Babe 1995

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: Here's the summer's sleeper for kids and their parents, a terrific picture that takes a lot of risks and makes them all pay off in a charming story about a pig who fancies himself a sheepdog -- or sheep-pig. Read more

Gary Dretzka, Chicago Tribune: For children, the movie will play like a storybook come to life. Adults, at first, will marvel at the special effects and puppetry. But ultimately, they'll be won over by the nuances of a story that finds a fresh way to deliver a timeless message. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: If only people would be more like these animals, the world, though hardly saner, would certainly be a lot more fun. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Much to my surprise, I found Babe charming in an eccentric, oddly tough-minded sort of way. And if it isn't quite good enough to change my mind about the entire critter-chat genre, it is certainly good enough to recommend. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Babe is not, strictly speaking, a kid's movie. It is a preposterously funny fable that strikes a chord with adults, too. Read more

Doug Thomas, Seattle Times: A film that is exceptional in its technical effects and its graceful ability to entertain. Read more

Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine: He's brave and bright, good-natured and ambitious, naive and vulnerable. All in all, he's probably the most winsome orphan to appear on the screen since Freddie Bartholomew impersonated David Copperfield 60 years ago. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The movie, directed by Chris Noonan, who wrote the screenplay with George Miller, takes a child's-eye view of a world that is photographed to look like a storybook come to life. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: The characters (both animal and human) are solidly conceived, and the storytelling and visuals are expertly fashioned. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Australian director Chris Noonan and producer George Miller show what real talent and imagination can do, even without big-name humans as costars. Read more

Jack Kroll, Newsweek: It has a surprising charm. Read more

Terrence Rafferty, New Yorker: [It's] a comedy of animal manners that is much funnier and much cannier than any recent movie about human relationships: a lovely, stubbornly idiosyncratic fable of aspiration and survival. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: Thanks to well-trained live animals, clever voice characterizations and a big dash of muppetry from Henson's Creature Shop, Babe and his barnyard friends not only walk the walk and trot the trot, they also talk the talk. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Through a mixture of imaginative storytelling, impressive animatronics, and irresistible cuteness, Babe casts a spell over all viewers -- young, old, or somewhere in between. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Babe is a movie made with charm and wit, and unlike some family movies it does not condescend, not for a second. Read more

Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle: A lovely, intelligent gem of G-rated entertainment that is also rib-tickling funny. Read more

Brian Case, Time Out: Charming, eccentric and very amusing. Read more

Leonard Klady, Variety: A dazzling family entertainment with enormous charm that utilizes breathtaking technical innovation. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: A hilarious fantasy, about a plucky piglet that learns how to tend sheep, Babe is a barnyard charmer. Read more

Rita Kempley, Washington Post: The underlying tricks are never allowed to upstage the story in all its humble sweetness. Read more