Babe (1995)
RT Audience Score: 40%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
20 wins & 26 nominations total
The rare family-friendly feature with a heart as big as its special effects budget, Babe offers timeless entertainment for viewers of all ages
Babe is the ultimate underdog story, or should I say underpig? This little guy proves that with hard work and determination, anything is possible. Plus, who knew that a movie about a talking pig could be so heartwarming and hilarious? Babe is a classic that will have you rooting for the little guy (or pig) every step of the way.
Production Company(ies)
Fine Line Features, Capitol Films, Channel Four Films,
Distributor
Universal Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Illawarra Highway, Albion Park, New South Wales, Australia
MPAA / Certificate
G
Year of Release
1995
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SRDTS-Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 34m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 4, 1995 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 23, 2003
Genre(s)
Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring James Cromwell, Christine Cavanaugh, Magda Szubanski, Hugo Weaving, directed by Chris Noonan, written by Dick King-Smith, George Miller, Chris Noonan, produced by Bill Miller, George Miller, Doug Mitchell, fantasy, G, box office performance, $63.6M, reviewed by Jay Boyar, Richard Schickel, Jami Bernard, Gene Siskel, Carrie Rickey, Gary Dretzka, Danielle Solzman, Dennis King, Gary Thompson, Tom Gliatto, David Sterritt, animals, heartwarming, family-friendly, timeless entertainment, pig, sheepdogs, Christmas dinner, herding sheep, social hierarchy, special effects budget, puppetry, voice characterizations, muppetry, cooperation, interspecies love, life lessons, Dick King Smith books, charming, loveable mice, beachy “If I Had Words”
Worldwide gross: $254,134,910
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $499,720,683
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 287
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 54,495,167
US/Canada gross: $63,658,910
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $125,176,325
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 606
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,742,545
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $17,190,989
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 729
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $30,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $58,990,795
Production budget ranking: 689
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $31,766,543
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $408,963,345
ROI to date (est.): 451%
ROI ranking: 288
Magda Szubanski – Mrs. Esme Hoggett
Hugo Weaving – Rex (voice)
Mary Acres – Valda
David Webb – The Vet
Marshall Napier – Chairman of Judges
Director(s)
Chris Noonan
Writer(s)
Dick King-Smith, George Miller, Chris Noonan
Producer(s)
Bill Miller, George Miller, Doug Mitchell
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
20 wins & 26 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (2)
Much to my surprise, I found Babe charming in an eccentric, oddly tough-minded sort of way. And if it isn’t quite good enough to change my mind about the entire critter-chat genre, it is certainly good enough to recommend.
June 16, 2015
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
He’s brave and bright, good-natured and ambitious, naive and vulnerable. All in all, he’s probably the most winsome orphan to appear on the screen since Freddie Bartholomew impersonated David Copperfield 60 years ago.
August 19, 2014
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Thanks to well-trained live animals, clever voice characterizations and a big dash of muppetry from Henson’s Creature Shop, Babe and his barnyard friends not only walk the walk and trot the trot, they also talk the talk.
August 19, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Here’s the summer’s sleeper for kids and their parents, a terrific picture that takes a lot of risks and makes them all pay off in a charming story about a pig who fancies himself a sheepdog — or sheep-pig.
August 19, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Babe is not, strictly speaking, a kid’s movie. It is a preposterously funny fable that strikes a chord with adults, too.
July 30, 2013 | Rating: 4/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
For children, the movie will play like a storybook come to life. Adults, at first, will marvel at the special effects and puppetry. But ultimately, they’ll be won over by the nuances of a story that finds a fresh way to deliver a timeless message.
July 30, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Gary Dretzka
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Over 25 years later, Babe remains one of 1995’s best pictures of the year.
April 11, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
Wise, captivating and thoroughly loony, this artful little farm fable is one of those rare films that works for all age levels.
June 16, 2015 | Rating: 3/4
Dennis King
Tulsa World
The hero of the children’s movie Babe is probably the summer’s most likable character — a pig so appealing he may have your family swearing off hot dogs.
July 30, 2013 | Rating: 4/4
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News
The plot provides a worthy lesson for kids, but it plays out like George Orwell’s Animal Farm as retold by Barney. Kinda weird.
July 30, 2013
Tom Gliatto
People Magazine
It’s a delight from start to finish that will captivate children and melt the heart of even the grumpiest adult.
July 30, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
John Ferguson
Radio Times
The movie is at times raucous, but its spirits couldn’t be higher, and the tale teaches a good-natured lesson about why cooperation is better than coercion.
July 30, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor…
Plot
Gentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet named Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner when Farmer Hoggett decides to show him at the next fair, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he can herd sheep too. But will the other farm animals, including Fly’s jealous husband, Rex, accept a pig who doesn’t conform to the farm’s social hierarchy?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Babe on Fresh Kernels.
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