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Babe (film)

1995 film directed by Chris Noonan
For other uses, see Babe.

Babe is a 1995 Australian-British-American film about a Large White who wants to be a sheepdog.  It is directed by Chris Noonan, based on the book The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith, and written by George Miller and Chris Noonan.

A little pig goes a long way. (taglines)

Narrator

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  • [first lines] This is a tale about an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever. There was a time not so long ago when pigs were afforded no respect, except by other pigs. They lived their whole lives in a cruel and sunless world. In those days, pigs believed that the sooner they grew large and fat, the sooner they would have to be taken to Pig Paradise - a place so wonderful that no pig had ever thought to come back.
  • There are many perfectly nice cats in the world, but every barrel has its bad apples, and so it is well for everyone to pay attention to the old adage: "Beware of the bad cat holding a grudge."
  • [as the crowd cheers for Babe's remarkable performance at the sheepdog trials] And so it was that in all the celebration, in all the hubbub of noise and excitement, there were two figures who stood silent and still. Side by side.

Farmer Arthur H. Hoggett

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  • If I had words to make a day for you
    I'd sing you a morning golden and true
    I would make this day last for all time
    Then fill the night deep in moonshine
  • [repeated line] "That'll do, pig. That'll do".

Ferdinand the Duck

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  • Christmas dinner, yeah. Dinner means death. Death means carnage! Christmas means carnage! Christmas means carnage!
  • The fear's too much for a duck. It-It eats away at the soul! There must be kinder dispositions in far-off, gentler lands.
  • [laughs in joy] The pig did it! The pig did it! The perfect score!

Fly the Border Collie

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  • The Bosses only eat stupid animals like sheep and ducks and chickens.
  • [to Babe] It's only your first try. But you're treating them like equals. They're sheep; they're inferior.

Others

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  • Maa: [about Babe] You see, ladies? A heart of gold.
  • Sheep's password: Baa-ram-ewe. Baa-ram-ewe. To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true. Sheep be true. Baa-ram-ewe.
  • Sheep: [to Babe] Well, I wouldn't call that a bite myself. You got teeth in that floppy mouth of yours or just gums?

