Babe was an original masterpiece, but if that is true, Babe: Pig in the City is the masterpiece. Taking a totally drastic shift from the original (yes, this is a sequel), Babe heads off to the big city, which actually is just a collection of every major city in the real world, with nothing but Esma Hogget (Magda Szubanski), and those singing mice. Of course, things don't work out as they wanted to. After Babe accidentally damages Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell), they head to the city to win money in a sheep dog tournament, but Esma is arrested for trying to smuggle drugs with Babe (she is acquitted) and misses the tournament. They get a room in the strangest hotel in the world - a place overrun by animals, including monkeys, choir cats, and a dog with wheels as his back legs. That brings me to point one: The world in Babe 2 is surreal. Helped with narration by some guy, the audience is unleashed upon the journeys of Babe as he fights to reunite with his human, get food for his newfound friends, and ultimately save them from the pound. Point two: Babe is not a kid's story. While there really isn't anything offending to children, adults and older kids (teens) may relate more to the story than little children. Babe: Pig in the City is a drama, dealing with isolation and fighting for survival. Of course, the movie is also hilarious. This movie is just so strange that its hard not to laugh, and its supposed to be that way.

Babe: Pig in the City is superior to its predecessor, a rare occasion in the history of sequels.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.