[ Marching Band ] - [ Shouting, Cheering ]

[ Narrator ] The first hazard for the returning hero...

is his fame.

The adulation can spin you quite giddy.

Those who once dismissed you as a lousy pork chop...

[ Boy ] Sir! Sir!

- Look, sir, look! Look! - Up in the sky!

[ Boy ] Look up there!

[ Snorting ]

Excuse me. Mr. Hoggett. Mr. Hoggett, sir.

Mr. Hoggett, sir. Your pig.

If  you'd just hold the pig up for the press.

Look this way!

- This way! One more! - Show us the pig!

[ Narrator ] The deeds of  the farmer and his remarkable pig...

became renowned even in distant lands.

[ Snort ]

...find the time to apply for all these...

Invitations came from all over to open fairs,

- to demonstrate sheepherding... - Oh! More? [ Giggling ]

and, indeed, to meet a queen.

- Ooh. - But Arthur Hoggett was a retiring man.

He found his best pleasures working his farm.

[ Mrs. Hoggett ] I'll need a neighbor to help me.

So it was, one morning he set out to repair the water pump...

and Babe somehow got it into his head that he could help.

But fate turns on a moment, dear ones,

and the pig was about to learn the meaning of  those two cruel words of  regret:

"if only."

- If only he hadn't been so careless; - W-Whoa!

if only the weight of the pig and the pump did not exceed the weight of  the farmer;

if only the farmer did not connect with the platform on the way up...

or jam his fingers at the top;

[ Babe Groaning ]

if only the pump hadn't fallen of fat the bottom;

and if  only the poor farmer had the presence of mind...

to hold onto the rope.

Boss?

Boss!

- [ Moos ] - [ Clucking ]

[ Hoggett Groaning ]

[ Growling ]

[ Babe Snorting ]

[ Groaning ]

[ Snorting Quizzically ]

[ Snorting Happily ]

[ Narrator ] At no other time in his short life...

had the pig wished more that his words could be understood by humans,

if only to say, "Sorry, Boss."

[ Whispers ] Sorry, Boss.

[ Mice ] ~ Non, rien de rien ~

~ Non je ne regrette rien ~

~ Ni le bien ~

~ Qu'on m'a fait ~

~ Ni le mal ~

~ Tout ca m'est bien egal ~

- ~ Non, rien de rien ~ ~ - [ Grunting ]

[ Narrator ] Even before her Arthur's misfortune,

Mrs. Hoggett was ceaselessly busy...

bustling, baking, bottling and pickling,

but now, having to nurse her husband and pay the bills,

she found life considerably more challenging...

than she had ever anticipated.

[ Thunder Rumbling ]

Before long, two men showed up.

Two men in suits.

Men with pale faces and soulless eyes.

[ Thunder Crashes ]

- [ Dogs Barking ] - Arthur!

- Arthur! - [ Barking Continues ]

[ Muttering ] Where is it? Where is it?

Where is it?

[ Gasps ] Yes.

"Dear Mr. Arthur Hoggett...

[ Muttering ] "...guest appearance for your pig.

[ Continues Muttering ] ...sheepherding demonstration."

Sheepherding demonstration?

"Free air travel, accommodations...

and a generous appearance fee."

Oh! Arthur! Arthur! A generous appearance fee!

Look! See? See?

Pig! Pig! Pig, pig, pig! Pig!

Pig, pig, pig. Pig? Pig, pig, pig!

[ Mrs. Hoggett ] Pig! Pig, pig, pig!

Come, dear. You're being called.

- [ Mrs. Hoggett ] Pig! - Uh, he's not here.

- Pig, pig, pig, pig! - Babe.

[ Babe ] Babe's not here.

You can't undo what's happened, son, but you can make up for it.

Babe, the boss is about to lose the farm.

- We'll all be sent away. - There's no telling where we'll end up.

[ Horse ] Not every human is as kind as ours.

- But what can I do? - Nothing!

You're a sheep-pig. A champion, no less.

- [ Mrs. Hoggett ] Pig! - Most likely they'll want you to herd sheep.

You can't leave. He can't leave! You're my lucky pig.

[ Angrily ] Pig!

Pig!

Arthur! You call the wretched thing.

Come, pig!

[ Hoggett Whistles ]

Well, I must be off, then.

You won't be alone, dear. You'll be with the boss's wife.

Oh, sure, the boss's wife. You'll be in the company of a serial killer.

Do not take counsel of your fears, lad.

- Do you want to pee before you go? - Uh, no, thank you.

Come on. Come on, pig.

[ Ferdinand ] B-B-But I need this pig.

He's my lucky pig, my good luck pig.

W-W-Without him, l-I'm dead.

Deceased! Lifeless! Extinct! A demised duck!

In you go.

Can you come with me, Fly?

I wish I could, dear, but it's you they want.

- Please? - Stop it, now. You're a brave pig.

And, Babe, more of ten than not in this uncertain world,

fortune favors the brave.

Porridge in the morning. No sugar. A little bit of salt, but not too much.

Tea. No milk, just lemon.

Okay, I think that's everything.

Right. I'm off.

Esme?

Don't worry, Arthur. I won't let anything happen to your pig.

Arthur.

[ Giggling, Grunting ]

[ Narrator ] And so, dear ones,

the pig and the farmer's wife...

ventured into the larger world.

What follows is an account of their calamitous adventures...

and how a kind and steady heart...

can mend a sorry world.

[ Together ] Save the farm, Babe!

Save the farm!

Save the f-a-a-a-a-a-rm!

[ Reading ]

[ Engine Roaring ]

~ La-la la la-la ~

~ La la la la-la, la-la ~

~ La la la la-la-la ~ ~ Hey!

[ Stewardess On P.A. Speaking French ]

[ Stewardess Continues Speaking French ]

Ohh!

[ Chuckling Nervously ]

Stop. Stop! [ Quacking ]

Whoa-oa!

[ Panting, Huffing ]

- [ Male Singer ] ~ Pardon me, boy ~ - Huh?

~ Is that the Chattanooga choo choo ~

[ Chorus ] ~ Yes, yes ~ Track 29!

- Uh, pardon me, boys. - ~ ~ [ Continues ]

Yeah?

- Uh, see that fat, featherless flying thing? - Uh-huh.

- Any idea where it's headed? - Follow us.

[ Panting ] Oh, good. Follow them.

- Okay. - [ Chorus ] ~ Chattanooga, there you are ~

[ Male Singer ] ~ She's gonna cry ~

~ Until I tell her that I'll never roam ~

- ~ So, Chattanooga choo choo ~ - ~ Doodle-oo dee-doo, doo-doo-doo ~

- ~ Won't you choo-choo me home ~ - ~ Doodley-doo ~

- ~ Chattanooga, Chattanooga ~ - ~ Doo-doo-dee-deedle doo-dee ~

- ~ Get aboard ~ - ~ Chattanooga, Chattanooga ~

- ~ All aboard ~ ~ - ~ Dee-doodle Chattanoogie-doodie-doo-doo ~ ~

Ohh-ohh-- Whoa!

[ Sniffing ]

U-Um-- Um--

- [ Sniffing ] - Uh, uh, excuse me.

- Excuse me, but I was wondering-- - Hey, look, pal, I'm busy.

-Uh, well, I seem to have lost my human. -Hey, hey, I'm workin' here.

Capisce? Comprende?

Whoa. Ain't you a weird-lookin' puppy.

I'm not a puppy. I'm a sheep-pig.

My human's gone, and I'm hungry, and I'm supposed to save the farm.

Yeah, that's truly tragic, but you see that long line of stuff over there?

Well, I gotta sniff every doggone one of 'em. I'm a sniffer, ya see.

- A fully-qualified, triple-certificated sniffer. - Oh.

It's all in the hooter, the schnozz, the olfactory instrument.

- You could be a sniffer with a schnozz like that. - That's very kind of you, but--

Don't interrupt me now. I'm just gettin' to the good part.

- When you sniff the right smell, do ya know what happens? -Mm-mmm.

You jump up and down and go berserk. That's what happens.

