Babe: Pig in the City (1998)

60% of critics liked it
(58 reviews)
44% of users liked it
(62,447 ratings)

The 1995 Academy award-winning film Babe was Australian-made and featured the latest in talking animal anima-tronics. It told the heart-warming story of a sheepherding pig named Babe and his rise to community fame. The film was a tremendous hit, both financially and critically. Babe: Pig in the City… More The 1995 Academy award-winning film Babe was Australian-made and featured the latest in talking animal anima-tronics. It told the heart-warming story of a sheepherding pig named Babe and his rise to community fame. The film was a tremendous hit, both financially and critically. Babe: Pig in the City is the higher budgeted American-made sequel that picks up where the original left off. It was directed by George Miller (Mad Max trilogy) who produced the original Babe film, and received a lot of criticism for being much darker than the original. The story owes more to George Orwell's Animal Farm or Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist than the original film. Having triumphed at the National Sheepdog trials, Babe returns home a hero. But after farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) suffers from a farming accident, Mrs. Hoggett, a naive portly woman, is left to work the ranch alone. It's not long before the bank comes knocking. Desperate to save her farm from foreclosure, she accepts an offer for Babe to perform his sheepherding abilities at an overseas state fair. Babe, Mrs. Hoggett, Ferdinand the duck, and the singing mice travel across the ocean to a surreal metropolis, where they suddenly become stranded and separated. Soon Babe is performing with circus apes, being chased by wild strays (sounding a lot like Marlon Brando in The Godfather), and making a new wheelchair-bound canine friend (voiced by Adam Goldberg). He also is anointed leader of the animal community. What Babe lacks in street smarts he makes up for in honest goodness as he teaches audiences yet again that "an unprejudiced heart can mend a broken world." ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: George Miller
Written By: Dick-King Smith, George Miller, Judy Morris, Mark Lamprell
Genres: Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 25, 1998 Wide
On DVD: May 4, 1999
Studio: Universal Studios

Critic Reviews

Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
It's George Miller's masterpiece, maybe even the best commercial film of 1998.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
More magical than the original!
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Darker than the original, not for very young kids.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
This is the stuff of Dickens, told on the scale of Blade Runner and Brazil, with the madcap spirit of The Great Muppet Caper.
Collin Souter, eFilmCritic.com
An amazing accomplishment. George Miller brings the same approach to this sequel as he did with the Mad Max trilogy: Don't re-make, re-invent. A work of genius.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
...Paints a bleak picture of humanity. Not to mention, shall we say, animality.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
Despite its G-rating, the movie includes numerous scenes of animals in peril, including a pit bull that nearly hangs himself, a crippled dog that gets thrown into a wall and a goldfish that almost suffocates... Happy holidays, kids!

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Coxxie M

if i didnt wanna see Babe1, why would i wanna see pig (21 year-old Miley Cyrus) in the city?
Lucas M

Not so good as the first film, Babe: Pig in the City, presents some dark scenes that gonna scare the lovers for the sweetness of the previous picture and could deviate the children of this sequence, but could too interest an audience that like of more dark material. Despite been a… More
Not so good as the first film, Babe: Pig in the City, presents some dark scenes that gonna scare the lovers for the sweetness of the previous picture and could deviate the children of this sequence, but could too interest an audience that like of more dark material. Despite been a good film, Pig in the City, is not a recommendable movie.
Alexander D

This definitely wasn't as good as the original BABE movie.
Ken S

A wonderful dark childrens fairy tale. This was obviously a huge art direction influence on the Harry Potter films.
Candy R

Babe is back and he encounters new friends in the city such as dogs and chimps.
Film C

if you liked the first one BABE THEN U WILL ENJOY THIS ONE IT IS GD SWEET
Curtis L

better than you might think.
Luke B

Charmless sequel which is sllightly darker but mainly a bore. It just doesn't feel like Babe, which is interesting but hurts the film a lot.
Drew S

Yeah, compared to the original, this is just creepy and kind of depressing. Talking animal suicide? Not okay.
Kalel J