Dialogue

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[Three black-and-white puppies named Skip, Trip and Dash stare over a low wall of hay bales]
Skip: What is this, Mom?
Fly the Border Collie: That's a pig.
Trip: They'll eat him if he's big enough.
Dash: Will they eat us since we're big enough?
Fly: Thank heavens, no! The bosses only eat foolish animals like sheep and duck and chickens.
[After Farmer Hoggett left, Fly and her puppies ran into the farm to find a pig sitting on the hay]
Puppy: It does look foolish, Mom.
Fly: Not as foolish as sheep, mind you, but pigs are definitely stupid.
Babe: [clears throat] Excuse me. No, we're not.
Fly: Thank heavens! Who are you?
Babe: I'm a Large White.
Fly: Yes, that's your breed, darling. What's your name?
Babe: I don't know.
Fly: Well, what did your mother call you to warn you apart from your brothers and sisters?
Babe: Our Mom called us all the same.
Fly: And what was that, darling?
Babe: She called us all "Babe."
Horse: [whinnies] Maybe we shouldn't speak too much about, uh, family. [whinnies]
Babe: [weeping] I want my mom. [sobbing]
Fly: [stares at Babe, but goes up to him] There, there. You have to be a brave boy now. I left my mother since I was your age, and my pups will have to leave me soon. But I'll keep the eye an you, if you like, just till you find your feet. [Rex shows up, sees Babe] The little pig's a bit low. He's going to sleep with us, just till he finds his feet.
Rex: [snarls] Until he finds his feet. [leaves]
Puppy: But, Mom, he'll wet the bed!
Fly: Nonsense! [to Babe] If you do want to do anything, you'll go outside, won't you? Good boy.
[Quack-a-doodle-doo!]
[The next morning, Babe is cuddled up against Fly until he hears the strange sound. It is Ferdinand the duck, crowing with all his might to greet the dawn before the rooster has his chance. The puppies warn Babe that Ferdinand is "off his rocker"]
Dash: We'll catch him and eat him one day, won't we, Mom?
Fly: [yawns] Yes, guilty. Now come along.
[The dogs leave the barn and go to the doghouse for their breakfast. Babe waddles after them. But Fly stops the piglet before he can push through the doggy door]
Fly: Babe, you stay here.
Babe: Aren't pigs allowed?
[Cut to inside the house]
Trip: [snickering] Not live ones.
[Cut to outside the house]
Fly: [to Babe] I'm sorry, darling. Only dogs and cats inside the house.
Babe: Why?
Fly: That's just the way things are! [goes inside]
[The same fact happens later as Babe tries to follow the sheepdogs to the fields]
Fly: Not you, darling.
Babe: Why not?
Fly: We need to do dogs' work. You're a pig. Your job is to stay here and eat your food. We'll be back at the end of the day.
[Babe is very confused. He doesn't even know what a sheep is. He looks around the busy farmyard. Hens bustle in their coop. Ducks wash in the pond. And no one pays the slightest attention to him. Then he hears something new]
Maa: Darn wolf! Never do leave a body alone. [Babe investigates inside the pen] Nag, nag, nag, all day long. Go here, go there, do this, do that. [coughing]
Babe: I'm not a wolf.
Maa: Oh, I knows all that. Calls yourself a sheepdog. But you don't fool none of us.
Babe: I'm not a sheepdog, either. [moves to look through a gap between the planks of the pen]
Maa: Well, I'll be dipped! What are you?
Babe: Pig. Large White. What are you?
Maa: Ewe.
Babe: Not me, who are you?
Maa: That's what I am! I - am - a - ewe!
Babe: Oh, you're a sheep! [goes inside the barn to see Maa]
Maa: The name's Maa. And I'm stuck in this little box till the Boss makes me well again.
Babe: What's wrong with you, Maa?
Maa: Foot rot. And I've had a nasty cough. And I'm not as young as I used to be. [coughs]
[Outside the barn, Esme hears the sheep baaing. She shrugs and harvests more vegetables. Back inside the barn]
Babe: You don't look very old to me.
Maa: Too kind. First kind word I've heard in donkey's years. You seem a nice young chap, not like them wolves. Treat you like dirt, they do so. Bite you as soon as look at you, the–
Babe: Bite you?
Maa: And worse. Much worse. Savages!
Babe: Fly would never be mean.
Maa: Who's that?
Babe: She's my mu – she's the sheepdog here.
Maa: Fly, is that it? Black-and-white? Teeth sharp as a steel trap? [Babe nods] All them wolves is cruel to us sheep. Always have been. No brains, no heart. [She coughs again] Wouldn't want to see a gentle soul like you mixing with the likes of them.
[Now Babe is more mixed up than ever. Is his new mother really bad? That evening as Fly comes in from the fields, she gives Babe's face a big, slurpy kiss. As he nuzzles against her, Babe decides that the old sheep may be wrong. Perhaps Maa is confused because she is sick. Babe hopes she will get better soon]
Ferdinand: Let's go over it one more time.
Babe: I go through the kitchen, across the living room...
Ferdinand: How do you go across the living room?
Babe: Silently, so I don't awaken the cat. Then into the bedroom, get the mechanical rooster, and bring it out to you. [thinks of something] But it's against the rules. Only dogs and cats are allowed in the house.
Ferdinand: It's a nice rule. But this is a matter of life and death!
Babe: [confused] That is?
Ferdinand: [sighs] Come here. [they went inside the doghouse] Humans eat ducks!
Babe: [gasping] I beg your pardon?
Ferdinand: Ah, most ducks prefer to forget it, but the fact is that humans like to eat plump, attractive ducks.
Babe: Ohhh, I don't think so. Not the Boss; not the Boss's wife.
Ferdinand: Oh, come on. Humans don't eat cats - why?
Babe: Well, they're...
Ferdinand: They're indispensable—they catch mice. Humans don't eat roosters—why? They make eggs with the chickens and the hens and wake everyone up in the morning.
Babe: Right...
Ferdinand: I tried it with the hens; it didn't work. So I turned to crowing, and lo! I discover my gift to become indispensable! But now they bring in a machine to do the job! Oohhhh-oh-oh, the treachery of it! A mechanical rooster!
Babe: Oh dear me...
