamprell
Starring : Magda Szubanski,James Cromwell,Mary Stein,Mickey Rooney,Elizabeth Daily,Danny Mann,Glenne Headly,Steven Wright
The problem with sequels is that they try too much to be like the original.
Sure, there are a few exceptions. I can't think of any right off the top of my
head, but rule #665 in The Critic's Bible: there are exceptions to every rule.
Babe, by all accounts, was an intelligent, thought out movie. Babe II: Pig in
the City, tries and tries but can't quiet do it.
Sure, the humor is moderately intelligent and the narration includes things
like a mention of the chaos theory, but when it boils down to it, Babe II was
just like every other sequel: an attempt to carbon copy the original. But,
friends, the great copy machine known as Hollywood is broken, and has never
gotten a repairman, so we are doomed to watch screwed up attempts at copying,
remakes gone wrong, and things screwed up.
Babe II disappoints. It disappoints so much that I'll give you the plot
summary and then leave you be because talking about it makes my relive the
relative boredom of sitting in front of the screen with talking animals on it.
Babe comes back from winning the sheep-herding contest he won last movie and,
when the farmer is injured and the farm goes into debt, Babe has to go to the
city. Of course he's separated from his human and of course he saves the day
for man and animal alike. There's really nothing that's anything but
simplistic about it. It's a movie void with laughs.
Now I promised I'd shut up so I will, but if you see Babe II, don't come to me
complaining about it.
Reviewer: James Brundage



