UNSEALED

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 & Son 2:28
08 Pork Is A Nice Sweet Meat 3:25
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 0:22
26 Pork Is A Nice Sweet Meat (With Vocals) 3:51
27 Blue Moon (Excerpt) 0:40
28 Cantique De Jean Racine (Excerpt) 0:41
29 If I Had Words (Hoggett's Song) 1:52

Music Composed and Produced by Nigel Westlake
Performed by the Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra