Babe: Pig in the City (1998)

[dylanspeed 0]

I recently watched this sequel to the Best Picture winning, charming kids movie Babe, and I was spent most of the viewing experience completely stunned. It is one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen, and it is, without a doubt, the darkest, most depressing kids movie I've ever seen. The following things happen in the KIDS movie Babe: Pig in the City (spoilers, if you care):

A pit bull nearly drowns.
The farmer's wife is jailed for, from as far as I can tell, having her purse stolen.
A clown named Fugly dies.
Babe is implicated by a drug sniffing dog. The drug agents then strip search the farmer's wife.
The farmer suffers a life threatening injury (this happens in the first five minutes).
The phrase "back off, pussy" is employed by a dog to a cat.
A kitten starves.
A duck is shot at by about 15 assault rifles at once.
An orangutan is shamed by having to remove his clothes (sounds like it could be funny. It is not).
A stray dog alludes to the fact that his previous owner tried to drown him.

It is such a bummer. I would love to hear your take on it.

[FuriousMittens 0]

I'll second this one, though I loved the movie for all it's what-the-fuckery. It's right up there with Return to Oz in the dark, disturbing children's film category. That pit bull drowning scene is made all the more delightful as a town full of various domesticated animals stand by, watching, saying things like, "look away, children, look away." And there's nothing funnier/sadder than a little kitten voiced by a five year old telling Babe, "My owner put in a bag and threw me in the river."

[FuriousMittens 0]

I'll second this one, though I loved the movie for all it's what-the-fuckery. It's right up there with Return to Oz in the dark, disturbing children's film category. That pit bull drowning scene is made all the more delightful as a town full of various domesticated animals stand by, watching, saying things like, "look away, children, look away." And there's nothing funnier/sadder than a little kitten voiced by a five year old telling Babe, "My owner put in a bag and threw me in the river."

[Julia 477]

Such a downer.

[Julia 477]

Such a downer.

[nthurkettle 148]

I want to bump this because while I think it has some legitimately amazing qualities to it; it is indeed crazy-weird-disturbing for a kids' movie, AND it's relevant that since this thread was last posted on, the movie's director George Miller went back his roots and made a little movie called Mad Max: Fury Road. I would just love to hear the gang process the idea that the same filmmaker made both these things.