This delightful Dutch stop-motion-animated feature is the story of Babs, a nine-year-old steadfast vegetarian who desperately wants a pet puppy. Instead, her long-lost grandfather Tuitjes arrives unexpectedly from America (sporting a hilarious cowboy-western twang of an accent) and gifts her a piglet, whom she names Oink. His porcine charms are diminished only by frequent flatulence and fondness for the vegetables in mom’s beloved garden. Babs’ meat-free mom doesn’t trust Tuitjes, what with the town’s King Sausage Contest coming up and his checkered past as a disgraced former contestant. Much comedic mayhem ensues involving Babs’ heroic efforts to train Oink, who has a knack for pooping—spectacularly—at all the wrong moments. More Roald Dahl than Babe or Charlotte’s Web, this is at heart a sweet love story between a girl and her pet, with a clever message about animal cruelty sure to satisfy both herbivores and carnivores alike. —Jeff Campbell
In English. Director Mascha Halberstad (Netherlands/Belgium 2022) 72 min. OFFICIAL SELECTION MVFF45

Note: This film includes a one-time use of profanity to refer to poop. No animated pet pigs were harmed in the making of the film.

Age 6+