-You should see the humans come runnin'. -They do? Why?

Beats me, but it's sure important. I get big rewards.

- Rewards? - Sure. My heart's desire. Watch this.

[ Barking ]

- [ Shouting ] - [ Man On P.A. ] Security guard, to the floor!

- [ Barking Continues ] - Security guard, come to the floor!

We got one.

[ Barking Continues ]

[ Man #1] She could be my mother.

[ Man #2 ] Creepy, isn't it?

Esme Cordelia Hoggett?

Oh. Thank heaven.

My pig hasn't come through, and I've only got 15 minutes to make flight FF-115.

I've got to get to the other terminal,

but there's no point me going without the blessed pig.

- Ma'am, we have the pig. - Oh. Let's get a wriggle on, then.

Oh. If we miss FF-115, then we won't make the 4:15 shuttle.

And if  we don't make the 4:15 shuttle, we won't make it in time for the fair.

It's the grandaddy of all state fairs, they say, and today's the very last day.

It'll all be over and we won't get the appearance money,

and if we don't get the money the bank won't take, "Sorry, I missed my flight" for an answer.

That'll be it. All over. Arrivederci, farm.

Poor Arthur would be utterly...

- devastated. - [ Grunts ]

[ Gasps ]

Esme Cordelia Hoggett,

we have reason to believe you may be carrying illegal substances on your person.

Being an officer of the Drug Enforcement Agency,

I am authorized by law to conduct certain... procedures.

Please step into the cubicle and remove your clothes.

Pardon?

[ Babe Grunting ]

[ Narrator ] Of course, it was proved beyond any doubt...

that Esme Cordelia Hoggett was not a felon.

But, sadly, they had missed their all-important connection,

and to make matters worse...

they were obliged to wait some days for the next flight home.

They couldn't go forward, and they couldn't go back.

- They were stranded. - [ Gulps ]

[ Snorts ]

[ Sniffs, Snorts ]

A-And so, you don't take pets.

But he's just a little pig.

Well, it's more of a dog, really.

But it's practically human!

[ Airplane Landing ]

- ~ ~ [ Humming Lullaby ] - [ Babe Snorting ]

~ ~ [ Stops ]

- Uh-huh? - [ Snorts ]

Scram, lady.

This is not a farm.

[ Whimpers ]

[ P.A. Announcer, Indistinct ]

Excuse me.

Flealands Hotel, a few blocks south.

You'll be welcome there.

[ Narrator ] Esme Hoggett studied the face of the stranger...

Thank you.

and wondered what could have provoked his unexpected act of kindness.

[ Mice ] ~ When the moon hits your eye ~

~ Like a big pizza pie ~

~ That's amore ~

~ When the world seems to shine ~

~ Like you've had too much wine ~

~ That's amore ~

~ Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling Ting-a-ling-a-ling ~

~ And you sing vita bella ~

~ Hearts will play Tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay ~

~ Like a gay tarantella ~ ~

[ Reading ]

Oh. I need a room for myself...

and, uh, the, uh, wee pig.

Huh?

Are you crazy? Animals in here?

- What makes you think we take animals? - Oh, but l--

What kind of establishment do you think this is? Well, it isn't.

Am I aware of the city codes and regulations? Yes.

Am I one to break the law? Absolutely not. I am very lawful.

Are you hearing-impaired? Go away!

[ Airplane Passing Overhead ]

Psst!

Psst!

Mmm?

- How long did you want to stay? - l, uh-- Two days.

- Will an attic room do? - Uh-- Well, I thought you--

That was just for the neighbors. Heartless meanies.

Where do they expect these poor creatures to go?

- Is he house-trained? - Oh, yes. Just like you and me.

Do we provide meals? No.

But is there a convenience store? Yes. Two blocks south.

And what is the golden rule? Never answer the front door.

Why? It might be an inspector.

- What happens if you need anything? - [ Animal Shrieks ]

You knock on this door on the left.

Who lives there? I do.

Where's the bathroom? End of the landing.

- Do we provide towels? - [ Sniffing ]

What is that, a canine? Huh? You canine? Little puppy dog?

Flealick, come back. We don't know where it's been.

- Do we, Alan? - No, Nigel.

- Feline. You're a cat? - Do I look like a cat?

How do I know? I got the myopia. I can barely see. If you're a cat, you gotta scat.

Hey! Kitty! You got no business being on this floor!

You got that? No felines on this floor. Period!

Where's the pay phone? In the foyer.

Local calls only.

And where does the little piggy stay at all times?

In the room.

~ ~ [ Scales ] ~ Meow, meow, meow, meow Meow, meow, meow ~

And where does the dear little fella do his necessaries?

In the kitty litter.

Who empties it?

You do. Any questions?

Oh. Where do I make a long-distance phone call?

Oh, uh, two blocks south. Mm-hmm.

[ Sighs ]

[ Grunting ]

Oh.

Stay, pig.

Stay.

- [ Bell Tolling ] - [ Ship's Horn Blowing ]

- [ Bell Tolling ] - [ Ship's Horn Blowing ]

[ Narrator ] Babe looked out across this vast habitat,

abundant with humans and other creatures,

and wondered when he would see his first sheep.

Then the thought occurred to him:

Maybe it wasn't sheepherding.

Maybe something else was required of him.

Whatever the case,

in this place with its dark corners and endless possibilities,

the pig felt sure he would find a way to redeem himself.

Aww.

[ Grunts ]

Can-- Uh, can I help you?

What are you doing?

- [ Babbling ] - [ Mice Squeaking ]

I beg your pardon?

H-Hey. Uh, w-wait a minute.

But--

Uh, that belongs to the boss's wife.

Hey, that-- Come back!

Uh, hey!

[ Babbling Continues ]

Wait up!

Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, yeah!

- Whoa. If you're not a cat, stay and chat. - Sorry.

We don't get out much on account of Nig and Al and their nerves. They're a little nervous.

Me, on account of the hips. Well, don't be a stranger. It was--

Open up, please.

O-Open this door!

You got a problem, sweetie?

- Uh-- l-- - [ Male Voice ] Who is it, honey?

It's, uh, kind of  a baldy, pinky, whitey thingy.

Show 'im in.

[ TV: Announcer, Indistinct ]
 

I'd like the bag back, please.

[ Whimpering, Babbling ]

You wanna break his heart?

But it doesn't belong to him.

All I know is what I see:

Tug comes in with the bag, just doin' his job, collectin' stuff,

and you barge in here "accusicating" and making "demandments."

I didn't see you with the bag.

I'm not leaving without the bag.

I don't think my big brother, Bob Bobalooba, the Big Banana,

is "mis-splaining" how things work around here.

Well, I have to warn you:

I may be small, but I can be ferocious if provoked.

And what have we here?

Well, uh, we're in a negotiation...

with this naked, pink individual.

[ Female Chimp ] He's of foreign extraction, Your Honor.

Possibly even an alien.

[ Orangutan ] You drooling imbeciles.

This is an omnivorous mammal of the order Ungulata,

an inconsequential species with no other purpose...

than to be eaten by humans.

This lowly, handless, deeply unattractive mud-lover...

is a pig.

- Oh. - For your information,

I'm a sheep-pig, and I've been sent to save the farm.

Come to think of it, I should be saving the farm right now.

A-And if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

So, will this little pink "lunchness"...

fulfill his destiny, nourishmentally speaking?

We shall see.

I feel very uncomfortable with this conversation.

I want my bag back. Get out of my way!

[ Door Slams ]

[ Wheezing ]

- [ Snorts ] - [ Landlady ] Uncle Fugly!

Uncle Fugly!

[ Grunting ]

- [ Wheezing ] - [ Squealing ]

[ Landlady ] Uncle Fugly!

- Huh? - [ Thumping ]

- Please let me out. - Uncle Fugly!

There's been a theft upstairs.

- Can you imagine? - [ Grunting ]

Esme Hoggett, Fugly Floom.

Uncle Fugly, Esme Hoggett.

- Perhaps we should call the police. - No, no. No police.

No authorities. It would be the end of this place. Surely you understand.