Ferdinand: Oh, dear you?! [sighs/quacks] I suppose the life of an anorexic duck doesn't amount to much in the broad scheme of things. But, Pig, I'm all I've got!
Babe: Why do you want me to do it?
Ferdinand: [sighs/quacks] Because...I'm allergic to cats.
Babe: Oh.
Ferdinand: They make me sneeze.
Babe: Oh. Don't worry, I won't wake up the cat.
Ferdinand: My life is in your hands...er, trotters.
[Babe slips silently through the cozy farm-doggy door and into the house kitchen. At the entrance to the living room, he pauses to look around. On the table is the dollhouse Mr. Hoggett is building for his granddaughter. Behind the pots of paint and brushes sit Mrs. Hoggett's knitting basket. And on the hearth rug is Duchess, the Hoggett's big grey cat. Luckily, Duchess is yet asleep. Babe carefully makes his road through the living room. He does his best to stay as far apart from Duchess as possible. Halfway across the room, Babe has to squeeze between an armchair and a table leg. His chubby hips nudge the table, and a ball of wool rolls out of the knitting basket. It bounces across the armchair, off a lamp, and around a vase before it hits the floor. Babe freezes in horror as he realizes the ball is rolling straight toward Duchess. Then, just before it touches the cat's silky paw, the yarn stops. Babe sighs in relief. Then he continues his careful trek across the living room. After that, the piglet's bright eyes never stray from the sleeping cat. But Babe is watching Duchess so carefully that he doesn't notice that some of the yarn has wrapped around one of his feet. With each step, the wool pulls tighter, tugging at the knitting basket, paint pots, the lamp and the vase. Ferdinand sees it all through the window. Before anything can fall, he silently rushes through the doggy door into the house]
Ferdinand: [silently rushes through the doggy door and into the house, flying] STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!! [Babe stands like a statue as he lands] Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop. Here, let me get you out. [gently plucks the yarn from around his hoof] Go outside.
Babe: But you said you needed me.
Ferdinand: Well, then, stand guard.
Babe: [follows Ferdinand] Guard what?
Ferdinand: [moans] Forget it. Stick with me, and please - I beg you - not one more word.
[They go upstairs, and went into the Hoggetts' bedroom. Ferdinand climbs onto the bed, then onto the desk, and pushes the clock onto the bed. Babe picks it up in his mouth. Then together, they creep back into the living room, past Duchess. The cat stretches sleepily and her claw snags the yarn, which is yet wrapped around the furniture. Ferdinand and Babe both hold their breath]
Ferdinand: [a sneeze twitches in his nose] Ah...
Babe: Don't sneeze, Ferdinand.
Ferdinand: Ah...
Babe: Just hold your breath.
Ferdinand: AHH...CHOO!!!
[Ferdinand's sneeze causes Babe to drop the clock from his mouth to the floor, with a loud ring. Duchess immediately awakens. Cut to outside, the farmhouse explodes with smashes, splashes, squeaks, bursts, quacks and a loud bang from inside. Ferdinand sneezes again, offscreen]
[The Hoggetts and Rex return home from the church. They walk inside, and Esme noticed that Duchess is covered in paint. She and Arthur also find the whole house is a mess. Behind the broken alarm clock are two sets of footprints in bright paint. One set is red and webbed. The other set is pointy and blue. Rex ponders what's going on]
[Cut to the council inside barn, during the evening, Babe is covered in blue paint]
Rex: [sighs] It was my mistake. I was trying to loosen facts up a little. But, no. Today proves that it doesn't work. From now on, we'll all respect the rules. To each creature, its own destiny and every animal in its proper place. And a pig's proper place is under the old cart, not in the barn and absolutely never in the house. Is that understood?
Babe: Yes, sir.
Rex: Now, Pig, regarding the company you keep. Being young, it's hard to discriminate, where I'll make it easy for you. I forbid you to speak to or consort with that duck ever. Do I make myself clear?
Babe: Uh...what's consort?
Horse: It means, young man, that you must not go anywhere near that duck.
Rex: And as for the fugitive duck, if he shows himself, let him know this, being a duck he must behave like a duck. No more of this crowing and nonsense. He should accept what he is and be thankful for it. That goes for all of us.
Cow: Here, here!
Narrator: Rex continued loud and long into the night. Elsewhere, there was more speak. The subject was Christmas dinner and whether that year the main course would be roast pork or Duck a l'Orange.
Esme Hoggett: And pork is a nice, sweet meat. Then there's the crackling. That always adds interest and texture.
[Soon Babe is pink again. The puppies are sold to other farmers who needs sheepdogs. Rex has no patience with Fly's disgrace, but Mr. Hoggett pats her gently, and Babe licks her snout]
Babe: Fly, may I call you Mom?
[Fly nuzzles the piglet tenderly. At last, Babe has truly found his place on Hoggett's farm. As the nights grow longer and colder, Babe grows bigger. First, Mr. and Mrs. Hoggett's daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren come to visit. The farmhouse is suddenly filled with all sorts of bright, shiny facts. There is singing and laughter. And the people pile brightly wrapped boxes under a tree inside the house]
Esme Hoggett: Hello!
The Hoggetts' son-in-law: Hey, folks, how are you? Merry Christmas!
Esme Hoggett: Merry Christmas! How's my favorite girl? Nanny has a jellybean. Give us a kiss. And guess what we're having for Christmas dinner? Roast pork.
The Hoggetts' granddaughter: I hate pork.
Maa: Darn silly carry-on, if you ask me.
Horse: The cat says they call it Christmas.
Ferdinand: Christmas! Christmas dinner, yes. Dinner means death. Death means carnage! Christmas means carnage! CHRISTMAS MEANS CARNAGE!! [runs off in fear]
[Then one day, Mrs. Hoggett washes the mud off Babe and measures his taut belly with a tape measure. But Fly knows. She has seen other animals taken into the building near the barn. It is the fashion of nature, that doesn't stop her from feeling mournful]
