Saturday, July 29, 2023

Babe 2: Pig in the City (1998)

  This week's Movie Club pick is, uh... a choice.  

After his rousing success as a sheepherding pig, Babe (E.G. Daily) becomes a local celebrity, which is great because the farm is in dire straits and in danger of being repossessed by the bank after the farmer (James Cromwell) suffers an accident and can't keep up payments.  His wife (Magda Szubanski) decides to take Babe to a State Fair for a generous appearance fee, but things go wrong at the airport thanks to an overzealous sniffer dog and Mrs. Hoggett misses their connecting flight.  Stranded in apparently every city in the known world, she seeks refuge at a hotel that clandestinely accepts pets.  Babe falls in with a traveling group of apes for a series of misfortunes, while Mrs. Hoggett is arrested for inciting a riot and assaulting the police.  His generous nature and compassion sees them through, no matter the hardship.

This is a bizarre film to watch as an adult.  I vaguely remember it from when I was a teenager and I know we had it on VHS because my younger brother was a big fan of the first one.  I can't muster any particular feeling about it from then, and having just watched it, I can't really feel anything now either.  Mostly I'm just kind of amazed it was made in the first place, but especially that it was made by George "Mad Max" Miller.  You can see it if you're looking, in the leather fetish motorcycle cops, the mutant-esque pig people, the saturated colors and stark black-and-whites.  He also wrote Happy Feet, for what it's worth.  The man contains multitudes.  

It's totally fine for kids, although the original is probably better.  It's currently streaming on Starz which I get through Amazon Prime.

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