This sequel holds a very different tone to that of the original, some good and some bad. The bond that was conveyed so well between Babe and farmer Hoggett is completely lost as we see this sequel revolve more heavily around the animals. A much darker, quirkier film, Babe: Pig in the… More
This sequel holds a very different tone to that of the original, some good and some bad. The bond that was conveyed so well between Babe and farmer Hoggett is completely lost as we see this sequel revolve more heavily around the animals. A much darker, quirkier film, Babe: Pig in the City may dissapoint those expecting more of the light fantasy to continue but will appeal to those that can accept the strange aspects.
Alec B

I still can't believe that a G rated kids film has; a dog hanging by it's neck from a bridge then nearly drowns, use of the word 'pussy' as an insult, a fire started in a children's hospital, a clown that entertains sick kids die, a puppy telling how its… More
I still can't believe that a G rated kids film has; a dog hanging by it's neck from a bridge then nearly drowns, use of the word 'pussy' as an insult, a fire started in a children's hospital, a clown that entertains sick kids die, a puppy telling how its previous owners put him in a bag and threw him in a river, a strip search, a handicapped dog getting dragged behind a truck, then twitching on the ground after he crashes, and an adorable baby monkey that nearly plunges to his death. But all that makes it just so awesome. The best children's movies are the ones that traumatize, because you just remember them so well later in life. As for looking at the film on a purely artistic basis, I thinks its just as charming as the original. The narrator describing Babe's world as being just "slightly to the left of the 20th century" is just wonderful.
Yinalí R

Classic!
R?o?d?r?i?g?o? R

It's better the previous.
Richard F

Did I miss something? When Gene Siskel (and many other respectable critics) called this the best movie of the year, did they not see "Life Is Beautiful"? How about "Rounders"? Or maybe "American History X"? Maybe they meant the best family movie of the… More
Did I miss something? When Gene Siskel (and many other respectable critics) called this the best movie of the year, did they not see "Life Is Beautiful"? How about "Rounders"? Or maybe "American History X"? Maybe they meant the best family movie of the year. No, that can't be it either, since "Mulan" came out this year. I guess I'm really confused, since this movie isn't even recommendable. Where is this city? It appears to be Venice, with the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, the Space Needle, and other cities' icons. Is that supposed to be funny, like "where is Springfield in 'The Simpsons'? Maybe if they would have named this film "Babe: Pig in a Parallel Universe", it might have worked. It would have also been consistent with the fact that people don't act in any realistic way throughout the film. I thought maybe the farmer's wife's plane landed on the same island as the setting of "Lost". That might have made more sense. I'm not sure whether to tout the creativity of the plot or condemn its outlandish premise. This film does have a good message to convey, but it expects us to root for villains, thieves, kidnappers, liars, and rule-breakers (like talking circus monkeys) while pawning off our spite on some secondary characters. The director is obviously talented, but he's working with writing that is uneven and an ending that manages be to predictable yet nonsensical at the same time. That's a pretty amazing feat. All in all, this movie's prequel, "Babe", is a much stronger film. As for this one, it won't do, it won't do.
alan j

competent sequel to the smash hit..this movie has more humor and action
Ira Z

This movie's okey. But it can no longer evoke the "magic" that the first Babe movie had already effectively laid claim to.
Eduardo C

Enchanting, magical, wondrous, far superior to the original. This film is incredibly involving, but also surprisingly dark. There are two or three sequences in particular where the danger is so evident, seems so real, that I was surprised at my level of concern. This speaks both to… More
Enchanting, magical, wondrous, far superior to the original. This film is incredibly involving, but also surprisingly dark. There are two or three sequences in particular where the danger is so evident, seems so real, that I was surprised at my level of concern. This speaks both to how seriously the film takes itself, and how well rounded and empathetic the characters are. This is a true family film, evidence that a film made for children in no way has to condescend to them. The movie is, of course, visually stunning. A city, an ammalgamation of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco (and others) is a sight to behold in and of itself, but never diverts attention, is never bigger than the picture. The soundtrack and performances are top notch as is the story. Few films can truly claim to be 'family pictures', films appropriate for ALL ages which are also intelligent and well made, but George Miller has made two. This is truly a wonderful film.