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Babe is a little piglet born in a dark and foreboding building dedicated to breeding food. Perhaps more sensitive than his siblings, he's saddened by the departure of his mother, trucked away to Pig Paradise, a place so wonderful that nobody ever comes back. We, however, know the truth; the adult pigs are off to a slaughterhouse. The relationships between top-of-the-food chain humans and anthropomorphized animals are at the core of this delicate story.

Through a series of improbabilities that we readily accept within a fairytale, Babe comes into the possession of a quiet and dedicated farmer named Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell). The lonely little pig feels out of place in his new home on the Hoggett farm, but a female Border Collie named Fly (voiced by Miriam Margolyes) takes pity and adopts him to be raised among her young puppies. An emboldened Babe ventures out to meet his barnyard neighbors; for the most part, they're a friendly lot. Maa, an elderly and ailing Ewe (voiced by Miriam Flynn) who seems to be the matriarch of farmer Hoggett's sheep herd, takes a liking to him; her affection will yield unexpected dividends. Babe is befriended by a frantic duck named Ferdinand (voiced by Danny Mann). He may be the only animal on the bottom of the food chain able to appreciate his fate; to avoid becoming dinner, he tries to make himself useful by usurping the rooster's role.

It's hard not to like Babe. He's sweet, naive, and helpful to a fault, a trait that Ferdinand exploits. Only Rex, the male Border Collie (voiced by Hugo Weaving), and Dutchess the Cat (voiced by Russie Taylor) seem to dislike the little guy. Dutchess is jealous of Hoggett's growing affection for Babe. Rex becomes upset when Babe demonstrates an unexpected talent for guiding sheep, Rex's reason for living. In fact, so talented is Babe that Hoggett decides to enter him in a national competition, which upsets traditionalist dog owners and causes quite a stir among the spectators. Hoggett's faith in Babe is inexplicitly unshakeable, a product of an odd and tender bond between man and piglet.

Babe is a charming film, narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne and organized as a series of chapters, whose titles are read by a trio of mice for the youngsters in the audience who don't yet read. But don't let this concession to the youngest viewers put you off. The film's wit transcends age. The plotline is touching. And the earnest performance by James Cromwell and the subtle comedic performance by Magda Szubanski as farmer's wife are delightful. It would take a cold heart not to be touched by this simple fairy tale.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic video. The film's palette is warm, contributing to the warm fuzzies the viewer can't help but feel. A dazzling sunset, all reds and oranges with a hint of pink, was captured by cinematographer Andrew Lesnie (or is it a product of CGI?); it's glorious onscreen. Yet, that same warmth casts a very subtle orange tint on skin tones. Bright, primary colors, found in the early fair sequence, are richly conveyed without chroma noise or smearing. Shadow detail during the night scenes and in the dark barn interiors is quite good, revealing objects and animals dimly lit. For the most part, edge halos do not intrude, but for those scenes that display dark objects against a bright background, like the silhouettes of farm buildings against the sky, low amplitude, relatively thick halos appear. The video seems a bit soft as well. Animal fur is nicely delineated in close-ups, but foliage in medium shots lacks definition. I did not notice any compression artifacts.

Babe was previously released in full screen to Region 1 in '97 and '99. Excluding the 1.85:1 anamorphic video release to Region 2 in '99, it's taken Universal four more years to release this little film in its theatrical form. It's most welcome.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

There are two 5.1 tracks on this DVD, one in Dolby Digital and one in DTS. Neither features very active surrounds; the sonic balance is very much toward the front of the theater. Deep bass is reasonable but not dramatic. Thunder is heard rather than felt. Sound effects are conveyed well, very likely from the Foley stage. Excerpts from classical pieces by Edvard Grieg and Camille Saint- Saens, witty counterpoints, are blended into the orchestral score by Nigel Westlake. The music is presented with great definition, a smooth top end, a modest bottom end, and across a broad soundstage. The dialog remains crystal clear throughout, without a hint of digital compression raspiness. A comparison between the Dolby Digital and the DTS tracks reveals a subtle improvement in orchestral timbre and slightly more transparency in DTS.

Alternative languages are available in French and Spanish, each offered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Optional subtitles have been included in Spanish and French; English captions are also available on the disc.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

It's appropriate to mention an unfortunate feature of this disc. Universal has programmed this DVD to open with about five minutes of forced trailers, which reduces them to the level of annoying commercials. Based on content, the trailers are directed at children, so the conclusion we're forced to draw is that the studio decided to take advantage of a captive and suggestible young audience to stimulate demand for the previewed titles. This is both an insult and an inconvenience. The only saving grace is that while the next chapter and menu functions are locked out, the fast forward function still works.

Writer and producer George Miller may be heard in a very fine feature-length audio commentary. He rarely lapses into plot points or character developments. He focuses on the making of the film and offers fascinating insights into the means used to coax performances from the animals. We learn that piglet growth and the duration of the shooting schedule weren't compatible. Babe is a succession of animals, both for the reasons of trained trick specialization and size continuity. Animal animatronics were used in many scenes, but despite Miller's assertion to the contrary, I think the viewer can differentiate between the ingenious mechanicals and the real thing. I found his monolog consistently informative and entertaining. Well done.

The Making of Babe (3:57) is an interesting little full screen featurette that reveals how the CGI artists locked a tracking wire-frame on the animals' snouts and used the power of the computer to replace much of each animal's face. They then substituted human-like expressiveness and mouth movements to create a convincing simulation of animals speaking to one another in English.

George Miller on Babe (6:12) is the second full screen featurette. The film's producer, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Chris Noonan, describes his first exposure to “The Sheep Pig,” a novel written by Dick King-Smith. Miller briefly takes us through the process of how the movie came to be, and touches upon voice casting. He singles out Christine Cavanaugh, the voice of Babe, a woman in her twenties who was able to project great emotion as she spoke in a child's voice. He also acknowledges the difficult acting challenge facing James Cromwell as reticent farmer Arthur Hoggett; he had little to say - the animals had far more lines - yet managed to convey a fine range of emotion with subtle looks or a word or two.

Games transports you to a choice of Farmyard Friends, Babe's Challenge, and Sheep Ma-a-ath. The first offers short descriptions of several farm animals. Babe's Challenge asks the player to maneuver Babe onscreen as he herds sheep into a pen. And the last is a math quiz with a scant three questions. Each is aimed at the very young; readers will very likely want to skip this feature.

Recommendations is a series of screens illustrating the DVD covers for a variety of children's films. The 92- minute feature is organized into sixteen chapters. Babe is available for sale as a single title and as part of a two-pack that includes Babe - Pig in the City (not to be confused with Jessica Parker's series on HBO).

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

After the Universal skin loads on top of your Inter-Actual player, you'll have the opportunity to visit the Universal web site.

Parting Thoughts