Babe was a massive surprise hit in 1995. A children's film starring a talking pig seemed to be the last thing anybody expected from visionary filmmaker George Miller (Mad Max), but writer-producer Miller, adapting a 1983 book with director and cowriter Chris Noonan, created a universally praised, moving film about a farm pig (a combination of animatronics and computer graphics) who longs to be a sheepdog. With a memorable lead performance by James Cromwell as Babe's farmer-owner, Babe received glowing reviews and seven Oscar nominations, winning for Best Visual Effects.
A major part of Babe's exquisite, perfectly pitched storybook tone is the charming, resonant symphonic score by Australian composer Nigel Westlake. Westlake interpolated a tapestry of classical works, most notably the maestoso section of Saint-Saëns' third (Organ) symphony, to perfectly capture the human emotions of the film's animal characters, while ironically treating the humans with an animal-like comedy and whimsy. (The Saint-Saëns melody had been adapted into the British reggae pop hit, "If I Had Words," by Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Kelley; a sped-up version is used in Babe's end credits.)
Babe was released as a music-and-dialogue album at the time of the film. This CD Club edition features the expanded score as music only, packaged with a new essay by Tim Greiving featuring insights from Miller, Noonan, Cromwell and Westlake.
01 Opening Titles (From the Motion Picture Babe) – Piggery (4:02) 02 Fairground (Extended Version) (3:16) 03 I Want My Mum / The Way Things Are (4:40) 04 Fly Would Never / Crime And Punishment (3:50) 05 Anorexic Duck Pizzicati (Extended Version) (3:21) 06 Repercussions / Into The Knackery (2:23) 07 Pig, Pig, Piggy / Mother And Son (2:28) 08 Pork Is A Nice Sweet Meat (3:26) 09 Christmas Morning (Extended Version) (5:08) 10 Separate The Chickens / Round Up (2:37) 11 Babe's Round Up (Extended Version) (3:59) 12 Mad Dog Rex (1:14) 13 The Sheep Pig (Extended Version) (1:47) 14 Dog Tragedy (1:36) 15 Hoggett Shows Babe / Maa's Death (2:58) 16 Home Pig / Hoggett With Gun (2:48) 17 Pig Of Destiny / Up To Trouble (3:29) 18 The Cat / What Are Pigs For (2:26) 19 Where's Babe / Hoggett's Song (3:23) 20 Babe In The Kitchen / Help For Babe (4:32) 21 Baa Ram Ewe / Rex On Truck (1:46) 22 The Gauntlet / Moment Of Truth (Extended Version) (1:45) 23 Finale - That'll Do, Pig, That'll Do (1:39) 24 If I Had Words (2:54) 25 Toreador Aria (Excerpt) (:22) 26 Pork Is A Nice Sweet Meat (With Vocals) (3:51) 27 Blue Moon (Excerpt) (:40) 28 Cantique de Jean Racine (Excerpt) (:41) 29 If I Had Words (Hoggett's Song) (1:52) Music Composed and Produced by Nigel Westlake Performed by the Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra |