Racing Stripes (2005) User Reviews

Light hearted film that your children will like

[the-movie-guy · 4/10 · 10 January 2005]

A baby zebra (voice of Frankie Muniz) is accidentally left behind by a traveling circus and is found by a thoroughbred horse trainer, Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood). Nolan takes the zebra home, and his teenage daughter Channing (Hayden Panettiere) wants to keep him as a pet. She names the baby zebra Stripes. The farm is located near the racetrack and the zebra grows up believing that he is a racehorse. Stripes has a dream of racing the other horses at the track, and to get into shape, Stripes races the mailman in his truck. All the farm animals help Stripes and Channing achieve their racing dream. This is a cute movie made in the same framework as the movie 'Babe', where all the animals speak to each other. The horseflies Scuzz and Buzz (voices of David Spade and Steve Harvey) had some of the funniest scenes. This is a light hearted film that your children will like. Don't take the script too seriously or you will miss the fun. (Warner Brothers Pictures, Run time 1:34, Rated PG) (4/10)

Decent film that doesn't try to be any more than it is

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 18 June 2011]

Is Racing Stripes a masterpiece? No, though I wasn't expecting it to be. Is it an abomination? Again, no. If anything, in my view it is just above average. It does have a predictable story, the characters are stereotypical, some of the script is a little cloying and unfocused and the film is too short. Conversely, Racing Stripes doesn't try to be any more than it already is. It is an inoffensive and charming film, which is what it promised, and I think it worked in that aspect. Some of it is sweet and fun, the film moves quickly, the soundtrack is infectious and the scenery and photography are gorgeous. Also the live action animation is great, and the acting while not award worthy is decent with Frankie Muniz particularly surprisingly good. Overall, it is a good movie, not great, but I was expecting worse. 6/10 Bethay Cox

Not enchanting like BABE but still very funny in its own way

[bellino-angelo2014 · 6/10 · 27 February 2021]

I heard a lot about this movie during my childhood but never had a chance of seeing it. In 2019 (quite coincidentally the day of my 20th birthday) I had the chance of finally seeing it. And while I didn't loved it, I still liked it.

When the film begins we see a circus that is forced to move his tents and animals as there is a thunderstorm. The crate cointaining baby Stripes falls from the truck with his parents and few hours later is found by Channing Walsh (Hayden Panettiere) and her dad Nolan (Bruce Greenwood) that decide to take it to their farm. Once there, Stripes (voiced by Frankie Muniz) meets and befriends some of the animals; Shetland pony Tucker, Saneen goat Franny and pelican Goose (voiced by Dustin Hoffman, Whoopie Goldberg and Joe Pantoliano) and Stripes also thinks that he could be a race horse despite fails. After lots of training and even fighting with Sir Trenton's (Fred Dalton Thompson) hench-horses, he manages to win the first prize.

This film was very similar to BABE as the zebra wanted to be a race horse just like Babe wanted to be a sheep dog. And while I agree a bit with the other reviewers that it looks like very copied from that much better movie, I still think it worked. I really rooted for Stripes as I knew that he could make it at the end.

The voice acting was good and my favourite of all the dubbed animals was Goose as he loved to quote THE GODFATHER. The human acting is actually better. Hayden Panettiere gives a remarkable turn as the girl who accept to race with Stripes and the always underrated Bruce Greenwood is very good as her dad.

Overall, while I don't think it's a great family movie it's just harmless enough for letting your small kids seeing it without being offended or having the parents nearby for reassuring them that it all will be fine. And even for a film to brighten up your humour, then this movie is perfect for this goal too if you don't have too many expectations.

Predictable but enjoyable

[illucianlux · 8 January 2005]

Yes, it's stereotypical, and no, it doesn't reach or even approach the experience of Babe, but it is a fun flick, and one I feel is worth a matinée ticket if you're at all intrigued. I have to give kudos to the filmmakers for using real zebra sounds and vocalizations for Stripes; little details like that can make or break a talking animal film for the viewers who actually know a bit about the animals featured in a film...and hey, is it really too much to ask for a zebra to make zebra noises? There is some amount of potty humor, especially concerning the flies and the Jersey gangster pelican Goose, but it wasn't as much as I had assumed from earlier reviews.

There certainly are better movies out there, but the kids will enjoy this one, and the kid in me did. It was predictable, but comfortingly so, and sometimes it's nice to just sit back, suspend disbelief, and have a non-taxing movie experience where talking, wisecracking animals deliver lessons in life, like how being different isn't a bad thing, real winners are those with the heart to try, and success is often due to the support of those around you. And I do have to admit that one scene near the end brought tears to my eyes, much to my own surprise.

Another soulless grab at parent's wallets

[Mamie6789 · 1/10 · 15 January 2005]

Unless you are eight years old, you'll find this movie to be dull and witless. It's just another blatant grab at kiddy box office dollars and at parent's pocketbooks. I didn't care for this movie in the least. It engaged more in the visuals then trying to make a point throughout the entire movie. No one even reacted well to the CG. In other words, it has no feeling or no depth and felt like you are watching a "making of" featurette even though you were watching the film itself. I hate myself for having gone against my better judgment. Waste of Money Waste of Time Waste of Film Are you getting it? If you're over 14 years old, this will not be entertaining.

