Babe

This is a tale about an unprejudiced heart...

and how it changed our valley forever.

There was a time not so long ago...

when pigs were afforded no respect except by other pigs.

They lived their whole lives in a cruel and sunless world.

In those days, pigs believed that the sooner they grew large and fat,

the sooner they'd be taken into pig paradise.

- Haa! Haa! Get up! - A place so wonderful...

- that no pig had ever thought to come back. - Yo! Yeah!

Good-bye, Mom.

So when the day came for their parents to go to that other world of endless pleasures,

it was not a time for young pigs to be sad.

Just another step towards the day when they, too, would make the journey.

- - Perhaps it was because he was alone.

Perhaps his sadness made him easier to catch.

Whatever the reason, of the thousands of animals in the piggery that day...

only one was chosen.

- How's this one, Harry? - Just right for the purpose.

- How much do I owe you? - It's a runt, Harry. A worthless, little runt.

- -

You're too modest, Esme Hoggett.

Nine out of ten first prizes for jams and jellies...

is more than a matter of luck.

Luck still plays its part. Our berries were wickedly good this year.

And our water is very tasty too.

Of course, we don't use the town water.

Arthur Hoggett! How's it going, Arthur?

How are those sheep of yours? Come on, try your luck.

How about taking a guess, Arthur? All for a good cause.

- Don't keep pigs. - Christmas day. Think of it. What a feast!

That'll do, Pig.

The pig and the farmer regarded each other.

And for a fleeting moment, something passed between them.

- A faint sense of some common destiny. - Hah. Strange.

First time the little thing hasn't screamed its head off.

Now you'll have to have a guess.

- Sixteen pounds, five-- -

Eew.

Two ounces.

Hooey! Hoggett!

Hooey! Hoggett!

Thanks, Arthur. We'll be weighing the little pig tomorrow.

We'll phone you if you win.

When you win, Arthur. When you win!

Care to guess the pig's weight, sir?

Support the Lion's Club.

Ooh!

What could we do with a pig, eh, Duchess?

Just think. Two nice hams. Two sides of bacon.

Oh, and pork chops, kidney, liver, chitlins, pickle his feet.

- - Save his blood for black puddin'. There's the telephone.

Hoggett!

Good news, Arthur. You've won the pig.

Oh.

Pigs are definitely stupid.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

- What is it, Mom? - That's a pig.

- They'll eat him when he's big. - Will they eat us?

Good heavens, no! The bosses only eat stupid animals...

like sheep and ducks and chickens.

Yea!

It does look stupid, Mom.

Not as stupid as sheep, mind you. But pigs are definitely stupid.

Excuse me. No, we're not.

- Good heavens! Who are you? - I'm a Large White.

- Yes, that's your breed, dear. What's your name? - I don't know.

What did your mother call you to tell you apart from your brothers and sisters?

Our mom called us all the same.

And what was that, dear?

She called us all Babe.

Perhaps we shouldn't talk too much about, uh, family.

I want my mom.

There, there. You've got to be a brave boy now.

I left my mother when I was your age, and my pups will have to leave me soon.

But I'll keep an eye on you, if you like, just 'til you find your feet.

The little pig's a bit low. He's going to sleep with us...

- just 'til he finds his feet. -

Until he finds his feet.

But, Mom, he'll wet the bed!

Nonsense!

If you do want to do anything, you'll go outside, won't you?

- - Good boy.

Yea!

Yeah! Yeah! Stomp on him!

What's your name, Pig?

- What does he taste like? - Where did he come from?

Comin' through! Hey, get lost!

- -

We've got to do something about that duck.

Ooh! Ooh!

Doodle-loo-dee-doo.

- What's that noise? - It's only Ferdinand.

- What's Ferdinand? - He's a duck.

- He wants to be a rooster. - He hates being a duck.

- We'll catch him one day and eat him. Won't we, Mom? - Yes, dear.

Yech! Who'd want to eat a duck?

Babe, you wait here.

- Aren't pigs allowed? - Not live ones.

- Sorry, dear. Only dogs and cats inside the house. - Why?

That's just the way things are.

- -

Whoa!

- Ow! - Pig-pig- piggy!

Ooh, what a spectacular feast I've got for you.

Oh, yes! What a lucky little pork chop you are.

