Babe: A Pig in the City is a family movie that anthropomorphizes animals, allowing the viewers to be drawn into the events of the story. Anthropomorphizing animals enables people watching the movie to better relate to the characters. It provides a connection that movies such as Kestrel’s Eye fail to create. Despite it being based for the family setting, there are underlying environmental tones throughout its duration.
Babe refuses to let the species barrier keep him from showing true compassion to other animals, whether they are dogs, cats, chimps, orangoutangs, or humans. He cries out that cats and dogs should get along and he provides food for all of his fellow animals in equal amounts. When he is being attacked by a vicious dog he asks, “Why?”. Even after barely escaping with his life he saves the same dog. Such actions shatter the species barrier for Babe. This brings up the question of whether the species barrier is anymore solid or less irrational than the one for Babe. Midgley would say there is no difference, and in both cases a species barrier is unwarranted.
The director portrays almost every human in the movie as crazy or radical. The only people who are shown as normal are the ones who have pig like characteristics (pig noses). Even the lady who keeps the house for animals is slightly crazy. I think this portrayal is trying to show that Babe’s nondiscriminatory actions are the moral ways to live. But even this portrayal adds some comedy which is nice for the family setting.
Overall this movie was very entertaining and much less disturbing than Plague Dogs. It had a protagonist with redeemable qualities and a story that kept you interested. It is great for both the family setting and for those who want to look deeper into the subtle themes that underlie this movie.
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