USA: BABE, PIG IN THE CITY ' FILM OPENS IN THE UNITED STATES WITH SPECIAL EFFECTS AND HUNDREDS OF TRAINED ANIMALS

Record ID: 388189

  • Title: USA: BABE, PIG IN THE CITY ' FILM OPENS IN THE UNITED STATES WITH SPECIAL EFFECTS AND HUNDREDS OF TRAINED ANIMALS
  • Date: 6th December 1998
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 18) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) JAMES CROMWELL SAYING "That was the real fun was watching the trainers not only perform when they're training, because the comedic part of the film for me, of course, as an actor, is watching the shenanigans that the trainers have to go through to get this little critter to do whatever he
  • Embargoed: 21st December 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA1E7RMHDFA28ZCF0ZF1REM08V6
  • Story Text: Three years after a little movie about a talking pig named "Babe" went all the way to the Oscars, a sequel with three times the budget and four times the special effects is now in theaters in the United States."Babe: Pig in the City" again stars Oscar nominee James Cromwell and features hundreds of talented animals trained by veteran trainer Karl Miller.
    The original "Babe" was a huge hit with critics and audiences alike when it was released in 1995.The story of a kind-hearted pig who thinks he is a sheep dog went on to garner seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and won the Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects.It also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy or Musical Picture.
    The sequel starts up where the first film left off, with Babe basking in the glory of his heroic performance at the National Sheep-Dog Trials.But hardship sets in when Farmer Hoggett, played by Oscar nominee James Cromwell, is injured and his farm starts to fail.
    In a desperate bid to raise money and save the farm, Hoggetts' wife Esme, again played by Australian actor Magda Szubanski, takes Babe off to a faraway mythical city for personal appearances.But they get separated, and a new adventure for Babe is underway.
    Some of the original animals from the first film return, including Babe's friend, the self-important duck Ferdinand along with a trio of singing mice.But the city is full of new and unusual animals, all of which were cast and trained especially for the film by Karl Miller, the veteran trainer who also worked on the first movie.
    They included more than 10 different breeds of dogs, 200 cats, an orangutan, a chimpanzee and a bunch of Capuchin monkeys.Miller says the biggest challenge was getting all of these creatures to get along and perform together in the same scene.
    But, like the first film, "Babe: Pig in the City" also puts to good use animatronic creatures designed by Oscar-winner Neal Scanlan and computer generated special effects, mostly used to make the animals' mouths move as if they were speaking.In fact, this film is vastly more complicated than the first one, with four times the effects of the first one.
    That fact slowed down the production and forced the filmmakers to cancel the film's premiere screening and press junket because the special effects people were still putting finishing touches on the film at the last moment.
    There also were some changes in personnel between the two films.The first one was directed by Chris Noonan and written and produced by veteran Australian filmmaker George Miller.
    Miller also wrote and produced the sequel, but this time he also added directing to his chores.
    Some critics are seeing his touch on the films.As he has with his past films "Mad Max," "Road Warrior," "Lorenzo's Oil"
    and "The Witches of Eastwick," Miller brought a darker touch to "Babe: Pig in the City." Some are wondering if it's too dark for younger children.
    As examples, the film includes a chase by a terrifying bull terrier, a human character in a coma, and animals barely escaping death, drowning and suffocation.None-the-less, Universal Pictures has high hopes for the film being a big hit with both children and adults during the all-important holiday movie season.
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