Babe: The Gallant Pig

Ah, such a masterpiece. I kind of went in knowing I would love this because the movie is 10/10, but it was just so charming! It's so simple and wholesome with adorable characters, a relaxing setting and cute illustrations. Stories that partially star cute old people are underrated. I feel like I didn't know (or maybe I just forgot) that this was a British story, but that checks out. They seem to be good at family-friendly, picturesque, pastoral stuff.

Differences I noticed from the movie are that the movie added more animal characters and Babe stayed a piglet throughout the whole thing (which is kinda sad, justice for older pigs!) In the book Babe grows up but stays pretty lean because Fly “trains” him (I could hear the Rocky theme lol).

The way they end the book right on “that'll do, Pig” and Babe's 100 point performance is just -mwah- chef's kiss. I love it when stories end on a stunned audience, that's so powerful. We don't need to see anymore. It's like a sheep herding mic drop.

Anyway, Babe is perfect in both book and movie form and I can't wait to give the film a rewatch now.

It is a lovely book. The writing is partly a bit too “let's talk to children who are a bit stupid”, but I love the story. Now, it's somewhat different from the movie, and there are bits I like more in the movie - I think the movie is better - this isn't a bad book. I like the respect, kindness and intelligence this book has as themes.