Random Movie Review - Babe: Pig in the City

Now when the first Babe film came out, I loved it a lot which made it possible for me to call it an all time favourite film of mine. But even though it was a highly acclaimed children's film that was very light hearted, I never thought that it could get a sequel because its just one of those films where it doesn't need a sequel. But because this is Hollywood we're talking about, a sequel was made anyway and I have to say, I have never seen a sequel quite like this. For a film that was a typical children's film, this is very different as it takes on more mature matters and has a much more darker and twisted tone. So let's take a look at this film and see just why it flopped so badly:

So beginning directly after the first film, Babe (voiced by Elizabeth Daily in this film who replaces Christine Cavanaugh) and his master the farmer known as Arthur Hoggett (reprised by well known and respected actor, James Cromwell) return to the farm where a parade is done in their honour as Babe won the sheepdog contest in the last film. Some time goes by and Babe causes his master to fall into a well forcing him to go to hospital. The farm is getting no money and things get worse when the bank come by to say that if Arthur and his wife Esme (reprised by Magda Szubanski) don't pay their rent in time, they will be evicted. But when Esme comes across a letter from one of Babe's fans telling her of a sheepdog contest in a far away place that if won, the winner gets a lot of money, she decides to put herself and Babe forward and they travel to the fictional city of Metropolis. But things start to get a bit bizarre from then on out.

Now I was one of a handful that saw this at the cinema when this came out and it is quite a difficult film to sit through, especially as there is a scene where the animals are taken into custody by animal control which made my sister cry (though to be fair, its never nice to see animals mistreated). In all honesty, a sequel should've never been made as it wasn't needed and no one asked for it. The film I just feel is such an over dramatic change of pace compared to the predecessor which was light hearted, family friendly and just fun to watch. This on the other hand, way too dark and twisted, very, very mature and not for kids at all. I think at the age my sister is at now, she might enjoy it more as it is another one of those films that despite flopping at the box office, has got itself a cult following, meaning that there are some people who enjoy it despite the changes that make this film not like its predessor at all. For me, its good in the sense that the film makers wanted to take things to a different direction and I think some people, despite the problems and the changes it may have, will still enjoy it for what it is, but trust me when I say this that no child will enjoy this as much as the first film as it will make them cry and possibly scarred for life just by the material the film brings to the table. 7/10