Release Date: 4 Feb 2005

Synopsis :

In the middle of a raging thunderstorm, a traveling circus accidentally leaves behind some very precious cargo – a baby zebra (voiced by Frankie Muniz). The gangly little foal is rescued by horse farmer Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood), who takes him home to his young daughter Channing (Hayden Panettiere). Once a champion thoroughbred trainer, Walsh has given up horse training for a quiet life with Channing on their modest Kentucky farm. The little zebra, or “Stripes,” as Channing calls him, is soon introduced to the farm’s misfit troupe of barnyard residents, led by a cranky Shetland Pony named Tucker (voiced by Dustin Hoffman and Franny (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg), a wise old goat who keeps the family in line. The group is joined by Goose (voiced by Joe Pantoliano), a deranged big-city pelican who’s hiding out in the sticks until the heat dies down in Jersey. The un-aptly named bloodhound Lightening (Snoop Dogg) keeps a lazy eye on goings-on at the farm – in between naps.

Movie Review:

It’s unbelievable what Hollywood’s family film genre can collaborate the talents of Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz, Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Moore, Snoop Dog, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jeff Foxworthy (Famous Comedian), Joe Pantoliano, Michael Rosenbaum (Lex of Smallville), Steve Harvey and David Spade!

The movie opens during a torrential thunderstorm where a traveling circus left a zebra colt behind after fixing a flat. Fortunately the little animal was found by Nolan Walsh (Greenwood), who takes him back to his farm. Once the little zebra, dubbed Stripes by Channing (Nolan’s daughter) gets settled in the barn, the movie’s real stars make their appearance. The farm is populated by a party of assorted animals voiced by a variety of Hollywood stars. Stripes, unaware that he is a zebra, grow up yearning to be a racehorse as their farm is located next to a racecourse and Nolan used to train horses until his wife was killed in a riding accident. With the help of the farm animals, Stripes goes into training in the hopes that someday he will get to race.

Although the underdog formula remains the same, there’s plenty of sincere humor throughout. Perhaps aided by my extremely low expectations, I actually found Racing Stripes to be not such a bad movie. It’s definitely aimed at young children, but there are enough jokes thrown at the adults and enough celebrity voiced animals so that I was never bored. And this despite the sickly sweet message of the plot and some gaping holes in the story. Director Frederik Du Chau and screenwriter David Schmidt keep everything moving along nicely, with plenty of action and drama and the addition of some zippy one-liners should please everyone.

Comparisons to Chris Noonan’s Babe are inevitable. Babe has the timeless appeal of a barnyard fable and addresses issues of mortality whereas Racing Stripes is much more innocent and light-hearted. Yes, there's a lesson that kids can take from Racing Stripes—the importance of believing in yourself—but it comes across as more calculated than truly heartfelt. Still, it's hard not to root for Stripes when he goes up against the much larger racehorses in the Kentucky Open at the film's exciting climax.

The voice talent is as good as it gets, but unfortunately Stripes sounds a little wooden and forced resulting to come across as dull and uninteresting. On the bright side, nearly everyone else is spot on. Joe Pantoliano steals the show as Goose, who wants so badly to be tough. He shoots off the mobster dialect without hesitation, but when it comes down to following through with actions, he's a whimp.

Harvey and Spade is entertaining at first, but eventually wears. Also listen closely for a brief appearance by the voice of none other than Snoop Dogg, who seems to be the most omnipresent actor of all time.

Try as hard as it may, a feel-good, overcoming-the-odds, believing-in-oneself family film should never be expected to change its stripes. It may not be a sure bet, but the odds are excellent that Racing Stripes has something for the whole family.

Movie Rating: B-


Review by Lokman B.S.