Babe/Headscratchers

A pig touchingly saves himself from the slaughterhouse... by herding sheep. Um... mustn't Hoggett have eventually slaughtered those sheep? There are wool farmers who don't slaughter sheep, but most of them are vegetarians; raising sheep and letting them die of old age is like throwing money to the wind. There's a reason we talk about "lambs to the slaughter." They all appeared sentient. What makes Babe's life so much more valuable than theirs?
- Because they have no skills to offer? Babe is useful only because he can herd sheep. If he hadn't had that ability, he would've been killed, since that was the only reason Mr. Hoggett talked his wife into having duck for Christmas instead of pork.
- Reading a little too much into a kid's movie about talking animals, aren't'cha? It's not supposed to be a complex moral issue, it's supposed to be "Yaaaay the talking piggy is gonna live!"
What kind of stupid farmer thinks a pig can take down a sheep?
- One that knows what pigs are capable of? To quote The Other Wiki, "Pigs can be aggressive and pig-induced injuries are relatively common in areas where pigs are reared or where they form part of the wild or feral fauna."
- Fun fact for ya: Pigs kill more humans each year than sharks. A sheep wouldn't be too difficult.
- Maybe it's just the fact that Babe is still a piglet and not fully-grown. He's like half Maa's size.
- So, really, what kind of stupid city boy thinks he knows better than a farmer?
Babe was cheating: He uses the password for his own benefit. He's not a sheep pig. If he were he'd be able to work with those other sheep.
- Been a while since I've seen the movie, but in the book the password is more of a motto that all sheep know (which amounts to "Sheep aren't stupid") that Babe uses to get their attention, and convince them that he's nice enough to listen to, since they rightly assume that he wouldn't have been told the password if he wasn't.
- I'm not sure your definition of "cheating" and most other peoples' is lined up.