a review of 小猪宝贝

i loved this film when i was eight and i still love it now. truly, truly holds up. this film brings me so much joy. also, so many iconic lines and phrases and songs. (i've been reciting lines from this movie to myself for decades. truly so precious.) the whole team did a great job on this. yes there are things to critique, especially compared to the technical capabilities we have today. some people don't like talking animals, i know, but i don't care one bit. for a "kids" movie, this is just wow. such well written and well developed characters. i personally love the mix of real and animatronic animals. they're all such cuties. they also got the right actors and the right sets and the right costumes and the right editing (transitions omg wow) and the right vibes. they did a great job with this and it is a truly beautiful story. through re-watching this, i learned that i strongly identify with baby animals from at least two different species. very cool. i will say the story seems to have a bit of the "model minority" myth ingrained in it. ("we usually eat pigs, but this one pig is so so good that we won't eat him, he's actually a pet and a hero.") this is a myth. this does not happen in the real world...or at least the model minority becoming a hero is not the final chapter in the story...there is (almost) always a downfall where society, or the dominant group once again turns on the model minority and serves them for dinner. i don't expect a children's film from the nineties to be fully aware of this or to fully elucidate the topic, but i thought it was worth mentioning. i might be rating this too low.