Delicious! Oh, yes! Yum, yum, yum.

Who's gonna grow up to be a big, fat pig?

You are! You are! Yum, yum, yum.

- Where are we going? - To work with the sheep.

- What's sheep? - Sheep is animals with thick, woolly coats.

And thick woolly heads. And men can't look after them without us.

- Why do they need us? - 'Cause we're sheepdogs! Yea!

- Not you, dear. - Why not?

We have to do dogs' work. You're a pig. Your job is to stay here and eat your food.

We'll be back at the end of the day.

They don't think I'll remember. Well, I don't forget.

Seems like a sheep's just born to suffer.

Hello? Excuse me.

Darn wolf!

- I'm not a wolf. I'm a pig. What are you? - Ewe.

Pig. What are you?

I'm a ewe. A ewe!

- You're a sheep! - I'll not be called a common sheep, thank you kindly.

I'm a Border Leicester ewe. The name's Maa.

- - Oh.

- What's wrong with you, Maa? - Foot rot. And I got me a nasty cough.

And I'm not as young as I used to be.

[ Coughing, Bleating ]

Hmph.

- Seem like a nice young pig. What be your name? - Babe.

Not like them wolves. Treat you like dirt, they do!

- Bite you as soon as look at you, those savages! - Bite you?

And worse. Some wolves be so bad,

they run a sheep down and tear it to pieces.

- - Fly would never do that!

Fly, is it? A right vicious creature she be, I'll tell you.

- Not Fly. - All them wolves is cruel to sheep. Always have been.

Brutal savages! That's what they be.

I wouldn't want to see a gentle soul like you mixin' with the likes of them.

That afternoon when he saw Fly,

the pig's mind was a tangle of questions.

Cruel, vicious, brutal?

What was it that dogs did in the fields all day?

- Hello, Babe? Had a good day? - Yes, thank you.

The old sheep had to be wrong about Fly.

And the pig promised himself that he would never think badly of any creature ever again.

Crime and Punishment!

The morning of the terrible crime...

started like any other on Hoggett Farm.

Comin' through! Comin' through!

Take off!

- Now! - Up, up, up.

- - Nee-nee-nee- nee.

- - [ Alarm Ringing ] - Hmm?

I was worried it might have a harsh tone, but that's quite a nice musical ring.

I walked into O'Halloran's Hardware, and there it was waiting for me.

What a splendid way to wake up each morning!

Hoggett, dear. Church.

When embarking on an audacious crime,

a duck needs a willing accomplice.

A creature who is reliable, beyond suspicion,

and above all, extremely gullible.

Hey! Psst!

Wha-- What?

You look like an intelligent, sophisticated, discerning young fella.

- Who, me? - Yeah. Follow me. Oh, boy! Are you in for some fun!

What are we doin'? Where are we goin'?

Now the duck knew exactly what he had to do.

- The alarm clock had to go. His very life depended on it. - Do you see it?

- Yes. - Good.

So I go through the kitchen, across the living room...

- Good, good. - into the bedroom.

Get the mechanical rooster and bring it out to you.

- What about that cat? - But quietly bring it out to you.

- Excellent. - I don't think I can do it.

It's against the rules. Only dogs and cats allowed in the house.

It's a good rule, but this is bigger than rules. This is life and death.

- It is? - Mm-hmm. Follow me.

Hello! Look, there's something you should know.

- Humans eat ducks! - I beg your pardon?

Most ducks prefer to forget it, but the fact is that humans like to eat plump ducks.

I don't think so. Not the boss. Not the boss's wife.

Come on. Humans don't eat cats. Why?

- Well, they're... - They're indispensable. They catch mice.

Humans don't eat roosters. Why? They make eggs with the hens and wake up everyone in the morning.

I tried it with the hens. It didn't work.

So I turned to crowing, and lo! I discover my gift.

But no sooner do I become indispensable than they bring in a machine to do the job!

Ah, the treachery of it!

- A mechanical rooster! - Oh, dear me.

Oh, dear you?

I suppose the life of an anorexic duck...

doesn't amount to much in the broad scheme of things.

But, Pig,

I'm all I've got.

Why do you need me to do it?

- I'm allergic to cats. - Oh.

They make me sneeze.

Ahh.

Don't worry. I won't wake the cat.