Nick Picks | Is Babe: Pig in the City Good or Bad?

You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody who didn’t adore Babe back in 1995. People loved this story of a pig destined for greatness so much that it even scored a Best Picture nomination. It was a visual marvel. It was a timeless story. It was just an all-around perfect film. Where everybody can agree that the original Babe is a classic, people have always been divided on its sequel, Babe: Pig in the City.

The follow-up to Babe received mixed reviews from critics upon release and bombed at the box office. Mainstream audiences for the most part just couldn’t get into Babe: Pig in the City and, I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t a huge fan of the film when it came out either. I didn’t necessarily hate or even dislike the film. I simply had no idea what to make of this incredibly strange movie that felt bizarrely different from the original. Because of this, it was much easier to side with those who viewed it as just another inferior sequel.

There were two individuals that championed Babe: Pig in the City, however: Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Siskel hailed the film as the best of 1998. Ebert had the film at number seven on his annual top ten list, saying that it was even better than the original. These two didn’t just enjoy Babe: Pig in the City. They viewed as the highest form of filmmaking possible. Did America’s most beloved film critics screw the pig with their reviews or did they see something that the rest of us weren’t?

Siskel and Ebert recognized many movies that were bound to grow in popularity over time like Ed Wood, My Dinner with Andre, and Hoop Dreams. Babe: Pig in the City is another picture that has been developing a cult following. For every person who likes the film, though, there’s still another person who looks down upon it unfavorably. With the original Babe celebrating its 20^th anniversary and George Miller recently directing the triumphant Mad Max: Fury Road, now’s as good a time as any to ask this question: Is Babe: Pig in the City good or bad?

First, let’s talk about the one aspect that’s undeniably magnificent: the production values. The first Babe created a magical world of its own and the sequel expands upon that world with one of the most extraordinary cityscapes you’ll ever see on film. Combining landmarks such as the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, and the Golden Gate Bridge into one hodgepodge, Babe: Pig in the City submerges us into a world that appears so fantastic and so real at the same time.

There are also more animal characters this time around, including a choir of cats, a pack of dogs, and troop of chimpanzees. Utilizing a perfect balance of real animals, animatronics, and CGI, it never feels like you’re watching special effects. You’re completely convinced by these characters without a second of doubt. Babe: Pig in the City clearly wasn’t just another half-assed, effortless sequel like Home Alone 3 or Grease 2. A ton of imagination, sophistication, and passion was put into the project with something visually engaging going on in every shot.

Where the film is certainly a visual triumph, what makes or breaks Babe: Pig in the City for many is the drastic shift in tone. The original Babe was bright, cheerful, and subtle. The sequel is surprisingly dark, brooding, and over-the-top. Rather than getting a family film, audiences got something that seemed to be aimed more at adults. That being said, I actually find myself admiring Babe: Pig in the City now that I’m older. I not only appreciate it on a technical level, but for its whimsy, atmosphere, and grim parallels to significant events in human history like the holocaust. At the same time, though, there are still a lot of odd and even uncomfortable moments that leave me perplexed even to this day. What exactly was the deal with Mickey Rooney’s character anyway?

In some respects, Babe: Pig in the City is even more ambitious than its predecessor, but the original is much easier to love. It isn’t shocking that there’s no clear consensus for such an unusual film. If there was ever a movie that defined “acquired taste,” this is it. As for whether you’d like the film or not, that really depends on what you think of George Miller’s body of work. A little bit of every other movie Miller has contributed to is present in Babe: Pig in the City, with the offbeat humor of Happy Feet and the insanity of the Mad Max films. The charm of the original Babe is also still there, as different as this sequel may be. Whether you think its good or bad, at least we can all agree its better than Gordy.