Product: Bebe, Un Coninito Va Muy Lejos (Babe -- Spanish edition) [VHS] (1995)
Rating: 5.0
Better than "Charlotte's Web" by a long shot!
Trust me, "Babe", although written and filmed later, was much better than the other major pig movie, "Charlotte's Web". What are the highlights? How do they dominate those of the 1973 so-called "timeless classic"? Allow me to explain.1. Babe himself. The main pig of the story is the one who deserves to be so. He earns his right to a long life, unlike Wilbur, who begs and cries until the spider agrees to help. Babe becomes a sheepdog and excels in doing so.2. It's not dumb or cheesy. When I was a young kid, I loved both movies, but now that I'm older, I decided to pull both of my childhood favorites out of the dusty video pile to see how they live up. Babe kept the charm and integrity I remember. Charlotte's Web didn't. Babe's destination: traded in for the DVD. Charlotte's Web's destination: my baby sister's bedroom.3. The songs. There were only three, all short, and not embarrassing to listen to. The first was a French tune sung by the mice. The second was "Blue Moon" also sung by the mice, written very well although not written for the movie. And the third was "If I Had Words", a simple but very sweet four line song sung by Farmer Hogget(James Cromwell), and by the mice again during the credits. I remember humming and singing this song to no end in my younger years, and doing it again now has caused quite a stir at school. Also memorable was the fitting background music, from the eery chant that plays in Rex's prescence, to the non-lyrical version of "If I Had Words" often heard throughout the film. This is very different from Charlotte's Web, in which there were too many songs to count, very cheap and played at random intervals. Every dumb thing in the movie, there's a song about it. One is of Wilbur making a fool of himself, boasting to the world that he could talk, which had me cheering for the sheep who said, "Why don't you keep it down?" Yay sheep. Another was of the goose describing to Templeton how the fair-goers leave all kinds of trash for the dumb rat to stuff his fat face with. I think I've said enough.4. The cast. All of the characters have believable voices brimming with emotion and fitting their personalities, and even what kind of animals they are. Babe's voice is soft and sweet, just like you would think it was. Fly had some wonderful work done by Miriam Margoyles, in a voice that manages to be motherly around Babe and her pups, stern when it needs to be, and harsh with the sheep. Ferdinand the duck and the many sheep have voices that fit their species. If you just listened to their dialogue, you would know what they were. Also worth mentioning are the human actors. And of course, the voices in CW are very bland and painful to listen to, especially Wilbur. Just barely being able to talk and sounding like an adult at the same time in just ridiculous.4. The general theme. Babe was about overcoming prejudice and never giving up, which was also evident in "Balto", another one of my favorites. All Charlotte's Web taught was that if you're in a bad situation, you can rely on others to save your hide. Forget all of that "friendship" junk, because I just don't see it.A few final words: As for Babe, I loved both the book and the movie. The CW book by E.B. White was the only thing I found any decency in. The lack of dumb songs jacked it up quite a bit. In both movies, the pig had a special guardian. Fly the border collie for Babe and Charlotte the spider for Wilbur. And dogs, especially border collies, always triumph over spiders.