Reviewed by Denny Lin (9/15/95)

Fables have always fascinated me for their magical way of telling stories about life. Such is the charm of "Babe: the Gallant Pig", which tells the story of a polite and unprejudiced pig, striving to find his place in the world, and becomes a sheep dog.

This story is full of allegorical names. The central character is named Babe for its innocence and gentile spirit. Farmer Arthur Hoggett, might have been named so because he "gets the hog" at the fair. Since dogs rule the farm, it is no surprise at all that our top dog is named "Rex". Even the trial grounds were named after the author of the story, Mr. Dick King-Smith.

In the current state of affairs, pigs are not allowed in the house, and leadership is a matter of attitude. Dogs are expected to tell sheep that they are in control; to establish domination, dogs will bite and verbally abuse sheep if necessary. Dogs are kept in the farm because they breed cute puppies; cows provide milk and cheese; horses provide transportation; sheep provide wool; and the cat gives emotional warmth to the farmer's wife. Ducks and pigs however, have no real purpose in life other than to be the boss' Christmas dinner. Unless of course, Ferdinand the duck manages to rid the farm of the mechanical rooster that threatens to eliminate his usefulness.

Babe finds its proper place in the farm as Fly's (the female sheep dog) adoptive child. Babe socializes with dogs, and learns to herd sheep because this is what dogs do. But this situation sets up an interesting clash of leadership and communication styles. Is courteous leadership more effective than authoritarian dictatorship?

And what a better place to test this idea than the National Sheepdog Trials! Rex puts aside his prejudices about sheep, and the sheep do the same: all Rex really had to do was ask. In the presence of overwhelming ridicule from spectators, all Arthur Hoggett had to do was to give the start and finish signal. All Babe had to do to, was to lead with a liitle courtesy.

So the story ends with cheers from the crowd, a stirring dominant chord, highlighting affirming words many followers wished their leaders often said. Those watching the movie will do the same with a big round of applause.

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