Oh, dear. I just phoned my Arthur to tell him that at least his pig was safe.

- Now, on top of everything else-- - Hey! That's my human!

- Remember, we have found your clothes. - I don't care about clothes.

But the pig-- I can't go home without the pig.

- [ Muttering Continues ] - Did you get that?

Approximately five minutes ago something that looked like a pig exited this establishment.

Where did he go? Left on Canal Street, and then in the direction of the beach.

Okay. Thank you.

[ Moans ]

~ Meow ~ ~ ~ [ Vocalizing ]

- ~ Meow, meow ~ ~ ~ [ Continues ] - What's that?

It's beautiful.

Oh, it's lovely.

~ Meow, meow ~ ~ ~ [ Continues ]

[ Giggling ]

[ Swooning ] Ohh!

~ They all ran after the farmer's wife ~

~ She cut off their tails with a carving knife ~

~ Did you ever see such a sight in your life ~

- ~ As three blind mice ~ ~ - [ Squeaking, Screaming ]

~ ~ [ Continues, Ends ]

[ Reading ]

Pig!

Pig!

Pi-ig!

- ~ ~ [ Techno Dance ] - Here, pig-pig-pig-pig-piggy!

Here, pig-pig-pig-pig!

[ Sternly ] Pig! Pig!

Pig!

Pig!

Here, pig-pig-pig-pig-piggy!

Who you callin' a pig, lady?

Not you. An-Another pig.

- M-My husband's pig. Y-You know-- - What's in the bag?

Aaaaah!

[ Shouting, Screaming ]

Whoa!

Ohh!

Oh, dear. Ohh!

- ~ ~ [ Circus ] - [ Children Laughing, Shouting ]

[ Snorting ]

[ Narrator ] Show business may not be as honorable a profession as sheepherding,

but the pig was willing to endure the ridicule...

if it would help put things right back at Hoggett Hollow.

And the animals had told him if all went well...

there would be big rewards.

- Uh, h-hey, so, when do I get paid? - Shh!

[ Applause ]

~ ~ [ Drumroll ]

[ Children Squealing, Screaming ]

[ Cheering, Laughing ]

Sir, I gotta get going now. How do I collect my reward?

I told you, stay under the table!

Yep. Okay, uh-- Uh--

[ Babe Grunting, Yelling ]

[ Female Singer ] ~ Non, rien de rien ~

[ Female Singer ] ~ Non, rien de rien ~

~ Non, je ne regrette rien ~

~ Ni le bien ~

- ~ Qu'on m'a fait ~ - [ Whimpering ]

~ Ni le mal ~

~ Tout ca m'est bien egal ~

~ Non, rien de rien ~

~ Non, je ne regrette rien ~

~ C'est paye ~

~ Balaye ~ ~

- ~ ~ [ Continues ] - Take your hands off me!

Oh-- Oh-- Ohh! It's a mistake! I'm a grandmother!

Somebody help, please! Call Farmer Hoggett!

Okay, freak show's over! Finished! Come on!

- Help! Help! - [ Siren Wailing ]

[ Reading ]

Just tell me.

There is no reward, is there?

Was there ever such a thing?

As Bob always says-- What do you say, Bob?

It's all illusory-- it's ill, and it's for losers.

Naw, that wasn't it.

- [ Burps ] - You know, that stuff about no yesterday and no tomorrow.

All you got is this actual "now-ness."

The past is gone, and as for the future-- [ Blows Raspberry ]

Yeah. No guarantees, my little pork pie.

It's a dog-eat-dog world and there's not enough dog to go around.

So you look after number whatsy.

- Get my drift? - I'm not a pork pie.

Whatever you say, cutie pie.

I'm not any kind of pie. I'm just a pig on a mission.

~ ~ [ Mice Singing ]

[ Narrator ] It's tough if you're a pig alone in the city.

It can leave you empty.

And whom do you turn to?

Where was the boss's wife?

He thought it might help if he could recall Fly and Rex and their steadfast words,

and he tried really hard,

but he could barely remember the face of his beloved boss.

The farm was fading.

It had become just a comforting dream,

an echo.

~ ~ [ Continues ]

~ Is your heart filled with pain ~

~ Shall I come back again ~

~ Tell me, dear ~

~ Are you lonesome ~

~ Tonight ~

~ Whoo-ooh-hoo-hoo Whoo-oooh ~ ~

- [ Thud ] - Huh?

[ Squeaking, Thudding Continues ]

[ Heart Monitor Beeping ]

[ Beeping Continues ]

[ Wheezing ]

[ Whimpers ]

[ Door Closes ]

[ Ambulance Siren Wailing ]

Are we okay, Thelonius?

Thelonius?

I couldn't wake him. I tried.

But he wouldn't wake up.

He'll be back.

Himselfalways comes back.

Thelonius?

Easy, let him be.

[ Ferdinand ] Let's see.

Mm-hmm.

Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.

Uh, this looks good.

[ Groans ]

Yeah, just drop me off, uh-- Yeah, right here'll be fine.

- [ Regurgitating Noise ] - Uh, thanks for the ride, pal.

- I just hope you get that operation for your wing. - Yeah, right, uh-huh.

I mean, not being able to fly long distances,

on top of the amount of family tragedies you've suffered--

- Oh, my gosh! - Yeah, yeah. Don't sweat it. See ya.

Farewell, noble duck.

[ Ferdinand ] Okey-dokey, you are cleared for landing.

Here we go. Flaps down-- Ohh!

Perfect.

Oh. [ Chuckles ]

Hmm-- Huh? [ Chuckles ] H-Hey!

- [ Gunfire ] - Huh? Huh?

Whoa!

[ Ferdinand Screaming ]

- [ Pigeons Cooing ] - [ Shuddering ]

[ Whimpering ] Pig.

Pig.

[ Reading ]

- [ Narrator ] By nightfall, all Babe's concerns, - [ Moaning ]

all the troubled voices in his head were drowned out by one insistent moan.

- [ Rumbling, Roiling ] - [ Deep, Gravelly Voice ] Food.

The fact is, Babe's belly was making such a fuss...

he began to believe it was talking to him.

- [ Deep, Gravelly Voice ] Food! - Huh?

[ Bob ] Anybody got any food?

Anybody?

Hey, dogs, you got any edibles, any nibbly-dibblies?

[ Flealick ] We got a carpet here with some nice spaghetti stains.

- But we can't keep licking the carpet, can we, Alan? - No, Nigel.

Hey, cats! Cats!

What about you?

[ Cat Choir ] ~ No, no, no, no food No food, no food ~

~ No food, no food We have no food ~ ~

Well, then, I'm gonna get "proactivated."

I know where there's food a-plentiful.

We're goin' outside? Without a human?

Could be kinda dangerous, you know, in a lethally sort of way.

We'll stick to the shadows, honey.

It's coolness.

[ Door Opens ]

[ Door Closes ]

Hey. Hey, w-w-wait! Wait a minute!

Where's the food? I have to eat!

[ Whispering ] I'll do anything, absolutely anything.

Ah, go "porkinate."

What can you do? You don't even have any hands.

What can I do? Uh, lots.

Yeah, right.

Uh, sheep! I can herd sheep!

Go home, sweetie. You're making a spectacle of yourself.

Wait a momentum. I'm thinking I might have some sheep for him to herd.

- You do? - Uh-huh. I'll show ya.

Right here, behind the Food-O-Rama,

is where they keep the sheep.

I'm gonna open this hole.

Open Sez-a-Bob.

They're in there.

Border Leicester or Scottish Blackface?

Pit bull and a Doberman pinscher. Very exotic breeds.

Uh, where do you want me to herd them?

That's up to you. Just keep them occupied till we get the necessaries.

Okey-dokey.

Hello?

Hello?

A-Anybody home?

[ Loud Snarling ]

Uh, anybody else?

You must have a very thin grasp on reality.

Unless, of course, you are suicidal.

Uh, l-I'm just looking...

for some sheep.

I warned you.

- Aaah! - [ Barking ]

- [ Barking Continues ] - Baa, ram, ewe!

Baa, ram, ewe!