Maa: Eating pigs! Blaah! Barbarians!
Babe: [runs up to Maa] You're going back to the fields, Maa.
Maa: Oh, young'un, tragic there ain't more of your kind. I'll be thinking of you always.
Babe: I could come and visit you, Maa.
Maa: I'd like that, but...well, we shouldn't hope for too much. [gets yanked as the cart pulls forward, she follows]
Babe: [humming the tune of "Jingle Bells"] La la la, la la la, la la la lala. La la la, lala la la, lalala la la la la, hey!
[We cut to the Arthur and Esme cooking up some Christmas dinner]
Narrator: And then, it was Christmas Eve, and time had run out for the pig.
Mrs. Hoggett: Are you doing him tonight, then?
Farmer Hoggett: Huh.
Mrs. Hoggett: Sure. The blood will drain by morning.
Farmer Hoggett: Pity.
Mrs. Hoggett: What's that?
Farmer Hoggett: Nothing.
Mrs. Hoggett: What on earth are you rambling on about?
Farmer Hoggett: Exchange to miss out on the best ham prize at next year's fair, is all. Nice plump haunches he's getting. Beautiful. Yet...silly to wait, I suppose so.
[The duck isn't skinny Ferdinand. But it is a duck Ferdinand knows well, and it is enough to make up his mind]
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: Here it is!
Farmer Hoggett: The bird.
The Hoggetts' granddaughter: Yuck. Chicken?
The Hoggetts' daughter: No, it's Duck a l'Orange. And, Mother, it looks absolutely superb.
The Hoggetts' granddaughter: I'm not going to eat any of it!
The Hoggetts' daughter: Oh, this is fabulous.
Babe: Ferdinand!
Cow: If you're out here, who's that in there?
Ferdinand: Her name's Rosanna. Why Rosanna? She–She had such a beautiful nature.
Babe: Oh, Ferdinand.
Ferdinand: I can't take it anymore.
Cow: Really!
Ferdinand: The fear's too much for a duck. It eats away at the soul. There must be kinder dispositions in far-off gentler lands.
Cow: The only way you'll find happiness is to accept that the way things are is the way things are.
Ferdinand: The way things are stinks! I'm not gonna be a goner. I'm gone! I wish all of you the best of luck.
Babe: Where will you go?
Ferdinand: No idea. But I'm a clever duck. I could do with an adventure.
Babe: I'll miss you, Ferdy.
Ferdinand: Ferdy? Ha! No one's ever called me that before. Ha ha ha! Hey, good luck, Pig. Ha! I am out of here. [jumps up on the gate and turns to Babe]
Babe: Bye-bye.
Ferdinand: Hey! Oh! Ow! And would you do me a favor, old thing?
Babe: Anything.
Ferdinand: Open the gate, huh? [with that said, he takes off]
Babe: Farewell!
[Babe watches Ferdinand become a black dot in the heavens. Then he hears a faint sound of bleating. He scans the green hills for the source of the bleating. He sees a flock of sheep, a truck, strange men and a dog. Babe trots closer]
Narrator: The pig knew it was against the rules to leave the farm. But something was certainly wrong.
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: How lovely, darling. What is this?
The Hoggetts' son-in-law: It's a fax machine, Mother. You can send us letters by phone.
Arthur Hoggett: Huh.
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: Oh.
Narrator: At any other time, the pig would've been tickled pink by his first visit to the sheep fields. But now, there was fear in the air. Maa and her kind were under threat.
[Babe wriggles through the fence and runs across the field to join the frantic sheep. Woolly flanks press against him as the sheep are herded toward the truck]
Sheep Rustler: Hey, Frank, feel like pork for dinner tonight?
Maa: Young'un! You're alive!
Babe: Maa! What's going on? Who are these men?
Frank: I'll get him out. Come around, Sniff! [whistles]
[Sniff runs up while jumping on the flock]
Babe: Where's our boss? It doesn't seem right. [gets knocked over by Sniff]
[Babe runs for dear life, with the dog barking and snapping at his heels. He wriggles back through the fence and runs squealing louder to the farmhouse. The Hoggetts' granddaughter opens her last Christmas present in a greedy excitement to reveal the beautiful, extravagant, ultra-realistic handcrafted dollhouse her maternal grandfather, Arthur, made for her, unexpectedly lets out a loud, anguished shriek]
Esme: [upon seeing her granddaughter disheartened] What's wrong, dear?
The Hoggetts' granddaughter: [complaining and sobbing] It's the wrong one! [shrieking tearfully as we see Arthur smirking at his granddaughter's tantrum, trying not to laugh] I WANT THE HOUSE I SAW ON THE TELEVISION!! [crying]
Esme: [comforting her granddaughter] Oh, there, there.
[We see see the Hoggetts' daughter chuckling and grinning at her daughter's tantrum. We see Fly and Rex past the fireplace. Fly watches this scene with pity in her eyes as if to say "Poor little tyke", but Rex lays down on the floor, looking away without showing any care or worry about his owners' granddaughter. Mr. Hoggett sees Fly's ears perk up at the sound. She starts barking. Something is wrong. The farmer races away in his truck. The dogs run across the fields. Rex reaches the other truck first. It is yet empty. The thieves hit the tailgate shut and smash through the fence at top speed. Rex is yet barking until Fly and Hoggett arrive. They are followed by an exhausted Babe. Hoggett pats Fly's head]
Farmer Hoggett: Nice dog. [Fly jumps into the truck bed. Then the farmer lifts Babe up behind her] Nice pig.
[That night, it is all over the farm that Mr. Hoggett thinks Babe is a watch-pig. Rex sulks because he hasn't heard Babe first. But Fly beams as she licks Babe's wounded tail]
Fly: I'm very proud of you, my boy.
Babe: I'm going to be a nice sheepdog if I grow up, aren't I?
Fly: None of my pups would have done any better than you did so today.
[The next morning, in the cozy farmhouse kitchen, the Hoggett family look over their Christmas presents. While his daughter and wife speak about the new fax machine, Hoggett gazes out the window. He sees the pig chasing chickens. And while he watches, Babe carefully separates the white hens from the brown, just as he's seen Fly shed certain sheep from the flock]
