Babe Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Farmer Hoggett (played by James Cromwell) in the film Babe, directed by Chris Noonan (1995).

It's the national sheep-herding competition and Farmer Hoggett is taking a gi-normous risk. Instead of Rex the sheep dog, he entered Babe the Pig. (Seems like sound logic to us, but we don't enter too many sheep-herding competitions.) There's a problem, though. It looks like our little pig hero has lost his herding mojo. But here comes Rex with a special herd password that he gives to Babe. It must be some kind of flock slang thing. Babe calls it out and the sheep walk through the gates to win the top prize. The grateful Farmer Hogett looks down at Babe, misty-eyed, and delivers one of the most understated last lines in movie history: "That'll do pig, that'll do."

Where you've heard it

You can't watch TV without the pig line popping up just about everywhere, like the Gilmore Girls, Gravity Falls, White Collar, and the local traffic report. Even Shrek had a little fun with it.

Additional Notable References:

• James Cromwell talks about on his best line ever.
• A pig-themed video game.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This is no phony baloney quip. Just like Farmer Hoggett, it's a way to say, "thank you for doing something awesome" in a dignified, non-gushy way. It speaks to the inner Babe in all of us, prompting us to be more polite, act kindly toward animals, and swear off bacon forever.