To your breed, your fleece, to your clan be true!

Baa, ram, ewe!

- [ Barking Continues ] - [ Bob ] Down here, honey.

Take care, now.

[ Whimpers ]

[ Snarling, Barking ]

I'll head him off!

Let me in!

Please! Somebody!

Let me in!

Open the door!

[ Whimpering ]

[ Man ] Darling, don't get yourselfin a state.

It's not my imagination. Something is going on in that place.

Hortense, you'll miss the aria!

- ~ ~ [ Opera ] - Hortense!

Hmph!

Aah!

I'm gonna catch me! I'm gonna catch me!

[ All Murmuring ]

[ Cats Yowling, Hissing ]

[ Whimpering ]

[ Panting ]

Aaah!

[ Barking, Snarling ]

Whoa-ohh! [ Panting ]

[ Narrator ] Something broke through the terror--

flickerings, fragments of his short life,

the random events that delivered him to this,

his moment of annihilation.

As terror gave way to exhaustion,

Babe turned to his attacker, his eyes filled with one simple question:

Why?

Aaah!

- [ Gasping ] - [ Snarling ]

[ Groaning ]

This is what happens, Alan, on the outside.

It's the times, Nigel.

[ Metal Clanking ]

Honey, come away.

[ Hoofbeats Running ]

[ Splash ]

[ Murmuring, Yipping ]

[ Gasping, Coughing ]

Please, someone, give us a hand!

[ Coughing, Gasping Continue ]

[ Babe ] Please!

[ Chittering ]

- [ Chittering Continues ] - [ Pit Bull Wheezing ]

[ Female Voice ] Kind sir? Kind sir?

Can you help me?

I have been cruelly cast out and have nowhere to go.

- Oh, b-but how? - Please. Please.

I know you're different from the others.

Those that have had their way with me make their empty promises,

but they are all lies-- lies.

And I'm afraid and terribly, terribly tired.

- Where's your human? - My humans belong to someone else now.

Someone younger and prettier.

l, uh, l-I never, ever had a h-h-human.

I'm hungry.

My human tied me in a bag and throwed me in the water.

My tummy hurts.

Try not to think about it.

Take pity on us.

Well, uh, it is nice and warm inside.

- Not a good idea. - Oh, but they--

No. No. "No-ness."

Uh, could that be food?

- Oh, have mercy. - [ Excited Murmuring, Chattering ]

[ Thelonius ] Quiet.

Quiet!

You'll bring all manner of trouble.

Uh, perhaps if we all went inside and we all line up,

I'm sure there'll be enough to go around.

You're talkin' as if you're the word around here.

- I'd say he is. - [ Gasping, Murmuring ]

I'd like to offer up a solution...

that I feel confident you'll all respond to:

Whatever the pig says goes.

Anyone hostile to the notion?

- No! No, no! - No problem! - Whatever the pig says, yeah!

Anybody else?

Fine by moi.

Anybody else else?

It's still just a pig.

[ Window Hinges Squeak Open ]

Well, fluffmy fur.

This recalls the glory days...

when I was dizzy with privilege.

I had my hair styled and my nails manicured each and every day.

- Freeloaders. - Riffraff with no manners.

They'll soil willy-nilly, won't they, Alan?

Willy-nilly, Nigel.

Hey. Swine. I want you to have this collar.

- [ Chittering ] - Um...

that's not necessary.

- Yes, it is. - Uh, you're very kind, but--

No, no, I'm anything but kind.

In fact, I have a professional obligation to be malicious.

Then you should change jobs.

- I can't. - Yes, you can.

No, no, it's in the bloodline. We were once warriors.

Now there's just the urge.

A murderous shadow lies hard across my soul.

So... [ Sighs ]

- should I have let you drown? - Most would have.

Pig, if you were to wear my collar, it would honor me.

Yeah.

[ Rattling Noise ]

[ Pit Bull ] Thank the pig.

[ Pit Bull ] Thank the pig.

[ Female Dog ] Thank you, pig.

[ Babe ] You're welcome.

[ Pit Bull ] Thank the pig.

[ Male Dog ] Thank you, pig.

[ Babe ] You're awfully welcome.

[ Rattling Noise ]

- Thank the pig. - Thank you, pig.

You're welcome.

- Thank you, pig. - You're welcome.

[ Pit Bull ] Thank the pig.

- Thank you, little thingy. - You're welcome.

- [ Rattling Noise ] - Here.

Thank the pig.

Hey! You!

Thanks.

And some for you.

Your Honor.

- [ Chattering ] - [ Pit Bull ] Thank the pig.

[ Squeaking ] Thank you. Oh, thank you, pig.

- Thank the pig. - [ Poodle ] Thank you, pig.

[ Fish ] Thank you, Thelonius.

[ Pit Bull ] Okay, folks, cafeteria closed!

I'm still hungry.

A couple of jelly beans don't even hit the bottom.

- If only there weren't so many of those cats. - Will someone slap the dog?

- Watch it, pussy! - Hey!

- Shove it, butt-sniffer! - [ Animals Murmuring, Yelling ]

- Listen-- - Hey!

The chiefhas somethin' to say.

Um, well,

uh, maybe cats and dogs...

could, um, you know, be nicer to each other.

Right.

It is decreed that all cats and dogs...

put aside their instinctive and fanatical abhorrence of each other...

and that all creatures, great and diminutive, shall be of equal stature,

~ That nobody can deny ~

And so say all of us.

[ Kitty ] I'm still hungry.

My tummy--

it feels all... thingy.

I know, honey.

We did all the work. We should get the biggest share.

No, honey. Here. [ Moans ]

- What? - Mmm.

What's wrong?

[ Sighs ] Um...

- Nothin'. - [ Chuckles ]

[ Narrator ] And so, dear ones, this topsy-turvy night...

was to end with a beginning.

[ Sighs ]

[ Reading ]

[ Narrator ] This event, that weaves a thread from past to future,

soothed the tired hearts of those assembled...

they put aside their uncertainties.

[ Cooing ]

I'm an uncle.

Twice.

[ Cooing Continues ]

Who's like us?

- Darn few. - Darn few.

Yeah.

Darn few.

- [ Poodle ] Well done! - Congratulations, Mom.

Look at that little face.

- They're so cute. Look at that. - They got their father's ears.

[ Female Dog ] I just wanna lick 'em all over their little faces.

On behalf of us all, I'm sure the chief...

would like to, uh,

extend a special welcome,

so, uh, listen up!

Well, uh, l-- Hmm.

Ahem.

~ l-l-lfI had ~

~ Words ~

~ I'd sing a day for you ~

- [ Singing Along ] ~ La la la la la-la ~ - ~ I'd sing you a morning ~

- [ Singing Along ] ~ La-la la la ~ - ~ Golden and true ~

[ All ] ~ La la la la ~

~ La la la la la ~

- ~ La-la la la-la ~ - ~ Blah-blah, blah blah-blah ~

- ~ La-la-la la la ~ - ~ Blah-blah-blah, blah blah ~

[ All Continue ] ~ La la la la, la la la la la-la ~

Huh? Hmm.

Pig. Pig!

- [ Animals Yipping, Howling ] - ~ ~ [ Continues, Triumphant ]

Oh, God, Roger, the place is teeming.

Overrun with filthy animals.

It's a zoo!

[ Tempo Increases ] ~ La la la la, la la la la la-la ~

~ La la la la la-la La-la la la ~

[ Quacking, Grunting ]

- ~ ~ [ Continues ] - Ohh! Ferdinand!

[ Quacking Continues ]

Hey. Hey, pig! Pig, where you goin'?

[ Triumphant Finale ] ~ La la la-a-a-a-a ~ ~

Oh-oh-oh-ohh! Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[ Laughing ]

- Oh, Ferdy! - Give us a peck! Come on, pig!

- Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss. - Oooh! [ Laughing ]

- Who are these losers? - Ferdy!

What's going on here? You look different.

- Yeah, well, this place can really take it out of ya. - Tell me about it.

But hey, I'm with my pig. My lucky, lucky pig!

