Combustible Celluloid


New movie reviews, DVD reviews, interviews, and all things film.




Home
Reviews A-C
Reviews D-F
Reviews G-J
Reviews K-M
Reviews N-Q
Reviews R-T
Reviews U-Z
 




Redbelt **1/2
Roman de gare **1/2
Son of Rambow **1/2
Speed Racer [review coming soon]
Still Life ****
Iron Man ***
More
 




A Collection of 2007 Academy Award Nominated Short Films
The Hottie and the Nottie
I'm Not There
Over Her Dead Body
Paddle to the Sea
The Red Balloon
Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies (Criterion Eclipse #10)
Teeth
Twister: Special Edition
More
 

Film Features

My Top 100 Films [Updated]
My Top 60 Directors [Updated]
Charlton Heston (1924-2008)
Scott B. Smith
Estelle Parsons
Roger Donaldson
Roy Scheider (1932-2008)Mike Binder
James McAvoy
Tony Gilroy
David Cronenberg & Viggo Mortensen
William Friedkin
Peter Fonda & James Mangold
Kasi Lemmons on Talk to Me
Steve Buscemi on Interview
Lynn Hershman-Leeson
Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg & Nick Frost on Hot Fuzz
Scott Frank, Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Matthew Goode
The Top 50 Movies of the Past Ten Years (1997-2006)
Bong Joon-ho, director of The Host
Mark Polish, Michael Polish & Billy Bob Thornton
My latest blog entries at cinematical.com
The 'Mexican New Wave'
Interview with Singaporian Filmmaker Djinn
Joe Carnahan & Jeremy Piven Interview
Terry Zwigoff on the new Bad Santa Director's Cut
Alfonso Cuarón Interview
Guillermo Del Toro Interview
Chris Noonan Interview
Robert Altman (1925-2006)
Scarlett Johansson: A Study in Scarlett
Christmas Movies
Combustible Celluloid's Big Guide to Halloween & Horror Movies
Joe Eszterhas
Jet Li
Zach Braff
Kirby Dick
James Ellroy
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Adrien Brody
Steve Irwin (1962-2006)
Elisha Cuthbert/Jamie Babbit
Matt Dillon
David R. Ellis
Maria Bello
Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson
Mickey Spillane (1918-2006)
Al Gore
Cult Movies
Actress Interview Gallery
The Top 100
More Features and Interviews
 

Film Books

Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World, by Judy Stone
James Agee: The Library of America Collection, by James Agee
Just Making Movies, by Ronald L. Davis
Guide to Essential Movies, by Joe Leydon
Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, by Robert S. Birchard
Profoundly Disturbing, by Joe Bob Briggs
A Third Face, by Samuel Fuller
Dark Lover, by Emily Leider
Agee on Film, by James Agee
Lulu in Hollywood, by Louise Brooks
Negative Space, by Manny Farber
5001 Nights at the Movies, by Pauline Kael
More Books
 

The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

 
Sign up for my weekly newsletter!  

More of Jeffrey's reviews are available at: Rotten Tomatoes and All Movie Portal.

 
About
Lists
Gallery
News
Links

E-mail me.
© 1997-2008 Combustible Celluloid



Babe (1995)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

That'll Do

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Babe on DVD

Babe is the story of a little pig (voiced by E. G. Daily), won by Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) at a state fair to be raised for Christmas dinner. By the time Christmas comes around, Hoggett and his wife (Magda Szubanski) decide to keep him to exhibit him in the fair. Before the fair comes along, Babe expresses an interest, and a talent, in sheepdogging, a talent that the farmer (called "the Boss" by the animals) picks up on. When his prize sheepdog is put out of commission, he enters Babe in a sheepdog contest.

The animals in the movie were done by Jim Henson's creature workshop, and it's hard to tell if they are puppets, real animals, or special effects (they're actually made up of all three). But it doesn't matter, because, like in Star Wars, the special effects take a back seat to the story. This is a phenomenon that Hollywood has forgotten completely about.

The story, by George Miller (of Mad Max fame) is loaded with little jokes. The farmer doesn't ever fit through a doorway. The housecat calls the farmer's wife "boss" and the farmer the "boss' husband." Three field mice sing little songs during the movie's various chapter breaks. Besides the humor, there are great thrills and drama that folks of any age will care about.

Does Babe have any really annoying, goody-goody little kids (a la Free Willy)? Well, the kids in this movie are pretty vile, but in a funny way. And they're only on screen a merciful two or three minutes.

Any jaded audience member will notice about five times the movie might have made a wrong turn, but doesn't. Directed by Chris Noonan, it's a great dancer that keeps pulling back from the edge of disaster. It has been so long since I've genuinely cared about movie characters in a lighthearted story like this that I nearly wept with joy. Babe deserves a proud place next to movies like: The Wizard of Oz, The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Muppet Movie, E.T., and The Witches.

Starring: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, voices of E.G. Daly, Hugo Weaving, Miriam Margolyes, Christine Cavanaugh
Written by: George Miller, Chris Noonan, based on the novel "The Sheep-Pig" by Dick King-Smith
Directed by: Chris Noonan
MPAA Rating: G
Running Time: 89 minutes
Date: August 31, 1995

Home
News
Search Reviews
Classic Movies
DVDs
Features
Film Books
Gallery
Links
About
The Rating System
Email Me
All scribblings © 1997-2007 Combustible Celluloid