An adaptation of Dick King-Smith’s 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, Babe is set in Australia, where a stout little pig (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) is orphaned after his mother is taken to the slaughterhouse. While stoic farmer Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell) doesn’t raise pigs, he takes Babe home to live with his menagerie of animals.
Babe is taken in by a female border collie named Fly (Miriam Margolyes), who raises him as if he were one of her puppies. While life on the farm is largely peaceful, it’s populated by several animals experiencing identity crises. There’s a duck named Ferdinand (Danny Mann), who believes he’s a rooster, Fly’s husband Rex (Hugo Weaving) who has little interest in the sheep he’s expected to herd, and Duchess (Russi Taylor), the Hoggetts’ cat, who acts like spoiled princess she’s been taught to be.
Adapting to farm life, Babe discovers a natural ability to herd sheep, catching the eye of Arthur who’s considering using him in the annual sheepherding contest. The entry form just asks for the entrant’s name, not specifying the species.
While I don’t often care for talking animal stories, Babe is a wonderful family film. A few moments of schmaltz aside (the squeaking mice are a bit much), the film works because, while the animals talk like humans and share some of their worries, they are most certainly animals.
Beautifully narrated by veteran actor Roscoe Lee Browne, Babe was sleeper hit, grossing $254.1 million worldwide at the box office. Babe scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, a Best Director nomination for Chris Noonan, and a Best Actor nomination for James Cromwell, who had been kicking around Hollywood for more than two decades (his parents were director John Cromwell and actress Kay Johnson) before Babe and his very different role in L.A. Confidential (1997) turned him into a much in demand character actor.
Kino Lorber has provided a brand-new master from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, with Dolby Vision HDR, the results are very nice. The image is sharper than on previous releases and detail is vivid throughout. A nice level of grain gives things a filmic look. Blacks are inky and contrast is pleasing. Unfortunately, during that later part of the film, several specks of damage and slight discoloration are evident. These issues aside, this is still the best home release of Babe to date.
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack suits the film well. Rendering the animal voices clearly, the track has great clarity throughout. Nigel Westlake’s score is pleasantly mixed, never interfering with background noises or voices. Dialogue is clean, clear, and concise throughout.
English SDH subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- NEW!! Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff
- Audio Commentary by Writer/Producer George Miller
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- NEW!! Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff
- Audio Commentary by Writer/Producer George Miller
- That’ll do, Pig: NEW Interview with James Cromwell (24:54)
- Making Pigs Talk: NEW Interview with George Miller (30:36)
- The Making of Babe: Featurette (3:56)
- George Miller on Babe: Featurette (6:19)
- Theatrical Trailer