Babe - This little piggy is the cutest little sheepdog. Could he be your favourite animal in a film? (CineTV Twitter Prompt).
You know, I wonder how many people have heard of this film. It was an Australian movie, and is an oldie, going back to 1995. For people my age, we would have seen this film over and over again. It is a family favourite, and for good reason.
A talking pig!
- But more than that, it was a talking pig who taught us that we could be whatever or whoever we wanted to be. It was an empowering message and one that all young people need to hear.
Go figure that a pig could actually make an impact in Hollywood though, the film won:
- Academy Award - 1996 Best Visual Effects.
- Golden Globe - 1996 Best Motion Picture - Comedy of Musical.
Have a look at the trailer to get yourself back into a 90s mindset:
At the start of the film, Farmer Hoggett wins the piglet Babe at a country fair and is faced with the decision: What to do with the pig? The most obvious thought was 'Christmas Dinner', but Farmer Hoggett saves the piglet, by deciding he would show the pig at the fair the following year.
As a consequence of this narrow escape, Babe is taken under the proverbial wing of the mother Border Collie, Fly. She's a lovely and caring paternal figure - but these figures are limited on the farm, where social order is not questioned. The premise of the story is that Babe, a pig, wants to become a sheepdog. The sheepdogs would joke amongst themselves at the absurdity of the situation, and the talk of all the animals in the barnyard was a little bit judgemental. A pig, it was asserted, could not become a sheepdog.
Or could it? Across the course of the film, Babe talks politely to the sheep - politely requesting they comply with his requests. The sheep comply; they don't like how the dogs interact with them and demand them to move. This amicability makes Babe one of the most effect sheepdogs ever. His farmer, Farmer Hoggett even has the idea of putting Babe into a sheep herding competition - and, Babe wins. At the end of his competition run, the farmer looks down at his little porky friend, and speaks the iconic lines, 'That'll do pig, that'll do'.
Here's Babe having a chat to the sheep:
Have a look at the commentators watching over Babe's run, and as the 10s are given out, the crowd go wild. Not only is he my favourite animal (and a nostalgic one), he was clearly one of the audience's favourite too.
Did you know? Film Facts
- The film is full of talking animals, sometimes it is easy to overlook the fact that the humans didn't have much dialogue. Farmer Hoggett, for instance, only had 16 lines!
- Piglets grow really quick, the film makers had to use 48 pigs over the course of the filming to maintain his size. Only 46 made it on screen though.
- Malaysia banned this film, to avoid upsetting their Muslim population.
- Following the release of Babe, global pork product sales dropped significantly.
This post was in response to the following Twitter prompt, but you can find the link here: https://twitter.com/CineTv_io/status/1497859113941979138
For transparency, I love pork and Christmas ham. Tim
