| |
|
Yar, you be here: Babe > Customer Reviews Babe Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 30 Reviews)Inspired, in every respect.
Brilliant film-making comes in many guises, and "Babe" clearly and abundantly falls within this rarified realm. With a compelling, fanciful storyline, peerless acting and seamless animation/real-life imagery, and the quiet assurance of James Cromwell's Academy award nominated portrayal of the taciturn, yet soulful Farmer Hoggett, this movie consistent manages to appeal to the viewer's heart, mind, funny bone and soul. From the uproarious (a wacky goose who faces possible slaughter for a Yuletide meal proclaiming "Christmas is carnage...Christmas is CARNAGE!") to gentle, real love between a man and his pig (not that kind of love, you perverts!), as Farmer Hoggett gently admonishes his porcine sheepdog, "That'll do, pig. That'll do", as they take the grand prize at the Sheep Hearding contest at the film's heart-wrentching conclusion, this movie belongs in the pantheon of great and original films. [As to the reviewer here who decried the film as "cruel", I feel compelled to reply that the only cruelty was your failure to let your children see the movie through to its beautiful conclusion. Death is a part of life -- heck, Walt Disney whacked Bambi's mom in what many consider the definitive children's movie -- and this film deals with death responsibly and gently. Likewise, and to the best of my recollection, none of the central characters meets its demise, though I would concede that perhaps the implied death (very off screen) of Babe's mother may be upsetting to children under the age of 5 or 6.] Beware, sensitive folks and youngsters
Bambi/Old Yeller/Dumbo tearjerkers repel me. We bought Babe after a decade of avoiding it, but the previews were so cute and there wasn't a hint of darkness, puppies and piggy laughing together! A crowing duck! Babe starts with a scene in which his mother is carted off to the slaughterhouse in a MEAT truck. Sheesh. On the farm we see bloody hatchets and meat hooks, and dogs ravaging and killing an old sheep named Maa that Babe has become attached to, and there is much discussion of animals headed for the dining room table. The second movie Babe, a Pig in the City, centers on a group of dogs and cats abandoned by their owners to starve in the streets, and their subsequent capture and imprisonment at a medical lab run by jack-booted thugs. Ham-fisted? Yes. If you buy this for the kids to watch after Christmas dinner, don't serve duck or ham, please. A Tasteful, Nice Movie You'll Like and Your Child Will Learn From
I saw Babe figuring it would be cute, not knowing much else about it. It is a very nice movie, not insulting but also--interestingly--not depressing, in its sadder parts (Maa the Sheep namely). The border collies are so much like my own that I was immediately entranced. (They live, so don't fear being depressed, dog lovers!) The movie is well filmed and very tasteful, old fashioned but somehow it never in any way beats you over the head. Babe is a cute pig and a symbol of ironic good luck if there ever was one. Without gloom, the movie bluntly addresses the fact that he might just as easily have wound up on a human plate. The plot seems a bit simple and does leave a huge opening for a sequel, in that we don't see Babe grow older or have a major life change. James Cromwell is always a fine actor and his near-silent Farmer Hoggett neither oozes compassion nor meanness. A really nice touch is the subplot about the male border collie's past, how he lost most of his hearing. We also get to see a busload of baby border collies frolic and question Babe. It took me back to two litters of Labs I raised in my twenties. The movie may make you cry but it never lingers on its sadder themes and ends up leaving a satisfying feeling...though it seems rather short. The ending is obvious but only suffers from an abrupt "The End." I haven't seen the sequel but probably will, especially if it has the collies and Cromwell in it! You want to know what became of the characters. Don't be surprised if you give up pork after this movie. Whoever devised the tale seems to drive home the point that pigs are far too intelligent and feeling to be food. Personally, I can't eat pork, and this movie reminds me of why!
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
© 2004 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey! Hosting Provided by Credit Card Debt |
