FILM · 1995 · AUSTRALIA
Babe
- Directed by
- Chris Noonan
- Runtime
- 92 min
- Studio
- Universal Pictures, Kennedy Miller Productions
29 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Babe is a little pig who doesn't quite know his place in the world. With a bunch of odd friends, like Ferdinand the duck who thinks he is a rooster and Fly the dog he calls mum, Babe realises that he has the makings to become the greatest sheep pig of all time, and Farmer Hoggett knows it. With the help of the sheep dogs, Babe learns that a pig can be anything that he wants to be.
Summary: TMDB
All facts (29)
- #001
Because piglets grow so quickly, 48 pigs were used to play Babe during filming. The breed used was the fast-growing Large White.
- #002
Jerry Goldsmith originally composed the film's score, but it was ultimately rejected because its tone was too dark. Nigel Westlake was then brought in to compose a lighter score.
- #003
After the film's release, pork sales in the United States dropped by 20%.
- #004
One reason it took George Miller ten years to bring the story to the screen was that he waited for special-effects technology to catch up with the release date he had set for the film.
- #005
Magda Szubanski was in her early thirties when she won the role of Esme Hoggett, who was meant to be elderly, so Szubanski was made up to look roughly 20 years older.
- #006
The film's set had 56 animal trainers to manage around 1,000 animals.
- #007
Babe (1995) was released in cinemas in 1995, the Year of the Pig.
- #008
James Cromwell, a longtime vegetarian, decided to become vegan after appearing in the film.
- #009
It was filmed in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia, particularly in Robertson.
- #010
Quentin Tarantino named Babe (1995) one of his favorite films of 1995, which surprised some of his fans given the violent nature of his own films.
- #011
The talking pig is a combination of 48 real Yorkshire pigs and an animatronic double. A makeup artist added a wig and eyelashes to each one, and computer digitization altered images of the snout to make the pig appear to be talking.
- #012
The man who bought Fly's three piglets is head animal trainer Karl Lewis Miller.
- #013
It was a ten-year labor of love for producer George Miller.
- #014
Pre-production took eight months, filming took six months and post-production took 12 months.
- #015
It contains James Cromwell's only Oscar-nominated performance.
- #016
During the film's test screenings, children would often ask "what was he saying?" when the film's segment began, so the musical group The Harlettes was brought in to sing the segment openings.
- #017
Babe (1995) is sometimes considered the film that launched the CGI talking-animal movie revolution.
- #018
James Cromwell claimed he paid $60,000 for his own Oscar campaign.
- #019
It was Magda Szubanski's first feature film.
- #020
The sheepdog championship is held at the Kingsmith Fairground. The electrician to whom Rex's truck is tied is named Dick. Near the beginning of the film, Esme Hoggett is polishing the trophy for the Kingsmith District Show. These are tributes to the author Dick King-Smith.
- #021
Babe appeared on the American Film Institute's 1998 list of 400 films nominated for the 100 Greatest American Films.
- #022
According to actor James Cromwell, there was tension on set between producer George Miller and director Chris Noonan. Noonan later complained, "I don't want to be George Miller's enemy for life, but I felt he tried to take credit for Babe, tried to exclude me from any credit, and it made me very insecure… It was like your guru telling you you're no good, and that's really worrying." Miller shot back, "Chris said something defamatory: that I removed his name from the credits on internet sites, which is absolutely not true. You know, I'm sorry, but I have far more interest in my own life than in worrying about this… As for Babe, the vision was handed to Chris on a plate."
- #023
Two of the three 'Agents' in The Matrix (1999) appear in this film. Paul Goddard (Agent Brown) plays Farmer Hoggett's son-in-law, while Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) provides the voice of the sheepdog Rex.
- #024
Most films released in the German-speaking regions of Europe are dubbed with standard (Prussian-German) pronunciation in Germany. However, this film premiered in Austria with a special re-dubbed version. Each of the animals speaks with a very specific regional Austrian accent: Ferdinand the Duck sounds Tyrolean, the Duchess cat has a Vorarlberg accent, and so on. To an English-speaking American, the accents, including regional words and speech patterns, might come across like Deep South, Australian or Scottish English.
- #025
James Cromwell and Magda Szubanski play husband and wife in this film, but in reality there is a 21-year age difference between them.
- #026
Babe appeared on the American Film Institute's 2000 list of 500 films nominated for the 100 Funniest American Films.
- #027
Kathy Bates was considered for the role of Esme Hoggett.
- #028
It was released in the Year of the Pig, according to the Chinese calendar and Chinese New Year.
- #029
Three years earlier, James Cromwell had played a priest in another film with a similar name to baseball legend Babe Ruth: The Babe (1992).
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