Babe: Pig in the City

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Babe: Pig in the City ★★½ 1998 (PG)

Miller takes over the director's chair for this trip. And he brings along more money, more effects, more animals, and more unsettling images, including Mickey Rooney in a creepy clown suit, than anyone who saw the original would expect. Babe returns home to a hero's welcome, but the joy doesn't last long. Farmer Hoggett (Cromwell) is injured, and with foreclosure imminent, Babe and Mrs. Hoggett (Szubanski) head out to turn Babe's fame into a little cash. Along the way, they miss their connecting flight in “the city” and are forced to stay at a hotel that caters to animals. There, they meet the aforementioned Rooney and his three chimp partners, along with various dogs and cats. Technically well-done, and sporting an imaginative story, but may be a little dark for the younger kiddies. 96m/C VHS, DVD . James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Mickey Rooney, Mary Stein, Julie Godfrey; D: George Miller; W: Judy Morris, Mark Lamprell; C: Andrew Lesnie; M: Nigel Westlake; V: Elizabeth (E.G. Dailey) Daily, Danny Mann, Glenne Headly, Steven Wright, James Cosmo, Stanley Ralph Ross, Russi Taylor, Adam Goldberg, Nathan Kress, Myles Jeffrey; Nar: Roscoe Lee Browne.