Little ol' Ferdy,

snug and safe at last.

Aaah!

- Man! - It's gonna be a real busy night.

- [ Cats Meowing, Dogs Whining ] - I'll check upstairs.

- [ Barking ] - [ Meowing, Whining Continue ]

- [ Chittering ] - [ Nigel ] My word!

There's no one home!

Come on. Come on.

[ Whistling ]

Ooh! Well, bite my tail.

[ Whistling ]

Doll, don't go there.

Good girl.

Oh, that's my pretty girl, yeah.

Pig, let's go home.

[ Man Shouts ] Pick up some more cages!

[ Yowling, Barking Continue ]

[ Snarling ]

Over here.

- Now! - [ Whimpering ]

- [ Shrieking ] - [ Men Groaning ]

[ Man ] Careful now.

Pig? Pig! Huh? Huh?

Okay, you're gonna be all right.

- You got him? - Easy.

[ Man ] Hey, fetch another cage!

[ Men Continue Chattering ]

Come on, Zootie.

~ ~
[ Walkman: Jazz ]
 

- Okay, now. - Okay.

You got him? You got him?

Reel him in. Pull him in, pull him in. Come on, you got him.

[ Walkman ] ~ Peep, peep said the chick in the barnyard ~

~ Quack, quack, said the duck Won't you let me in ~

~ Cluck, cluck, cluck said the little red hen Let's boogie in the barnyard ~

~ Baa baa, said the sheep from another hole ~

~ Moo moo, said the cow Let the butter roll ~

~ Cluck cluck, said the little red hen Let's boogie in the barnyard ~

~ Everybody's havin' their fling ~ ~

[ Woman ] Okay.

- Net. [ Grunting ] - [ Zootie Shrieking ]

[ Ferdinand Sneezes ]

Are-- Are there any cats in here?

Cats? Absolutely not. No cat would dare come in here.

But I'm allergic to ca-- to ca--

[ Sneezes ]

- [ Cats Complaining, Yowling ] - [ Cat ] For crying out loud!

- Oh! Got you! Hey! Hey! - [ Growling ]

Good heavens! His heart condition!

He'll kill himself, won't he, Alan?

Yes, Nigel.

- Flealick! Flealick! - Flealick!

- See any more? - No, that does it.

Hey, get a load of this.

Go.

[ Yowls ]

Think we can get out of here without either one of us getting hurt?

How about you cooperate with me?

- [ Gasping ] - [ Mice ] Do something!

Um... uh... uh, water!

He needs water!

No more up here!

- [ Thelonius Whimpering, Screeching ] - [ Men Yelling, Grunting ]

[ Man Grunting ]

[ Muttering ]

[ Squawks ] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

- Hey, pig! - Oh!

[ Ferdinand ] Sorry.

-[ Mouse #1] Someone help me. -[ Mouse #2 ] Why can't you do anything?

[ Squeaking Frantically ]

[ Mice Together ] Eeewww!

[ Gagging ]

Who-o-o-o-o-ah!

[ Sighs ] Thank you, pig!

[ Worried Chattering ]

Whoa!

Aaah!

What is that? Get it out of here.

Ow!

Come on! Let's go!

- Flealick! - Flealick!

[ Sputtering, Gasping ]

[ Man ] What happened to you?

[ Snarling ]

Flealick? Flealick!

[ Squawking ]

Oh, pig! Pig!

[ Panting ]

[ Panting Continues ]

Up!

Up!

- [ Babe ] Flealick? - Huh?

Flealick?

Huh?

Flealick!

Can you-- Can you hear me?

[ Groaning ]

A-Are you okay?

Just flip me over. Fl-- Flip me over.

Ah! Okay, okay. Whew!

Feelin' good, feelin' peppy! [ Sniffs ]

They went-- All right. They went this way.

Uh, actually, Flealick, I think it's the other way.

Wait a minute. What are you doing?

- It's all in the hooter. The schnozz. - The what?

- The olfactory instrument. - Pig! Pig, pig! You're unraveling here!

"A," they are long gone. "B," they were not nice people.

"C" is for kamikaze and "D" is for delusional, which is what you are in the head!

- Ferdy. - Face it. You're just a little pig in the big city.

What can you possibly do? What can anyone do? Why even try?

[ Squeaking Noise ]

- Huh? - [ Whimpers ]

Would you help me off with this, please?

Oh, boy. Unbelievable.

[ Both Grunting ]

Hmm. Uh--

Ferdinand the duck, witness to insanity.

[ Mice Reading ] "Chaos...

- revisited." - re-- revisited."

Oops. Sorry. [ Giggles ]

[ Narrator ] Sometimes we discover our talents only through necessity.

Babe, who never used his nose for anything but the piggish pursuit of food,

soon found he could make his way through the trickiest of smellscapes.

As the morning wore on, he became quite the virtuoso.

[ Babe ] It's close. It's close. We're getting close.

Yes, it's this way.

[ Panting ]

Hmph!

[ Together ] Tourists.

[ Babe Panting ] I do believe we're here.

[ Nervous Quacking, Chittering ]

[ Woman On P.A. ] Dr. Collins, please report to--

- [ Shutter Clicking ] - [ Cats Yowling, Dogs Barking ]

Ohh.

[ Hooting ]

- [ Whimpering, Chittering ] - Dead. I knew it. They're all dead.

- They're not dead. - Well, let's go get 'em.

Flealick, if we get caught, we won't be able to help anybody.

Oh, yes, I've given myselfa good, hard talking-to, let me tell you.

I said to myself, Esme, you have let Arthur, yourselfand the pig down.

[ Narrator ] The judge had never heard anyone speak so many words in so short a time.

- [ Continues Chattering ] - Evidently, this was a woman...

of clear conscience and good intent.

I used to dismiss pigs, but then a pig became my husband's best friend.

[ Narrator ] Besides, he grew up on a farm and had a fondness for pigs.

You can bind me in chains,

but the minute I'm free I shall march back into those streets...

and search for my Arthur's pig!

Case dismissed!

[ Babe ] Hello? Hello?

- [ Bob ] It's the pinkness! - All right!

- [ Zootie ] Thingy! - [ Pit Bull ] Chief!

- Oh, I knew he'd come. - Hot-diggety doggie-doo!

- Shh! We have to be quiet. - Sorry. Uh, sorry.

- I'll go lock up. - All right.

Okay, okay. You all know the term "survival of the fastest."

Well, I've got an idea. We split into two groups.

The fast ones come with me. The slow ones stay behind and sacrifice themselves.

- Ferdinand! - That way we don't all die.

I think that's only reasonable, don't you?

Wh-- Where's Thelonius?

What are you doing?

But, Thelonius, you're an orangu-thingy.

- Well, I'm not dressed. - [ Babe ] Mr. Thelonius?

Time to go.

[ Bob ] This is insanitary.

Thank you for waiting.

[ Babe ] Quick, go back. Go back!

[ Ferdinand ] Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

[ Door Locks ]

[ Poodle ] Oh, my. When is something nice gonna happen to me?

~ ~
[ Stereo: Opera, Loud ]
 

~ ~ [ Volume Increases ]

~ ~ [ Volume Returns To Previous Level ]

Hello?

~ ~ [ Continues, Loud ]

Hello?

[ Snapping Sound ]

Pig.

What's going on? What happened?

I thought I could make a place where we would all be okay.

But how can you do that here?

This used to be a lovely neighborhood.

People kept an eye out for each other. They really did.

But now, I'm away for just one night...

with my Uncle Fugly on his deathbed--

You poor, wee thing.

Why couldn't they just leave us be?

- Who? - What did the animals ever do to her?

- Who? - Her! That--

~ ~ [ Continues, Loud ]

Her.

Right.

Clothes. Got anything that'll fit me?

U-Um, eh--

[ Rattling, Squeaking, Jingling ]

~ ~ [ Opera Continues, Loud ]

[ Pounding On Door ]

Where are our animals?

[ Rattling ]

- I'm not going across there. - Do it, Nigel.

[ Ferdinand ] It's just a walk in the park.

Try and use all of your legs.

