Monday, July 18, 2005

Babe - 1995

A very cute movie. And one I was surprised to see on the list. Basically a live action cartoon of a farm story, the moral being that you should follow your own beat, or never let someone tell you what you can or can't do or something along those lines.
'Babe' features a young pig named Babe who has been won in a contest and is being fattened up for Christmas dinner. At the farm he is adopted by the mother sheep dog named Fly. She takes him under her wing (paw?) and tries to steer him in the right direction. Babe also befriends the sheep and later acts as a bridge between the world of sheep and sheep dogs.
Two things elevate this movie. On the farm is a duck that is trying to be a rooster. He thinks that being useful on the farm will spare him from the dinner table. Unfortunately, his attempt to steal the mechanical rooster (alarm clock) makes him public enemy number one.
The thing that makes this movie for me though, is the mice reading the chapter titles. It kills me! And I'm not sure I understand it. But follow me a second with a thought experiment. How many other movies could use this technique to good effect? Imagine Pulp Fiction with the mice reading the chapter breaks. "The Bonnie Situation, hee-hee-hee-hee!" Or the opening scrolls of the latest Star Wars movies. It'd be perfect!
A good movie.

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