Well apparently it must've been this screening that made Universal push the premiere back. I've heard some fast and furious editing is going on as we type and read. It would be a bummer to cut out all the violence to cute animals, I've been a fan of that stuff since A FISH CALLED WANDA. Here's the review...
I caught a test screening of Babe: Pig in the City this past Sunday. I'd have to say that, although it was better than I expected, it felt very different from the original. Not worse, just different. I loved the first "Babe" because I went into it expecting your typical kiddie fare and discovered a quirky, magical fable overflowing with goofy charm. Pig in the City sacrifices some of the first film's pastoral quaintness for a manic energy that may or may not appeal to fans of the original.
The sequel takes Babe out of the farm and into the Big City, and some of the best scenes in the film deal with Mrs. Hoggett and Babe making their way through this bewildering urban maze. The Big City as seen through their eyes is delightfully loopy and surreal, like Disneyland as envisioned by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The film is populated by a bizarre cast of characters, including a cameo by Mickey Rooney as possibly the filthiest cinematic clown since Shakes the Clown. Mad Max fans will also appreciate what I felt were George Miller's subtle nods to those films, especially the "Thunderdome" style finale.
Without giving away too much of the story, let me just say that "Babe 2" faithfully follows the unwritten law of sequels, in that it is much darker in tone than the original (e.g. Back to the Future 2, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). There are moments so unsettling that I would hesitate to bring a very young or sensitive child to this film. It definitely earns its PG rating. There are scenes involving dogs being choked, drowned, and dragged that made me wince, and one sequence depicting a bunch of animals being roughly rounded up in a raid that went on just a bit too long for comfort. I have a feeling that some of these scenes will be trimmed or excised by the time the film is released.
My only real peeves were that the story is somewhat formulaic and overly familiar at times (there's a lengthy bit with Babe falling in with a family of crooked chimps that felt cliched and overlong), and there were some minor problems with pacing that I hope will be resolved before the film's final release. With a few minor exceptions (Babe looks a little too robotic in a few scenes), the special effects are stunning -- considering the number of talking animals in this film, it's amazing that they are all made to look realistic and convincing, even in scenes where a dozen animals are talking and running around at the same time.
Overall, this is a fun and lively film that throws Babe into one agonizing situation after another, and provides some laughs and the required heartwarming, "aww, ain't that cute!!" moments along the way. Like the first film, it's a story of one pig's redemption and triumph, told with imagination and heart. It's a story that can be enjoyed by any child or adult with a love of offbeat humor or cute animals. If you wanted to see more of Babe on the farm, or more of James Cromwell (who only has a few minutes of screen time in this installment), you might be disappointed, but as one who greatly enjoyed the first Babe film, I felt this was a worthwhile successor.
Regards,
Dark Penguin
