8. Babe: Pig in the City

Consider all that went into the production of Babe: Pig in the City: a cast of 799 animals, with only a few humans acting as supporting characters; the titular City built from scratch to accommodate the action for its four-legged cast; more special effects shots per minute than any other movie made up to that time (1998); working long hours every day and only coming away with just a few seconds of usable footage; some of the most complex chase sequences and action set-pieces ever conceived, all involving animals; working from a screenplay in which a ˝ hour goes by with hardly any human characters on screen.

Perhaps the most impressive moment occurs when the Pit Bull Terrier scares the life out of Babe in a chase scene that, when you stop and think about it, is even more impressive than anything in Matrix: Reloaded or Terminator 3. (I would love to have been in the room during some of the storyboard sessions.) Later, when Babe helps him out, the tough mutt offers Babe his spiked collar as a sign of honor. Because of the Pit Bull’s bloodline, anybody else would have let him suffer. “We were once warriors,” he says.  “A murderous shadow lies hard across my soul.”   

Poetic dialogue such as that sounds beautiful when coupled with the visual splendor on display in every frame. Part Ringling Brothers showmanship, part Terry Gilliam dreamscape/nightmare and part Jean-Pierre Juenet whimsy, Babe: Pig in the City is clearly the work of a director who refuses to rest on his laurels. George Miller, who co-wrote and produced the original, bravely stepped into the director’s chair for this outing.  He uses the same formula for this sequel that he used to a great degree with the Mad Max trilogy: don’t repeat, re-invent. Unlike the original, Babe: Pig in the City has a dark edge to it, a genuine sense of the bizarre and, like the original, a love and respect for its fully rounded characters, animal or otherwise. It even gets referenced in film schools. (Collin Souter)