Come on, we're almost... not there.

[ Nervous Honking ]

[ Poodle ] In this whole wide world,

is there anywhere that's truly safe?

[ Zootie ] Yeah, for my babies?

[ Babe ] There is a place I know, but it's ever so far away.

[ Nigel ] How do we get there?

[ Babe ] Well, first we have to find my human.

Huh? Ohh!

[ Man's Voice ] Darling?

There you are.

- [ Pants Squeaking, Jingling ] - [ Huffing ]

- [ Babe Whispering ] Quietly. - [ Ferdinand ] Huh?

- Quietly. - "Quietly."

[ Babe ] Shh.

[ Laughs ]

Four leg. Two.

This is a dog. Mmm.

And a pig.

Hi, Thelonius.

[ Baby Giggling ]

Come on, Thelonius, come on.

[ Ferdinand Quacking, Babe Snorting ]

- John? John? - [ Bell Dings ]

Mrs. Willis.

- ~ ~ [ Elevator Muzak ] - Any pain?

- No, very little. - Good.

Good evening, Doctor. Evening, sir.

- Evening. - Hello.

Okay, thank you. Have a good night.

[ Blaring Siren Approaching ]

Evening.

We're looking for, um, some animals.

What kind?

Pig, cats, dogs, monkeys,

- ~ ~ [ Muzak Continues ] - ~ ~ [ Ferdinand Humming Along ]

- [ Cats Yowling, Dogs Barking ] - [ Chefs Exclaiming ]

Hey! You can't come in here.

[ Mrs. Hoggett Gasping, Grunting ]

- Pig! - [ Chefs Shouting, Arguing In French ]

- Yaaaah! - Ooohhh!

- [ Both Groaning ] - [ Ferdinand Quacking ]

[ Poodle ] Well, bite my tail.

Oh. What a surprise.

[ Growls Quietly ]

- [ Screaming, Shouting ] - [ Mrs. Hoggett ] Back off!

[ Guests Screaming, Shouting ]

Ohh! Ohh!

- Come here! - [ Whimpering ]

Okay, go!

[ Babbling ]

Pig? Pig, pig, pig, pig!

- [ Quacking ] - Whoa!

It is her! It's her!

[ Ferdinand ] Sure, it's her.

- Stay, pig, stay! - But it looks like Himself!

Thelonius, I don't think so.

I tell you, it's Himself.

- Things are lookin' up, Ferdy. - Huh?

You're comin' with me, Porky.

[ Babe Squealing ]

- That's not your pig! - He is my pig now.

Esme! The chef's got your pig!

[ Gasps ]

[ Growling, Barking ]

Okay, Thelonius, let's go.

[ Hooting ]

Oh.

- [ Guests Gasping, Shouting ] - Oh.

Grab her, man!

- [ Babe Squealing ] - [ Quacking ]

I am Esme Cordelia Hoggett...

and I've come for my Arthur's pig!

[ Gasps ]

- Oh, dear! Ohh! Ohh! - Whoa!

- [ Squealing Continues ] - [ Grunting, Muttering ]

Ohh! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

[ Whimpering ]

- Whoo! - [ Guests Shouting, Exclaiming ]

Isn't this appalling?

Oh-Oh-Ohhhh! Ohhh!

[ Gasps ]

Ohh! Ooh! Sorry!

[ Panting ]

[ Muttering ]

Oh.

Aaah! Aaaah!

Aaaaah!

[ Guests Murmuring, Screaming ]

[ Growls ]

- Come on, Ferdy. Come on. - [ Honking ]

[ Mrs. Hoggett ] Ohh! Come on, pig! Come on! Ohh!

Ohh! [ Groaning ]

[ Groaning Continues ]

- Ohh! - [ Guests Gasping ]

[ Grunts ] I'm coming, I'm coming.

- Grab him! - [ Babe Squealing ]

[ Guests Gasp ]

[ Squealing Continues ]

[ Whooping ]

Pig!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

[ Chandelier Groaning ]

[ Screaming ]

[ Woman ] Oh! [ Laughs ]

[ Groaning ]

[ Zootie ] No.

[ Bob ] What, honey? What's wrong?

- I think I dropped a baby. - What do you mean, you dropped a baby?

I must have dropped the other baby.

Oh, Zootie! Calm down. Calm down.

Zootie, don't worry, honey. We'll find the baby. The baby has to be right here.

- Hello? - Oh, my baby!

[ Squealing ]

Thelonius, look! Look up!

[ Screaming ]

[ Cries ]

[ Cooing ]

Thank you.

Yeah, Thelonius. Thank you.

Thank the pig.

Pig, you get here now!

- ~ ~ [ Techno Dance, Loud ] - [ Chattering, Laughing ]

[ Narrator ] You can't always put things back together as they were,

but you can look to something afresh.

At least, that's what the two ladies decided.

So it was, the hotel was rented out.

And this provided for a curious arrangement.

I just can't stand it anymore! Roger! Roger!

~ ~ [ Mice Humming "Are You Lonesome Tonight" ]

[ Narrator ] The money from the hotel...

allowed the Hoggetts to keep the farm from the bank.

[ Nigel Grunts ] Race you home, Alan.

[ Panting ] You betcha, Nigel.

And so it was, the pig brought the two worlds together.

Two broken halves to make something afresh...

in a place just a little to the left of the 20th century.

~ ~ [ Continues ]

The chimpanzees left show business behind...

and were able to be chimpanzees.

As you would expect, the air agreed with them immeasurably.

Although the others got a taste for country life,

Flealick found the pace too slow...

and took to chasing trucks.

[ Snarling ]

- [ Mice ] ~ Are you lonesome tonight ~ - Sad to say,

She ran off with another dog and left him with the kids.

Kids, you got to be scary. You're warriors. Give me your snarl.

[ All ] But, Dad, do we have to?

We don't want to.

~ ~ [ Continues ]

~ When I kissed you ~

~ And called you sweetheart ~

~ Do the chairs in your parlor ~

~ Seem empty and bare ~

- ~ ~ [ Continues ] - [ Narrator ] As for the orangutan,

he insisted on staying at the farmhouse... with Herself.

~ And picture me there ~

~ Is your heart filled with pain ~

~ Shall I come back again ~

~ Tell me, dear ~

~ Are you lonesome ~

~ Tonight ~ ~

[ Narrator ] And finally, dear ones, the pig and the farmer...

were content again in each other's company.

And things were back to where they started, more or less.

Hmm.

[ Pipe Rattling, Thumping ]

That'll do, pig.

That'll do.

[ Sighs ]

~ A kind and steady heart ~

~ Can make a gray sky blue ~

~ And a task that seems impossible ~

~ Is quite possible for you ~

~ A kind and steady heart ~

~ Is sure to see you through ~

~ It may not seem like very much right now ~

~ But it'll do, it'll do ~

~ When you find yourself in the middle of a storm ~

~ And you're tired and cold and wet ~

~ And you're looking for a place that's cozy and warm ~

~ You'll make it if you never forget ~

~ A kind and steady heart ~

~ Can conquer doubt and fear ~

~ A little courage goes a long, long way ~

~ Gets you little bit further down the road each day ~

~ And before you know it you'll hear someone say ~

~ That'll do, Babe ~

~ That'll do ~

~ A kind and steady heart ~

~ Is sure to see you through ~

~ A little courage goes a long, long way ~

~ Gets you little bit further down the road each day ~

~ And before you know it you'll hear someone say ~

~ That'll do ~

~ That'll do ~

~ That'll do, Babe ~

~ That'll do ~ ~

Pig in the City has a slightly darker tone than Babe, but it's by no means grim or frightening. The G-rating is still deserved; only the smallest of children will be disturbed by some of the movie's most disconcerting images. Pig in the City has been designed with the goal of recapturing the enchanting feel of the original while taking the story in new and different directions. It succeeds at both aims, standing as a worthy sequel to one of the decade's most innovative family features.

