An Unprejudiced Heart.” Destruction of Indonesian Rainforest and to Understand Enough to Care for Them
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At Catskill Animal Sanctuary in New York, Cromwell tempts Nadine the pig with an apple. AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES CROMWELL The Tale of an Unprejudiced Twenty years later, Heart Babe’ s legacy continues It was 20 years ago when a heartwarming Australian movie about a sociable pig named Babe captivated audiences in theaters across America. The media was touting blockbusters like Apollo 13 and Braveheart, but moviegoers just couldn’t get enough of Babe. Grossing $254 million at the global box office, the First Contact, The Green Mile, Space Cowboys and tale of a little pig turned sheepherding champion The Artist. He’s received many award nominations, won an Oscar for best visual effects (one of seven most recently winning an Emmy for his portrayal for which it was nominated) and nearly two dozen of Dr. Arden in American Horror Story: Asylum. other awards. James Cromwell’s performance as But Babe didn’t merely boost Cromwell’s farmer Arthur Hoggett earned him an Oscar career. After working closely with animals on the nomination for best supporting actor. The experi- movie set, he adopted a vegan diet. He has since I would ence, he says, changed his life. championed myriad animal protection causes, Before Babe, Cromwell had appeared in TV from the use of animals in entertainment and say that movies, sitcoms and a few big-screen films. But in research to factory farming, horse slaughter and I owe his mid-50s at the time and burned out on smaller hound hunting. He presented at the HSUS Genesis roles, he worried about his future in Hollywood. Awards ceremony (now celebrated online) nearly my career So Cromwell, who grew up in Manhattan, went to every year since Babe won a Genesis Award for New York, where he rekindled his love for acting best feature film in 1996. And in 2014, he received to a pig. in a Broadway production of Hamlet. When that a Lifetime Achievement Award from The HSUS. gig ended, his agent approached him about Babe. In this edited interview with staff writer He almost turned it down. Almost. Ruthanne Johnson, Cromwell discusses the Since Babe, Cromwell has starred in dozens animal issues near to his heart and the ways Babe of major films and TV shows, including Star Trek: changed his life. HUMANESOCIETY.ORG / ALLANIMALS 25 What inspired you to do Babe? HSUS staff not only in pain but suffering. His re- I got the script, which only had about reflect on sponse is to entertain, to inspire, to cele- 16 lines, and was going to turn it down. brate. He begins to sing and dance for this their favoritee But one of my best friends, a wonderful pig and it becomes infectious. actor named Charles Keating, said, “Listen, moments in BaBabebee why don’t you go? It’s a free trip to What have been your favorite Australia, and if the film fails it’s not your responses to the movie? “I like when the sheep gave fault. It’s the pig’s film.” I’d hitchhiked the secret password to Rex There was a press junket for the movie around the world for 18 months in the the sheepdog: ‘Baa-ram-ewe. Apollo 13. Reporters had come in from early ’70s and loved traveling but had Baa-ram-ewe. To your breed, all over the country to tour NASA and see never seen Australia. your fleece, your clan be true. the film. When they got on the bus in Sheep be true. Baa-ram-ewe.’ the morning to head back to their respec- Not only is the password fun How did the role impact your life? tive cities, somebody from Universal said, to say, but it’s also nice to It was transformative. It made my career see the animals trusting one “Listen, since some of you have a late de- and allowed me to have the life that I’ve another and cooperating parture, we have this little Australian film had since. I would say that I owe my career in order to save the day.” about a pig that we’d like you to see.” And to a pig. It’s interesting: I made a choice to —Dawn Ely, major gifts everybody on the bus went, “Oh, god. Do put animals into a central position in my associate, Philanthropy we have to?” They had nothing better to do life, and I was rewarded by an animal. and went to see it, and they all adored it. “The first time the farmer sees It also inspired me to become vegan. Gene Siskel was one of the very strong Babe herding the sheep. That After having worked all morning with always makes me feel good supporters from the beginning. He knew these extraordinary animals, I’d see their because it shows how he was going out on a limb, and he said, relatives on the lunch table. They had ham intelligent pigs really are and “This is a very important film. This isn’t just and duck, every animal except horse. how they can have behavior a kids’ film. This is something very special.” that is ‘un-pig-like.’ I always That’s when I said, “I’ve got to try to be a In some ways, my persona entered like seeing animals doing vegan.” And for the most part, I have been the consciousness of a lot of children and things that are atypical of their vegan since 1994. species, and I would not put it they feel sympathetically toward me, and past a pig to be able to actually that’s very nice. The film is about the pig’s You were vegetarian before Babe. herd sheep!” journey, but it’s also about the human’s What inspired that change? —Marisa Landau, administrative journey. And when the kids get older, it I rode across the country on a motorcycle assistant, State Affairs still resonates. in 1975. I remember it was the worst time “Watching the opening scene Babe of year and bloody cold. When I was going in which Babe and his family Why do you think had such through Texas, I went through the feed- are in a factory farm actually an impact on audiences? lots, which I had never seen before. It was was a pivotal point for me. The story has for all ages so many levels of a very sobering sight—heartbreaking and It was one of the experiences understanding and wisdom. Babe’s des- awful. It’s a corporate system completely that led me as a young person tiny and his desire and the sweetness with to focus on the plight of farm out of touch with what is sustainable, which he goes about it, and his accep- animals, a cause which I have what is humane, what is compassionate. since largely dedicated my tance and perseverance, are very uplifting At the time, I didn’t even know what a life to.” and inspiring. At the same time, it’s a mo- vegetarian was. I just thought, “I can’t eat —Chris Holbein, public rality tale that begins in a slaughterhouse, [animals] anymore.” policy coordinator, Farm or a piggery. These animals are sent to the Animal Protection Campaign slaughterhouse, which is the mindless de- What’s your favorite scene from struction of billions of animals regardless the movie? of their potential. I love the dancing scene. It was at this ON FACEBOOK Animal welfare is a seminal issue. It moment that my character shifted from a Tell us what movie inspired addresses almost all of the problems. man who would think to shoot the pig to you to care about animals at It deals with what we are doing to the seeing this little creature in his lap who is humanesociety.org/aafacebook. environment. It deals with our inhumanity 26 allanimals // JAN/FEB 2015 BEHIND THE SCENES Sheep be true! The resident sheep at Catskill Animal Sanctuary were excited to be let out of the barn at the end of our photo shoot, leaping right over Cromwell and toward our photographer. (No secret password required!) towards other species and towards our- What animal issues are important ewe selves, the amount of cruelty that we can to you? Baa-ram-ewe! tolerate. It deals with social and moral All animal welfare—factory farming, spay- issues. It deals with politics, sociology, psy- ing and neutering pets, our relationship to animal. Every species that comes up against chology in almost every way. all sentient beings. My wife and I went to human encroachment is at risk. Borneo to observe orangutans in a sanc- How does that translate to the treatment tuary. There’s a pressing issue. These ex- What’s your advice on influencing of animals on factory farms? traordinary creatures now live in a very people when it comes to animal Everything has a consequence, and you small, restricted area right across the river welfare issues? have to look at those consequences hon- from a 5-million-acre palm oil plantation, Be the thing you want to see in the world. estly. And all of this was in this little film that which is only the third largest in Indonesia. If you care about animals, get involved in never preached. One of the nicest parts of Palm oil is used in just about everything: mitigating the suffering that’s right outside the film is the opening; the narration is food, lipsticks, shampoos, emulsifiers, auto- your front door. Feed them. Love them. Care beautiful. Roscoe Lee Browne’s voice says, mobile products. It’s responsible for the for them.