--- title: "Babe: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/babe/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/babe" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Babe (1995): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 10 reviews: 9 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics are won over by Babe, and several sound surprised to be. Nine of the ten reviews are positive, and the praise gathers around the same two things: the way real livestock and animatronic doubles are cut together so that you stop looking for the join, and a script that treats its audience as adults. Several critics note that the story grows out of the animals’ characters rather than manufactured drama, and that the piglet wins by good manners rather than force. Chris Noonan’s direction, on his first feature, gets particular credit for keeping the effects in service of the story. The reservations are few and specific. The New York Times finds the Rocky-style soundtrack overbearing. The one mixed notice, from The Guardian writing thirty years on, thinks the effects now look their age and the script wants zip, though it still calls the film a pleasant visit. That is as wide as the spread gets. ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic finds the farmyard adventure wildly hilarious and captivating despite its twee premise. They single out the meticulous blending of real livestock with animatronic doubles and the witty, delightful direction by first-time feature filmmaker Chris Noonan. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/babe-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 1995. The critic calls the film a genuine sleeper and unanticipated treat that fulfills its modest aims with charming, carefree antics and beautifully effective effects that serve the story without drawing attention to themselves. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-04-ca-31488-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 1995. The critic praises the film's charm, wit, and refusal to condescend to its audience, highlighting how it develops a story based on the animals' characters and upbringing rather than contrived melodrama. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/babe-1995) ## The New Yorker — Terrence Rafferty Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 1995. The critic calls the film a lovely, stubbornly idiosyncratic fable of aspiration and survival that is much funnier and cannier than recent movies about human relationships. He singles out its refusal to live down to low expectations as a virtue embodied in the story of the piglet who wants to be a sheepdog. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/09/04/pet-sounds) ## Variety — Leonard Klady Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 July 1995. The critic describes it as a dazzling family entertainment with enormous charm that utilizes breathtaking technical innovation and should win over big audiences. He singles out the unself-conscious approach of relaying events from the animals' perspective through animatronic wizardry and voiceovers. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/babe-1200442122/) ## Radio Times — John Ferguson Rating 4/5. This family comedy enchanted millions and converts children to vegetarianism with its magical mix of live action and animatronics. It is a delight from start to finish that captivates children and adults alike. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-s1d2ye/babe/) ## Time Out — BC Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 July 2016. The merits of Babe lie in its source material, with the piglet succeeding through politeness rather than force in the sheep trials. It is charming, eccentric and very amusing. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/babe) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 1995. The review finds the Australian children's film endearing for its light touch on a fable about individualism and conformity, while noting the seamless effects and imaginative voice casting, but criticizes the overbearing 'Rocky'-style soundtrack. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/04/movies/film-review-a-feisty-pig-with-aspirations-beyond-the-sty.html) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2025. The critic views Babe as a quaintly comfortable but dated relic of its time, a strange anti-Orwell farmyard tale whose antique effects and uncanny visuals feel of their era yet still offer a pleasant visit. It praises the Oscar-winning mix of animatronics, real animals and cinematography while noting the script lacks zip and the story's oddities. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/10/babe-review-tale-of-the-talking-sheep-pig-a-charming-relic-of-its-time) ## Collider — Gregory Lawrence Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2020. The critic calls Babe a sumptuous, gentle, quiet and heartfelt classic. They single out its exquisite mix of real animals, Henson creature work and subtle effects that create an immersive world of talking animals with mythic pastoral visuals and a stirring score. [Read the review](https://collider.com/why-babe-is-a-perfect-movie/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/babe.md