Pig in the City opens on "a place just a little to the left of the twentieth century" -- the farm of "Boss" Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell), who has returned home triumphant with his world-renowned sheep-pig, Babe. However, Babe's time to bask in the glow of his fame is short-lived. After the farmer suffers an accident and is laid up in bed, his wife (Magda Szubanski), needing to raise money to keep the bank men at bay, takes the pig with her on a trip, hoping to get a generous appearance fee by showing up at a county fair. (Apparently, she's no longer obsessed with the thought of a pork dinner.) After missing a connecting flight, however, Mrs. Hoggett and Babe end up stranded in the unfamiliar land of the Big City, where a series of astounding adventures awaits them.

This is essentially a fractured fairy tale. The unnamed city is a fantasyland mixture of cultures, eras, and places -- a visually tantalizing display of all that is grand and intimidating about the world's largest population centers. In the city's vast canyon of buildings can be found the "Hollywood" sign, the World Trade Center, the Space Needle, the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, and dozens of other famous landmarks, all nestled together. Much of the action takes place in and around a quaint, old hotel in a section of the city that looks like a romanticized slice of Venice (canals, bridges, etc.). The film is filled with images of the delightfully absurd, such as a shot of three chimpanzees and a pig strolling along a sidewalk. There's also a comic scene in a ballroom that involves a menagerie, a woman wearing inflatable pants and acting like Tarzan, and a tall, unstable pyramid of full champagne glasses.

George Miller, who co-wrote and co-produced Babe, takes over for Chris Noonan in the director's chair. The transition is relatively seamless. All the elements that made the first film successful are here -- comedy, adventure, fantasy, and a happy ending. In addition to Babe (whose voice is being provided by E.G. Daily instead of Christine Cavanaugh), a few other friendly faces have returned, including the beleaguered Ferdinand the Duck (voice of Danny Mann), and the two human actors, James Cromwell and Magda Szubanski. The two-legged newcomers are Mickey Rooney as a down-on-his-luck clown and Mary Stein as the proprietress of the hotel that offers refuge to animals. Pig in the City also boasts an impressive group of new non-human participants, including several different breeds of dogs, a cat chorus, a family of chimpanzees, and a morose orangutan. Oh, and the singing mice are back, sounding exactly like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

This Thanksgiving season is an especially rich one for family films -- Pig in the City shares multiplex screens with The Wizard of Oz, Antz, and A Bug's Life. All are worth seeing, but the volume of such enjoyable family fare (added to the plodding and pointless Rugrats, which is also playing to packed houses) will likely reduce this sequel's box-office potential. Pig in the City isn't quite as good as the first film, but it's easily worth a trip to a theater, and adults who go without children in tow need not be embarrassed. The target audience is farther ranging than just grade schoolers. Because, even though the title character is adorable, Pig in the City is careful not to overdo the cuteness factor (at times, the tone seems almost gothic). The film's underlying sense of sophistication will satisfy adults, while the nearly nonstop adventure will grab kids' attention.

"Babe: Pig in the City" is one of the most exhilarating and bizarrely satisfying experiences I've had in the movies all year. It's occasionally distressing, sometimes distractingly manic, but also insanely inventive and magical, and far, far stranger than its predecessor. It's one of those children's movies that pushes far beyond the boundaries of what's considered safe and acceptable -- a movie that's beautiful and confused and adamant in its mission to sow chaos, as so many kids' movies are not.

In the most basic way, "Pig in the City" is true to the spirit of the first "Babe": Its message is that no one has to accept his or her assigned place in the world, and that little pigs (or little people, for that matter) can achieve great things. It's a brightly painted circus wagon loaded with giggle-inducing gags and slapstick, but it's also surprisingly intelligent moviemaking in sheep's clothing. Its dark tone shifts can catch you off-guard, but it also has its share of tender, gorgeous moments that whiz out of left field. You're never sure what to expect next.

The setup of "Pig in the City" is simple: The Hoggetts are in danger of losing their farm when Farmer Hoggett is laid up after an accident. Esme Hoggett (Magda Szubanski, here filling the main human role as James Cromwell's Farmer Hoggett did in the first picture) decides to take sheep-herding hero Babe to a big fair, hoping that the money he earns for his appearance will be enough to save the farm. But a couple of wrong turns later, she ends up in jail, with Babe (whose winsome voice is supplied by E.G. Daily this time out) wandering a big, strange city.

In his new and unfamiliar surroundings, Babe -- he of the noble gray tuft, lighthearted, brave and true -- hooks up with an assortment of winged, feathered, four-legged and two-legged friends, many of them strays.

He and Esme have landed at a special hotel where animals are secretly welcome, against all city regulations, and a good deal of the movie's action takes place there. (We see the creatures scampering and trotting along the staircases and landings that wind around the perimeter of the hotel's open lobby -- sometimes it's as if the action is circling our heads.) The animals move and talk with the help of animatronics, but as with the original "Babe," their animal nature is still miraculously preserved. Even the trio of singing mice maintain an air of dignity during their squeaky rendition of Edith Piaf's "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien."

Babe's other friends include a couple of show-biz chimps (their voices provided by the hilariously dry Stephen Wright and the effortlessly charming Glenne Headly) whose facial expressions are more human than those of some human actors; a stately orangutan who wears the sadness of the universe around his baggy brown eyes; an overwound Jack Russell terrier who's lost the use of his back legs but scoots along just fine by way of a little wheeled harness; a pink poodle with fluttery eyes and Blanche Dubois mannerisms; and a mafioso bull terrier who starts out mean and nasty but ends up transformed after Babe saves him from drowning. ("A murderous shadow lies hard across my soul," he says as a way of explaining how his tough-guy nature has been bred into him.)

The plot unfolds in jerky, sometimes slapdash angles and twists that don't matter much except that they move the action along: Babe saves the day, over and over again, and ultimately is reunited with Mrs. Hoggett. (His rescue occurs at a fancy ball; Mrs. H., wearing an inflatable clown suit -- don't ask -- spends much of the scene bouncing along the ceiling like a Macy's parade balloon, a bobbing symbol of the movie's go-for-broke lunacy.)

But while the action is engaging enough, what's really impressive about "Pig in the City" is the way Miller can take your breath away with small moments. Babe's friends have been imprisoned in a hospital lab, and he rescues them, leading them to safety. At one point we see them in silhouette against a twilight sky, crossing a narrow upper-story walkway connecting two buildings, as a woman in a billowy white dress flutters through the alley below. In the same sequence, the animals traipse through a children's hospital ward like a ragtag parade. We see their shadows passing silently along the wall as they trot past a row of iron beds; one of the children wakes up and sees them, his face lighting up with delight and wonder, and it's no less than what Miller makes us feel.

That said, the only way I could get through some portions of "Pig in the City" was to think of it as a kind of European art film -- one that I knew would have a happy ending. A sequence in which a troupe of scary animal-control officers storms the hotel wearing lab coats, padded suits and jackboots goes on far too long, and the sight of frightened animals running in all directions, and of sweet dogs being lured to their entrapment with treats, just isn't fun. (The children in the audience I saw the movie with seemed to have less trouble with the animals-in-distress business than I did; even so, I'd hesitate to recommend it for very young or very sensitive children.)

But as anxious as the scene made me, I can't say that Miller made it cheap; he doesn't stoop to those god-awful traumatizing Disney moments. (No animals die in this "Babe.") Miller always redeems himself just when it seems that he's going to milk us dry. At one point, we're led to believe that Flealick, the Jack Russell in the wheeled harness, has finally gone to meet his maker: He lies in the street, his body twitching, one up-ended wheel turning creakily, and it's too much. But suddenly, Miller cuts soundlessly to a vision of dog paradise. We see Flealick bouncing up and down in a green field loaded with butterflies, a perfect picture of dog joy, his harness cast aside, Clara-like.

The scene -- short, surreal and hysterically funny as well as breathtakingly gorgeous -- represents exactly the kind of heaven that's hoped for by everyone who's ever lost a beloved pet. Of course, Flealick's time isn't up yet -- he hears Babe calling him and comes back to the land of the living, quickly righting himself, and righting the movie, too -- but his brief interlude in paradise is a reassurance from Miller that he cares for his characters as much as we do.