Mrs. Hoggett: ...a washing machine, a radio, a new alarm clock. I think it's a lovely fax machine, darling, but can't you use it?
The Hoggetts' daughter: We already have one, Mom. That's the entire idea. We can send faxes to each other. Now, don't be afraid of it just because it's new.
The Hoggetts' son-in-law: These accounts are a real concern, Arthur. Every month your expenditure is bigger than your income. It's eating up your reserves the entire time. You need to modernize, get some sort of cash flow going. You're yet using a horse and cart, for heaven's sakes. Dad?
Farmer Hoggett: Funny, that.
The Hoggetts' son-in-law: Wait, what?
Farmer Hoggett: These chickens, that pig.
The Hoggetts' son-in-law: What's the pig had to do with anything?
Farmer Hoggett: Nothing. Just look at them. The browns and the whites. [doesn't warn his family, but the next morning, he decides to see if he's really seen a pig herding chickens] Come, Rex. Come, Fly. [turns to Babe] Come, Pig. [Babe hesitates] Come, Pig!
[Rex tries to hide his shock as Babe follows the dogs through Hoggett's automatic sheep-gate]
Fly: Maybe he's pleased with you for what you did yesterday.
Babe: I didn't do much.
Fly: Well, if it wasn't for you, darling, they could've stolen the entire flock.
Babe: Is Rex unhappy with me?
Fly: Oh, he'll be alright. Just stay out of his road today.
[Babe does watch, very carefully, as Fly and Rex circle the flock of sheep]
Farmer Hoggett: Way to be, Fly. Rex, come by!
[The dogs bark fiercely and nip at woolly flanks. The panicked sheep run through a gate into the sorting yard]
Babe: You're so fast. I'd never be able to fly like you can.
Fly: Pigs aren't built to fly, darling. But speed isn't the fact. It's attitude. They just have to know who's boss.
[The sheep look small and funny without their woolly coats. Hoggett looks up from a mountain of greasy wool]
Farmer Hoggett: Get them up, Pig.
[Rex stiffens]
Fly: [to Babe] He wants you to drive them out of the yard.
[Babe isn't sure what to do. Then Hoggett holds open the gate]
Farmer Hoggett: Away to me, Pig!
Fly: Remember, you'll have to dominate them. Do that and they'll do anything you want. Go. Go!
[Babe trots to the rear of the flock. He snorts and squeals, trying to bark like a dog. The sheep laugh. The harder Babe tries, the more they laugh]
Babe: [approaching Fly] This is ridiculous, Mom.
Fly: Nonsense. It's only your first try. But you're treating them like equals. They're sheep. They're inferior.
Babe: Oh, dear, they're not.
Fly: Of course they are! We are their masters, Babe. Let them doubt it for a second and they'll walk all over you.
Rex: [barks frustratingly] Fly, get that pig out of there!
Fly: Make them feel inferior. Abuse them. Insult them.
Rex: Fly!
Babe: But they'll laugh at me.
Fly: Then bite them! Be ruthless. Whatever it takes. Bend them to your will.
Rex: Enough!
Fly: Go ahead! Go!
[Babe approaches the sheep, attempting to be intimidated]
Babe: Move along there, you...you big butt heads!
[We see the sheep laugh at Babe. Then Babe growls and bites one of the sheep on the leg]
Maa: Young'un, stop this nonsense! What's got into you all of a sudden? I just got finished tellin' what a nice young pig you be.
Babe: Maa, I was just trying to be a sheepdog...
Maa: Hah! Enough wolves in the world already, without a nice lad like you turnin' nasty. You haven't had it in you, young'un!
[The other sheep agree]
Rex: [fumes at Fly] You and I have descended from the grand sheepdogs. We carry the bloodline of the ancient Bahou. We stand for something. And today, I watched in shame as all that was betrayed.
Fly: Rex, dear, he's just a little pig.
Rex: All the bigger the insult.
[Meanwhile, Babe is busy apologizing to the sheep for his rude behaviour]
Babe: I'm sorry I bit you. Are you alright?
Sheep: Well, I wouldn't call that a bite myself. You've had teeth in that floppy mouth of yours or just gums?
Babe: [opening his mouth wide] Aaaah!
[The sheep laugh, and he joins in]
Maa: You see, ladies? A heart of gold!
Sheep: Heart of gold.
Maa: No need for all this wolf nonsense, young'un. All a nice little pig like you need do is ask.
[Hoggett turns away. He is starting to think that perhaps his imagination has run off with him. Then Fly barks urgently. Hoggett and Rex turn around and see the whole flock marching like soldiers in a parade, shoulder-to-shoulder in perfect order. Behind them is the pig, growling silently]
[Of course, Hoggett can't hear what Babe is saying]
Babe: Thanks very much. It was very kind of you.
Sheep: A pleasure. What a nice little pig!
[The farmer is no less amazed than Fly]
Fly: [to Babe] Alright, how did you do it?
Babe: I asked them and they did it. I just asked them nicely.
Fly: We don't ask sheep, darling. We warn them what to do.
Babe: But I did so, Mom. They were really friendly. Perhaps Rex might be a little more friendly if I had a speak with him.
Fly: No, no, no. I think you better leave that to me.
[During the evening, while Babe is sleeping under the cart, Fly bravely walks up to Rex, who is lying on the front porch, very jealous]
Fly: Rex? [Rex doesn't answer] I know it was hard for you today, watching all that happening. But surely it's not worth all this misery. Please, darling. Not on such a beautiful night.
Rex: [gets up growling] You...put these ideas into his head, two-faced traitorous WRETCH!!!
[Rex attacks Fly as Farmer Hoggett notices and goes outside to stop the fighting]
Farmer Hoggett: Get down! Down, Rex! [as Rex frustratingly bites his hand] Rex...
[Rex stops fighting as he realizes what he had done horribly wrong and steps back in shame, and Esme Hoggett gives him a frustrated and disgusting look on her face]
Narrator: A dark cloud had descended on the valley. And the pig felt that the dangers were all his fault. But he was certain, he knew how to set things right.
Babe: [in an attempt to apologize for being better than him] Um, excuse me, sir. But I-I-I-I think all this trouble-
