Aussie films and television series have entertained generations of children around the world.

The 1995 movie Babe was a huge international success with the public and critics alike, winning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (and nominations for seven others including Best Picture) and a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, among numerous other accolades. Set on a small farm near an idyllic country village, the comedy-drama was filmed in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Directed by Chris Noonan and produced by George Miller, it combines live action by humans, pigs, dogs, sheep, and other animals with astonishingly convincing animatronic puppets created by Jim Henson’s workshop. The animals were meticulously trained by Karl Miller, who also worked on the Beethoven movies and Cujo.

The story is adapted from Dick King-Smith’s 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, about a piglet on a farm who wants to do the work of a sheepdog. Quietly spoken farmer Arthur Hoggett (played by American actor James Cromwell) has faith in the little pig, but the pair are initially mocked when they enter a sheep-herding competition. Eventually, with the help of the sheep and Babe’s border collie friends, they prevail.

Other human actors included Magda Szubanski and John Doyle, while animal voices included those of Miriam Margolyes, Hugo Weaving, and Christine Cavanaugh as Babe. Because the breed of pig used in the movie is one that grows rapidly, some 48 piglets were needed for the character of Babe over the course of filming. The musical score, performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, was written largely by Australia’s Nigel Westlake, but also quotes music by Camille Saint-Saëns, Edvard Grieg, Georges Bizet, and other earlier European composers.

Each animal character has a distinct personality, and the film is said to have encouraged many people to stop eating meat. Actor James Cromwell was already vegetarian, but his Babe experience inspired him to become a vegan and vocal advocate for animal rights.

Babe stamps come as a pair in a perforated minisheet, affixed to the cover, from Kids' Showtime Greats stamp issue released on 2 September 2024. Features an exclusive gold medallion with enamel fill and direct-to-metal print, made from zinc alloy, minimum gross weight 51g, maximum size 50 x 38.5 (mm), maximum thickness 4mm. The covers and medallions feature matching individual numbering on 1 to 200.