"Pig Noir"
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What You Need To Know:
While the first movie was winsome and heartwarming, the city in this movie is portrayed in stark contrast to the country. Trouble, danger and world-weary people and animals lurk at every turn. Every terror is extenuated and revealed in all its gritty reality. This BABE sequel is definitely pig noir. It is scary, intense and very strange. It is certain to scare away many young fans and their parents. Those parents may wish to take their little ones to the G-rated A BUGS’S LIFE or wait for the PRINCE OF EGYPT
Content:
(B, Pa, L, VV, A, D, M) Moral worldview of pig saving his farm, his own attacker & animal friends with many dark elements; no obscenities & one “Oh, God”; extensive, dark action & violence including vicious dog chases pig, dog nearly drowns, humans argue, man falls down a well & passes objects on the way down, woman strip search implied, animals fall from heights, woman sprays other people with fire extinguisher, people shoot at duck, big bucket of glue lands on woman, dog hangs by chain, man falls into cake, animals destroy dinner, dog flung by rushing car, dropping animals, scary animal capturing scene, fish nearly chokes to death from being out of water, & other dark disturbing images; no sex but pink poodle is portrayed as a sort of prostitute & she leaves her puppies later for a supposed life again on the street; no nudity but women in bikinis & woman’s dress splits open revealing underwear; human alcohol use at party; humans smoke at party; and, several weird, disturbing images.
More Detail:
If Tim Burton (who made the first BATMAN movie and PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE) ever got together with Terry Gilliam (who made BRAZIL, THE FISHER KING and 12 MONKEYS) to make a family movie about a talking pig, BABE: PIG IN THE CITY just might have been the result. Dark, sometimes very gritty, altogether odd, yet riveting, and featuring a benevolent, self-sacrificing pig, this movie is technically on par with the first, but is certain to scare away many young fans and their parents.
This movie begins where the first left off. Babe has won the shepherding contest with Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) and is receiving great acclaim from the community. One day when Babe is helping Farmer Hoggett fix a well, he makes both of them fall into the well. Farmer Hoggett is hurt and can’t work his land. Try as she might, his wife can’t handle the workload. Dark-suited members from the bank say they may have to foreclose the farm if something isn’t done. The answer comes in the form of a letter. City folk will pay big money to see Babe herd sheep. So, Mrs. Hoggett packs up Babe and they head for an unnamed big city, which is an amalgamation of New York, LA, San Francisco, Sydney, France, and Venice.
In the big city, Mrs. Hoggett is interrogated by security. They think she may be hiding illegal substances. Furthermore, she can’t find a hotel that will except her and her pig. One hotel, however, eventually admits her and Babe. When Mrs. Hoggett goes out for food, both police and a biker gang who think she is calling them pigs confront her. In a slapstick event, she gets covered in glue and taken to the police station. Meanwhile, Babe is getting hungry and temporary gets involved in a clown and monkey act as a new member. When paramedics haul off the clown (in a cameo role by Mickey Rooney) in a near death condition, Babe, the monkeys, many cats, and a few dogs are left to fend for themselves.
The monkeys, who are initially very world weary and a little crafty, use Babe to divert some vicious dogs, while they steal food. One dog, a pit bull terrier, chases Babe and ends up nearly drowning himself in the canal. However, Babe rescues his would-be assailant and makes the dog a close ally. The dog says, “Whatever the pig says, goes.”
Meanwhile, the neighbors suspect the hotel is filled with animals and calls animal control to round up the critters. Most are caught, but Babe, his duck friend Ferdinand and a dog named Fleaflick, who uses a wheelchair, come to the rescue. Eventually, Mrs. Hoggett escapes the police, finds Babe and finds a home for all of Babe’s new friends.
While the first movie was winsome and heartwarming, the city in this movie is portrayed in stark contrast to the country. Trouble, danger and world-weary people and animals lurk at every turn. While the above description may suggest silly slapstick with goofy sound effects or funny music in the background, every terror is extenuated and revealed to be gritty reality. This is indeed pig noir. The monkeys are initially thieves. The monkeys’ owner is a seedy character, who initially steals Babe. Most of the dogs are vicious mobsters. One of the dogs is an implied prostitute. The near-drowning scene is very terrifying, as is a moment when Fleaflick is thrown by a speeding truck and gasps for life, even going to doggie-heaven for a moment.
Those who saw the first movie will recognize the creative and unusual photography techniques which makes the animals talk. This amazing feat is duplicated in BABE: PIG IN THE CITY. Likewise, the city art direction suggests urban chaos like BLADE RUNNER, or METROPOLIS, just as the country suggested perfect idealism and nostalgia in the first movie.
Directed by the same man who directed the Mel Gibson futuristic war film, ROAD WARRIOR, and the first BABE, BABE: PIG IN THE CITY is certainly not friendly, family fare. It is scary, intense and very strange. Though technically entrancing, and ultimately winsome, 90% of the movie is hard to watch, even for adults. Some parents took their little ones out of the screening. Bearable for some older children and adults, this movie is not for little children, and caution should be exercised. Parents may wish to take their little ones to the G-rated A BUG’S LIFE or wait for the Biblical epic, PRINCE OF EGYPT.
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