[But before Babe can conclude his sentence, Rex growls and snarls frustratingly at Babe, who becomes so frightened that he squeals louder and runs off. Farmer Hoggett noticed this. Later, Rex is muzzled during the vet's visit]
Vet: Well, it's not distemper. Can't be rabies. Must be the hormones.
Esme Hoggett: What about Hoggett's notion, the dog being jealous of the wee pig?
Vet: Oh, I don't see that myself.
Esme Hoggett: No. Then what have we done?
Vet: Well, you can keep him locked up or snip, snip. I can do it Tuesday.
Arthur Hoggett: No.
Vet: Or Wednesday.
Esme Hoggett: Hoggett doesn't want the dog operated on. He's a breeding dog.
Vet: Well, now, I can sedate him, of course, but he'll be useless as a working dog. [injects Rex] Now I'm gonna give you some pills to put in his food.
Arthur Hoggett: Nice dog.
Narrator: A pig doing the work of a sheepdog? With Rex out of action and Fly injured from the fight, Farmer Hoggett had no choice.
Babe: Maa! Maa! The boss has to give you some medicine.
Maa: Oh, dear, I thought so! It's horrible stuff, that.
Babe: I know, but it's for the best.
Maa: Oh, our young'un, if you say so.
[With that said, the old sheep walks right up to Hoggett and takes her medicine, easy as you please]
Farmer Hoggett: Shoo! Shoo!
[Now, a pig doing the work of a sheepdog seems like a full miracle to Farmer Hoggett. He can't deny what he has seen with his own eyes. In the fertile field of his imagination, his daydream swiftly grows into a certain plan. He will take Babe to the trials]
Narrator: As the thought first came to him, Farmer Hoggett dismissed it as mere whimsy, but like most of his harebrained ideas, it wouldn't go away.
[That afternoon, Hoggett takes Fly and Babe to a field bustling with sheepdogs and Bosses and reluctant-looking men with clipboards]
Babe: What are they doing here?
Fly: It's a sheepdog trial.
Babe: Then it's like a competition for sheepdogs.
Fly: And their bosses. It's like an obstacle curse.
Babe: How do they decide who wins?
Fly: Well, it's time and mistakes. You get points for how fast you are and they take points away for every mistake. Every time a sheep goes the wrong road, that's a mistake and you lose points.
Babe: Looks like fun!
Fly: Oh, for a sheepdog, there's no prouder moment. You know, Rex and I used to...never mind.
Babe: Was Rex a champion?
Fly: He had the makings of the biggest champion there ever was, but it wasn't to be.
Babe: What just happened?
Fly: A while back if Rex was in his prime, the winter rains brought a grand flood to the valley. Rex and the boss got most of the flock onto the high ground. Then Rex went back to look for the strays. He found them. They'd been stranded by the rising water. He tried to herd them across to safety, but they wouldn't budge. Too afraid and too foolish to save their own skins. It was freezing cold and the water kept rising. Rex stayed with them right through the night. By morning, the sheep were drowned. But until they found Rex, he was barely alive.
Babe: Oh, Mum!
Fly: Two weeks rest in front of the fire saw him back on his feet, but his hearing was never the same again. He'd never let anyone know, but he's almost totally deaf.
Babe: Is that why he's so, you know, frustrated?
Fly: That's not the half of it. All this was barely a month before the Grand National Challenge. He tried his best, but he couldn't hear the boss's calls, and it slowed him up. The cold truth is that, but for the foolishness of sheep, Rex would've been the champion of champions.
[While Fly was narrating, Farmer Hoggett walks up to the dazed and muzzled Rex. He takes the muzzle off, and gently pets Rex, who is now calmed down with depression]
[The very next day, Hoggett builds a training curse for Babe]
Narrator: It was at that time that Mrs. Hoggett began to worry about her husband. But Farmer Hoggett knows that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored for in them lie the seeds of destiny.
Farmer Hoggett: Close the gate like that, and you're done.
Babe: Mom. Mom! Mom! Can we start work early today?
Fly: Oh, dear, it's not even dawn yet. You can go to work until the rooster crows. Go back to sleep.
[In fact, Babe is so eager, he tries to get the rooster to crow early the next day]
Babe: Excuse me. Hello, sir. Excuse me, but it's almost dawn and......
Rooster: Wait, what?
Babe: I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's almost dawn, and I wondered if you'd mind crowing just a few moments early this morning.
Rooster: Get out of here!
Babe: But, well, see I just...
Rooster: Get lost!
Babe: Oh, okay.
[Then Babe trots out to the fields in the fuzzy predawn light]
Sheep: Wolf! Babe! Wolf! Babe!
[Babe hears terrified bleating. He runs to the aid of the flock. There are sheep tangled in the fence wire. The rest runs to and fro, with three wild dogs snarling and snapping at their heels. The growling dogs pull down a ewe. As the Christmas Eve rustlers come, Babe has felt fear mixed with frustration]
Narrator: Now the pig understood why the sheep called all dogs wolves. And he was filled with a deep and horrible rage.
[Babe charges the nearest wild dog and knocks it on its side. The next one he bites as hard as he can. Babe tastes blood]
[All three dogs run howling apart with their tails between their shaking legs. Babe chases them to the far fence]
[As he is sure they are gone, Babe turns back to the frightened flock, which is gathered around the fallen ewe]
Babe: Maa! Maa! Are you alright?
Maa: Hello, young'un.
Babe: Oh, Maa, can you get up?
[Babe licks Maa's wounded neck. Blood smears his snout]
Maa: I don't reckon.
Babe: It's over, Maa. The wolves have gone far off. I'll get the boss up here to look after you. You'll be alright. You'll be alright! [but her eyes are far apart. Her head droops and life leaves her] Oh, Maa! Maa! [chokes back sobs as the Boss's truck rumbles up]
[Hoggett, Rex and Fly see Babe's bloody snout]
Farmer Hoggett: Home, pig.
[Fly cannot meet Babe's eyes]
Narrator: Fly knew that there was only one fate for any creature that took the life of a sheep on Hoggett Farm.
