Babe/The Borrowers/Matilda

Trio of children’s films. ‘Babe’ (1995) is the hugely successful ‘talking animals’ pic, in which a loveable pig is saved from the butcher’s knife when Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) wins him in a raffle. Adopted by the farm’s sheepdog fraternity, Babe begins to display mutton herding skills of his own, leading to his entry into the local sheepdog trials. ‘The Borrowers’ (1997) follows the adventures of the Clock family, four inch-high people who live under the floorboards of a big house, borrowing whatever they need from the ‘human beans’ who own it. However, when evil property developer Ocious P. Potter (John Goodman) decides to get rid of the house, tiny Pod (Jim Broadbent) and Homily Clock (Celia Imrie) must use all their resourcefulness to thwart him. In ‘Matilda’ (1996), Mara Wilson plays an exceptionally gifted and intelligent child who is ignored by her stupid parents Harry (Danny DeVito) and Zinnia (Rhea Perlman). A keen reader, her dearest wish is to be sent to school, but the establishment Harry selects is Crunchemhall, run by the brutal Miss Trunchball (Pam Ferris). Her cruelty to her pupils causes Matilda to vow revenge, and her newly discovered telekinetic powers give her the chance to do so.