That Other Talking Pig Movie

Babe is very easily one of the best talking animal movies of the last twenty years. So it's no wonder that my girlfriend couldn't help thinking of it the first time she saw a TV ad for the new live version of Charlotte's Web. After all, there are quite a few similarities between the two movies. Both movies are set on a farm, both feature talking pigs, both use abundant humor and both refuse to gloss over the darker side of farm life.

At times the film almost becomes too obvious in its refusal to gloss over the pig's possible fate. (There's one scene in which the film switches from a view of Dakota Fanning vowing to defend her pet to the sight of cooking bacon.)

Nevertheless, the film manages to be both touching and humorous. Will it become the next Babe? Too soon to tell, but it certainly doesn't suffer from such a comparison.