Narrator: But Fly could never believe that Babe was a sheep murderer, where she remained in the field to do something she'd never done before, speak to the sheep.
Fly: Tell me. Who murdered the old one?
Sheep: Wolf!
Fly: Wolf. Is that the only words you half-wits know?
Sheep: Wolf!
Fly: Are you saying it was a dog?
Sheep: Babe! Where's Babe?
Fly: Was it wolf or Babe?
Sheep: Wolf! Where's Babe! Wolf! Babe! Wolf! Babe!
Narrator: Farmer Hoggett was carrying something in the crook of one arm. A kind of black, shiny tube.
Farmer Hoggett: Come, pig.
Narrator: The pig had a vague memory that shiny tubes produced food and guessed that some quite unexpected reunion would come out of the two small round mouths.
[Fly is trying to find out who murdered Maa]
Sheep: Wolf! Babe! Wolf! Babe!
Fly: [yelling] QUIET!!!!
Narrator: Fly decided to speak very slowly, for it was a cold fact of nature that sheep were foolish, and no one would ever persuade her otherwise.
Fly: [straining] Please, please would you be so kind as to tell me what just happened?
Sheep: Csendes!
Fly: Please, tell me what just happened this morning.
Narrator: The sheep spoke very slowly, for it was a cold fact of nature that wolves were ignorant, and nothing would convince them otherwise.
Sheep: Babe came! He saved us! The wolves murdered Maa. But Babe drove the wolves off!
Fly: Thank you! Thank you all! Thank you all very much!
Sheep: Pleasure talking to you.
[Farmer Hoggett loads shells on his shotgun and aims it at Babe with a rope tied up on his neck. Fly is shown rushing back to the farm and barks repeatedly. Arthur lowers his shotgun and looks at the door. Hearing Fly barking, he turns back to Babe and aims his shotgun again at Babe, getting ready to murder him. As he is about pull the trigger, a voice calls him from outside]
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: Hoggett! Hooey! Arthur! [Fly is shown running toward the shack. Farmer Hoggett walks out of it as she passes him to get inside] Well, there you are! What do you think? That was the police on the telephone. They said there are wild dogs about. Apparently, the Mitchells lost six lambs this morning. [notice the shotgun on his hand] What on earth are you doing here with that gun?!
Farmer Hoggett: [looks at his shotgun] Oh. Nothing? [Esme frowns at him, but lets out a sigh and walks back into the house as we see Farmer Hoggett with a pleading look on his face upon learning the truth and removes the shells on his shotgun]
[On the rainy day, Mrs. Hoggett leaves for the Country Women's Association trip, she is a storm of words. She has all kinds of instructions for Mr. Hoggett, mostly about what to feed himself and what to feed all the animals on the farm]
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: Now, it's all very simple. Just half an hour at 350 degrees. I've given you rabbit casserole on Friday. Now, for Duchess, it's liver in the morning, heart for the evening. Except for Fridays, if it's steak in the morning and the cooked liver at night. Warm it up in a frying pan for a bit, but test it before you give it to her because she bites into it before she knows what's what, the silly darling. [horn honks] That'll be the bus. Oh! Farewell.
Farmer Hoggett: Have a nice time. Farewell.
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: Hello, everyone!
[Hoggett carries her suitcase and listens without saying a word. He waves as she rides off on the minibus. Mrs. Hoggett is a little concerned about what her husband will do all alone]
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: Oh, dearie me, Valda. I know I have to be at the National Conference. I am the Assistant General Secretary of the Northeast Region after all, but I do worry about leaving that man alone.
Valda: Yet acting a bit strange?
Mrs. Esme Cordelia Hoggett: Just silly facts. Odd little facts only a wife would notice. Yet, I suppose he can't get up to too much mischief in just three days, can he?
Valda: Of course not.
[She may have been dismayed indeed to see the farmer let Babe into the house to rest past the fire. But she can't have been more upset than Duchess the cat]
Babe: Oh. Nice evening. Disgrace about the weather. Nasty cough!
[Not since Rex has Arthur Hoggett has an animal in whose abilities he has so much faith. With the National Grand Challenge Sheepdog Trials only two days left, he isn't going to let that his animal is a pig stand in his road]
[Then he takes out his rule book and reads it from cover-to-cover. Then he fills out an entry form. Ever a truthful man, Hoggett has concerned that the form may say "Name of Dog". In which case, whatever he wrote will be a lie. But luck is with him. For the form merely says "Name of Entry". Hoggett writes pigs. Then he uses the wondrous Christmas gift from his daughter and faxes the form to the contest]
Babe: It's alright. Really! I'm just, well...bless you.
[As soon as Babe settles into a peaceful nap, Duchess slinks up and scratches him on the snout. Babe awakens to a hissing, bristling enemy poised to attack again. But Hoggett steps between them]
Farmer Hoggett: Enough! [Then he tosses the cat out into the pouring rain]
[Meanwhile, in the farmyard, a scrawny, bedraggled bird lands in a puddle. Ferdinand the duck looks even worse than usual.]
Ferdinand: So, uh... what's happening?
Cow: Oh, no.
[Arthur Hoggett is happily watching TV––with Fly and Babe]
[Suddenly, there is a bright flash of lightning and a huge clap of thunder. The TV goes black and all the lights go out. Hoggett checks the fuse box, but that isn't the damage. Then he decides to go to bed]
[Fly suggests that Babe gets some sleep, as well]
Fly: You'll need to be on top form tomorrow.
[Babe cuddles closer to the fire]
Babe: Night, Mum.
[The little pig sleeps, but he has bad dreams. He awakens on the morning of the Nationals with a bit of a cold and feeling quite hesitant]
Duchess the Cat: Oh, do forgive me for scratching you, dear. I got a bit carried away. It's a cat thing.
Babe: Oh, well, but...
Duchess: Feeling good about tomorrow, are you?
