Everyone remembers the 1995 movie Babe that made a star out of a little white pig. Babe stole the heart of audiences around the world and believe it or not, turned many of them into lifelong vegetarians. Again, this is a movie that would have been much easier to make if mini and micro pigs had been available at the time.

It’s the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog. It’s a story that focuses on the pig as a character, not Farmer Hoggett, played by James Cromwell. Although Cromwell had just 16 lines in the movie, playing a supporting role to what he termed a “sophisticated yet pure-of-heart piglet.” He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In reality, it took 48 different pigs to play the role of Babe. They were all White Yorkshire piglets. Yorkshire Pigs have a height between 2'9”-3', body length of 5'6”-6'6”, and an overall weight in the range of 450-750 lb. The lifespan of a Yorkshire Pig is typically 6-10 years on a farm or up to 15-20 years if kept as a pet. Because the breed is almost all pure white in color, matching pigs was the easy part.

Throughout the course of filming, six pigs were used at a time for three-week periods Although a total of 48 pigs were filmed, only 46 of them made it to the screen. In spite of rumors at the time, which have persisted, none of them were ever used for meat. They were, in fact, all female pigs, although Babe was supposed to be a male. That way, no male parts were ever seen on screen.

Animal trainer Karl Lewis Miller seemed almost embarrassed to admit that they did have one animatronic pig play Babe, too. This is the pig they used for wide shots—when there was at least 15 feet surrounding Babe all the way around, and no place for Miller to hide.

The movie was banned in Malaysia because it was felt a movie with a pig for a star would upset the Muslim community, to whom pigs are haram. However, the movie was released on VHS a year later and it proved very popular.

One interesting thing about the movie was that Port Product Sales dropped in 1995. Four months after it’s release, in theaters, Vegetarian Times ran a story about the drop in pork consumption across the country and sited the motion picture Babe as a cause. It said the movie featured an adorable porcine protagonist and a sent a strong vegetarian message. The USDA showed a stagnant demand for pork and retail sales of canned meats such as Spam, hit a five-year low.”

What became known as the “Babe Effect,” was that many fans, embracing the adorableness of the main character, adopted the vegetarian lifestyle. Fans of the film who went meatless became known as “Babe vegetarians.” The film’s human star, James Cromwell was one of them.

Unfortunately, the demand for pigs as pets increased by 25%. But since the development of mini and micro pigs was still in it’s infancy, many full size pigs were sold as pets and quickly outgrew their homes. Eventually, the number of abandoned pigs also increased. It is believed that these may be the basis of the claims that pet pigs are the cause of wild pig problems in several parts of the country. More on that in another article in the History and Development section.