And if nothing else, "Babe: Pig in the City" is even more of a visual treat than the original. "Babe" production designer Roger Ford and cinematographer Andrew Lesnie have outdone themselves this time around. When we see the Hoggetts' farm in the early sequences, with its honey-toned fields and verdant stretches of grass, it's like being reunited with an old friend. But we haven't seen anything yet: Babe's foray into the city is rendered in the same paint-box colors, but they're even more fanciful -- as well as being mysteriously softer and brighter -- than in the earlier movie.

When Babe, lonely in the city, gazes out the circular window of his hotel, he looks out on a gently colored cityscape that's a magical array of every great urban landmark you've ever seen on a postcard or a souvenir charm bracelet: There's the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney opera house, the Hollywood sign. Babe's hotel is a bright, candylike building that sits on the edge of a shimmery canal, as if Venice and Hong Kong intersected on one street corner. Even the human characters are rendered in incredible colors: Mary Stein is delightful as the eccentric innkeeper who allows pets in her establishment. With her swan neck, china-doll skin and flapper's bob, she's like a Mary Engelbreit illustration come to life.

But it is of course the animals that make "Babe: Pig in the City" click. As Babe rounds up his friends at the lab so he can lead them to safety, the orangutan -- a clown's assistant who's used to wearing a coat and pants -- quietly asks the other animals to wait for him to dress. And, patient and naked, they do. The idea of an orangutan needing his clothes to maintain his dignity is either touching or absurd, depending on how you look at it. But in "Babe: Pig in the City," you're about as likely to scoff at it as you are to expect a pig to fly. That he can talk, of course, is already a given.

Not that you shouldn't run out to see Babe: Pig in the City immediately -- quite the contrary. Grownups and kids alike will love the further adventures of the talking sheep-pig. Picking up exactly where Babe left off, this squeal -- er, I mean sequel -- follows Babe (the voice of Elizabeth Daily) and Farmer Hoggett (L.A. Confidential's James Cromwell) home from their triumphant victory at the sheepdog trials. Offers to appear on television and make personal appearances at agricultural events pour in, but Hoggett just wants to get back to his quiet life.

Alas, it is not to be. Babe's generous attempt to help the Boss repair an old well ends in disaster, and while Hoggett is laid up recovering, his wife, Esme (Magda Szubanski) is left to run the farm -- not exactly her forté. Too soon, men from the bank are calling, threatening to put the farm up for auction. So, Babe and the Boss's wife head to the big city for a lucrative pigsonal appearance at a fair.

In hilarious manner, they never make it to the fair but end up stranded in the city, lodging at the only place that will accept a pig: Flealands Hotel, a kind of flophouse for animals and their human friends. Babe gets shanghaied into Fugly Floom's (Mickey Rooney) ape circus, befriending worldly wise chimps Bob and Zootie (wonderfully voiced by Steven Wright and Glenne Headly) and dignified orangutan Thelonius (James Cosmo), amongst other creatures great and small living at the hotel. Circumstances separate Babe from the Boss's wife, and he and his new friends will have to get through some dark times before they reach the happy ending.

Pig in the City delights and affects at the same time. Babe's farmland home is as colorful and otherworldly as it ever was -- and totally appropriate for the Hoggetts, whom the announcer reminds us are "slightly to the left of the twentieth century." And the unnamed city to which Babe and Esme travel is just as askew as you'd expect it to be. Babe's first sight of the city's skyline is howlingly funny, with its amalgam of famous landmarks from cities around the world, a clever shorthand that creates a world city both identifiable and anonymous. The animals characters are complex and fascinating. Flealick (the voice of Adam Goldberg), a little dog who zooms around with his useless rear legs in a cart, dismisses all -- okay, almost all -- possibilities of pity with his scene-stealing feistiness. When Babe saves the aforementioned pit bull (the voice of Stanley Ralph Ross), the terrifying bully is reborn as Babe's protective righthand dog. From Babe's defense of the Boss's wife and his desperate rescue of a goldfish to the film's cartoony ambience and brilliant touches like the Greek chorus of mice, Pig in the City evokes both laughs and tears of joy for writer/director George Miller and cowriter Judy Morris's sheer cleverness.

Something a friend of mine said about the first Babe applies to Pig in the City too: "It's not just a movie about a pig." It's also about friendship and personal integrity -- and wonderful fantasy moviemaking. It sweeps you into its bizarre little world and doesn't let go for an hour and a half -- which is exactly what movies should do.

So we are assured by the narrator with the opening line of "Babe: Pig in the City." And what is true of heroes is even more true of sequels. The original "Babe" was an astonishment, an unheralded family movie from Australia that was embraced and loved and nominated for an Oscar as best picture. Can the sequel possibly live up to it? It can, and does, and in many ways is more magical than the original. "Babe" (1995) was a film in which everything led up to the big sheepherding contest, in which a pig that worked like a dog turned out to be the best sheep-pig of them all. "Babe: Pig in the City" is not so plot-bound, although it has the required assortment of villains, chases and close calls. It is more of a wonderment, lolling in its enchanting images--original, delightful and funny.

It doesn't make any of the mistakes it could have. It doesn't focus more on the human characters--it focuses on them less, and there are more animals on the screen. It doesn't recycle the first story. It introduces many new characters. It outdoes itself with the sets and special effects that make up "the city." And it is still literate, humane and wicked. George Miller, who produced, directed and co-wrote the film, has improved and extended the ideas in "Babe: Pig in the City," instead of being content to copy them.

The movie begins with Babe returning in triumph to the farm with his sheep dog trophy. Alas, he soon falls into the well, setting in motion a calamitous chain of events that ends with Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) laid up in bed, and Mrs. Hoggett (Magda Szubanski) forced to exhibit Babe at a state fair to save the farm from foreclosure. Alas, again, Babe and Mrs. Hoggett miss their connecting flight (she is busted on suspicion of drug possession--that merry, apple-cheeked dumpling of a lady). And they are homeless in the cruel city, where hotels sniff at pigs.

What a city this is! I love imaginary cities in the movies, from "Metropolis" to "Dark City," and here is one to set beside the great ones. Using elaborate sets that surround the buildings with a canal system, Miller uses special effects to create a skyline which impudently incorporates such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House and the Hollywood sign. This is all cities. And in it, Babe finds himself at a boarding house whose landlady (Mary Stein) believes animals deserve rooms just like people do.

There is a large cast of animal characters, whose dialogue is lip-synched and who are colorful and individual--not at all like silly talking animals. One of my favorite scenes involves Ferdinand the duck (voice by Danny Mann), attempting to keep up with the jet taking Babe to the city; the rear view of him flapping at breakneck speed is one of the funniest moments in the movie. (He's eventually given a lift by a pelican, who intones, "Go well, noble duck!") In the boarding house, we meet chimpanzees, cats, fish and a dog paralyzed from the waist down, who propels himself on a little cart. Babe is tricked by some of his new housemates into distracting fierce dogs during a desperate raid for food; apparently facing doom, he turns, looks his enemy in the eye, and asks, "Why?" He has a close call with a bull terrier (voice by Stanley Ralph Ross, sounding like a Chicago gangster), who tries to kill him, and ends up dangling head-first in the canal. Babe saves him from drowning, and the dog becomes his fierce protector: "What the pig says, goes!" The movie is filled with wonders large and small: little gags at the side of the frame and big laughs in the center. It is in no way just a "children's movie," but one that extends the imagination of everyone who sees it, and there is a wise, grown-up sensibility to its narration, its characters and a lot of the action. (Other action is cheerfully goofy, as when Mrs. Hoggett gets involved in a weird bungee-like session of chandelier-swinging.) Here is a movie that is all made up. The world and its characters materialize out of the abyss of the imagination, and in their impossibility, they seem more real than the characters in many realistic movies. Their hearts are in the right places. And apart from what they do and say, there is the wonderment of the world they live in ("A place just a little to the left of the 20th century").

I liked "Babe" for all the usual reasons, but I like "Babe: Pig in the City" more, and not for any of the usual reasons, because here is a movie utterly bereft of usual reasons.