Babe: Pig in the City (1998)

Directed by George Miller. Starring Magda Szubanski, Mary Stein, James Cromwell, (voices) E.G. Daily, Glenne Headly, Steven Wright, James Cosmo, Roscoe Lee Brown, Danny Mann, Stanley Ralph Ross, Myles Jeffrey, Adam Goldberg, Russi Taylor. [G]

Follow-up to the surprise hit finds lovable talking pig Babe (voiced this time by Daily) being taken on a trip by Esme Hoggett (Szubanski) after “the boss” (Cromwell) suffers an injury at the bottom of a well, ending up in a hotel for animals and embarking on a new adventure in the big city. Less gentle and more frantic than its predecessor, there’s still no shortage of charm and imagination, and the technical details have earned an upgrade—not only do the talking-animal effects look better this time out, but the film supplies a visually dazzling playground for the furry fellows to inhabit, a fantastical city stuffed with world landmarks, a network of Venetian-style ground level canals, and architecture that wouldn’t look out of place in Tim Burton’s Gotham City. Miller, who co-wrote and co-produced both Babe films, takes over directing duties and brings a lot of the same offbeat and kinetic energy to this venture as he did with The Witches of Eastwick and the Mad Max pictures. Downright enchanting at times and a lot of fun throughout; however, despite the G-rating, it may be too dark and intense for the littlest ones. Mickey Rooney makes a brief appearance as a clown called Fugly.

81/100