Babe: Mm-hmm. It should be all right, I think.
Duchess: You know, I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm not sure if you realize how much the other animals are laughing at you for this sheepdog business.
Babe: Why would they do that?
Duchess: Well, they say you've forgotten that you're a pig. Isn't that silly? They say you don't even know what pigs are for.
Babe: What do you mean?
Duchess: You know, why pigs are here.
Babe: Why are any of us here?
Duchess: Well, the cows are here to be milked. The dogs are here to help the Boss's husband with the sheep. And I am here to be beautiful and affectionate to the Boss.
Babe: Yes?
Duchess: [sighs softly] The fact is that pigs don't have a purpose. Just like…ducks don't have a purpose.
Babe: I—I don't, uh...
Duchess: Alright, for your sake, I'll be blunt. Why do the Bosses keep ducks? To eat them. So why do the Bosses keep a pig? The fact is that animals who don't seem to have a purpose a purpose really do have a purpose. The Bosses have to eat. It's probably the most noble purpose of all when you come to think about it.
Babe: [horrified] They eat pigs?
Duchess: Pork, they call it. Or bacon. They only call them pigs when they're still alive.
Babe: [frightened] But, uh, I'm a sheep pig.
Duchess: [giggles] The Boss's husband is just playing a little game with you. Believe me, sooner or later, every pig gets eaten. That's how the world works. Oh, I haven't upset you, have I? [chuckles softly]
Fly: Babe? Babe? [rushes out of the barn, then she runs around the house] Babe? Babe? [Rex is shown under the wagon watching Fly calling Babe and she approaches him, informing of what Duchess has done to Babe] Babe's run away! Rex? Please?
Rex: [regrets at what he had done earlier and changed his heart, gets up] Call the boss.
[Fly then barks at the window to alert Arthur of Babe run away, then they are shown following Babe's tracks and Rex rushes forward and finds Babe in the graveyard, shivering from the dripping rainwater]
Rex: He's over here! Hold on, pig. You'll be home soon.
[Fly and Arthur approach him ready to bring him back home]
[Facts do not improve at the field of competition. The weather is gloomy. And as the Boss takes him to the sheep pen on a lead, Babe can't help noticing how many people stare]
Farmer Hoggett: Stay there.
[Babe takes a deep breath and addresses the strange sheep]
Babe: Um...excuse me, sheep...
[The animals do not even look up from their feed]
Babe: Hello! Hello! Good morning to you all!
[The sheep yet ignore him. But one turns to see the source of the sound. Babe gasps. The sheep's face is fully black, with a most unfriendly expression. She doesn't look like any sheep he has ever seen]
Sheep: Baaaaa!
[Babe tries again]
Babe: Oh, boy. I've never met a sheep with such a strong, dark face. Are they feeding you well?
Fly: Babe, I'll try.
[Fly pushes in front of Babe and shouts at the sheep]
Fly: Alright, blockheads! Pay attention over here! Now, you pay attention to what this pig has to say to you or I'll come in there and tear you to shreds!
[This only makes the sheep hesitant]
Sheep: Wolf! Baaaa! Wolf!
[Fly sighs]
Fly: Hadn't thought of this. Keep trying, keep speaking to them. I'll see what I can do so.
[Babe's stomach lurches]
Babe: The Boss'll look like a horrible fool if the sheep won't speak to me.
[Fly's furry brow knots with thought]
Fly: Need to go. I'll try to be back in time.
[Then she goes away as fast as she can. Rex stops her on her road out of the fairground]
Rex: You can't make it, but I can.
[Fly is surprised]
Fly: But you...you...
Rex: Don't worry. I won't let the little feller down. [With that said, he turns into a blur of speeding fur]
[While Rex is gone, Fly, Babe and Hoggett watch the other competitors run their trials. Mrs. Hoggett also watches the trials on TV with the other Country Women. The ground is slippery with mud, and even the best dogs have many twaddles]
[Eventually, Rex reaches the Hoggett farm]
Sheep: Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!
[Rex has no time for the fears of foolish sheep]
Rex: Shut up, you fools! The little pig's in danger.
Sheep: Baa-a-abe! Baa-a-aaabe!
Rex: The sheep at the trials won't speak to the little feller. He doesn't know what to do.
[The flock whispers in confusion. Some think it is wrong to help a wolf, even if the wolf is trying to help Babe. But eventually, their love for the little pig wins out]
Old Sheep: Stay here, wolf.
[Rex swallows his pride]
Rex: I'm sorry. You'll need to speak up. I'm...a little...hard of hearing.
Sheep: I asked you to stay here, wolf. Do what you're warned by an old sheep for a chance, and we'll see what we can do for you.
[Rex waits while the sheep come up with a plan. Eventually, the old sheep turns to Rex]
Old Sheep: We've had something that might help Babe. But us sheep don't like giving it to no wolf.
Sheep: Paaa-a-assword!
[But before they will give Rex the password, the sheep makes him promise to treat them nicely and politely and not to bite them, and most of all never to use the password to harm another sheep in any fashion]
Rex: I promise you that. I'll make sure the pig knows it, as well. Don't you worry. The password is safe with me.
Narrator: [the crowd cheers at Babe's performance] And so it was that in all the celebration, in all the hubbub of noise and excitement, there were two figures who stood silent and still. Side by side.
Ferdinand: [rooster crows] Ha, ha, ha, ha! The pig did it! The pig did it! The perfect score! [laughs]
Mice: Whoo! Whoo-hoo! Yippee! Yippee! Yippee!
Narrator: And though every single human in the stands or in the commentary boxes was at a complete loss for words, the man who in his life had uttered fewer words than any of them knew exactly what to say.
Farmer Hoggett: [to Babe; last lines] That'll do, pig. That'll do.

Tagline

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  • A little pig goes a long way.

Cast

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Quotes about Babe

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