Don't waste your time

[jenpresto · 1/10 · 11 January 2005]

Frederick Du Chau's last effort, Quest for Camelot, is the reason Warner Bros quit doing animation. This new film will probably be the reason they quit doing live action. It's terrible. All of the jokes are not only hackneyed, but are derivative from such recent hits as Shrek II and Finding Nemo. It is an altogether uninspired film packed with so much bathroom humor it's an insult to your intelligence. For example, for what the producer's must have considered comic relief they have two horse flies voiced by David Spade and Steve Harvey make fart and crap jokes while flying into an assortment of cow pies. It's disgusting and isn't even suitable for children. I was appalled.

Don't waste your time.

Dull Racing Stripes

[CitizenCaine · 4/10 · 1 March 2009]

One of the latest fads these days is combining a relatively unknown director with several available celebrity voices (in between more important projects) and making an animated or live action film with computer generated effects (CGI). Hayden Panettiere, prior to her Heroes' days, stars in this CGI-assisted live action film about a put upon zebra left by a roadside and adopted by a teenage girl and her father. This film is full of every cliché in the book. From cute talking animals with questionable CGI effects to the cutest teenage girl since Hilary Duff, the film trots out all the usual suspects in this "family" film that even some families will find clichéd, cutesy, dull, and predictable from minute to minute. Even the animals voiced by familiar celebrities add little. Dustin Hoffman as Tucker, the Shetland Pony coach, comes off best. Whoopi Goldberg plays a goat acting as a referee; Mandy Moore is the love interest horse, and Frankie Muniz is Stripes the zebra. M. Emmet Walsh as Woodzie the crusty race gambler is the best thing in the movie next to young Hayden. It's cutesy, low brow entertainment that judiciously avoided the alternative ending for its rated G audience. *1/2 of 4 stars.

An average family movie

[Juni78ukr · 6/10 · 19 May 2005]

Racing Stripes is a regular modern Hollywood's family friendly movie with all typical clichés and flaws. In this movie there are two subplots united into the big one: first one with human characters while second is about talking animals. These two worlds and two story lines exist without direct contact and most of the time they not depend on each other. The only common point of them is that young girl (main human character) and zebra Stripes, which accidentally came into a small farm, are dreaming about one thing: to take part in horse races and win. Nothing promising and nothing original here except a zebra instead of a horse. The whole story-line is also quite predictable and closer to the end it become even dull. All the human characters are clichéd and boring and of course don't expect any decent acting in Racing Stripes except for some voice performances. The animal characters are quite different from each other. Like in other similar movies some of them created for a story, some of them (like two flies) only for making fun. But even jokes in the movies are so typical and mostly silly. Finally this movie failed in emotional level. Despite all these flaws Racing Stripes is not particularly a bad movie. It's just on a same level with most of modern family friendly movies, the average quality of which is decreasing with every year. Most of the time the movie is not annoying and the jokes are not very rude. The voice performances are much better than performances of human characters and cinematography in many moments wasn't bad. So don't be too strict. Most of kids will like it but for grown-ups it's not the best way to have a good time. But at the same time it's not the worst way.

My grade: 5.7

feel good movie, but just too many flaws

[drystyx · 3/10 · 31 August 2008]

This is a pretty good kid movie, and a feel good movie about overcoming long odds. A zebra wants to become a race horse.

There's no reason to delve into the harshness of horse racing, and the real risk of fatal injuries. This is for kids, and it works most of the way.

There are animals who talk. The comedy works very well, with the matching of voices and animals. The humans work well as bad and good characters. The story is told.

The flaws are just way too major to ignore, however. Not just the flaws of racing zebras against horses, but other huge flaws.

The track is supposed to be Turfway Park, but it doesn't even come close to resembling the track. Turfway is too well known and often seen to not make some attempt to show the glass enclosed grandstand and clubhouse-since it is a Winter track most of the time. The scenic large lake in the center is missing. The dirt (actually polytrack) is missing. The buildings are missing. In fact, it resembles more a small country fair.

There are just too many people with Georgia accents in a Kentucky story. Of course horse trainers do tend to emigrate from the South to Kentucky, but the accents are just way too Southern to be believable as Kentucky, except for the heroine.

More of the scenery. Some of it does resemble the back-roads of Midway, where the very wealthy keep the expansive horse farms, and at least one farm near Keeneland does have a zebra some times. Very little of it looks like Kentucky, which is heavily divided in horse country. However, there are a few smaller farms between the grand expensive ones. These people are not impoverished by any means, but not as wealthy as the moguls nearby. Some of the farm settings look real, but these are settings closer to Versailles, Ky. than to Florence.

It is hard to show on camera just how magnificent a zebra looks. No film can do this beautiful creature justice, so I won't fault them for that.

The plot is clichéd the side stuff is wonderful.

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 5 February 2005]

You were expecting chopped liver? Actually this movie about a young zebra that wants to be a race horse is pretty much what you'd expect from start to finish with many famous names doing the voices of the various animals. The problem with this film is that the plot never rises above cliché so you know where its going to go.

That said there are many laughs in this film thanks to the actors who really sell their material especially in what appears to be frequent asides, throw away lines and random bits of back story (The tale of the hit-bird stork is hysterical) This really isn't worth seeing on the big screen for ten bucks a pop, but as a rental or better yet as something on cable this is a must since you won't mind that what you really want to watch is the background stuff while ignoring the main plot thread.

Whatever happened to plagiarism laws?

[Balthazar-5 · 1/10 · 28 January 2005]

This pathetic nonsense is an insult to the great movies of the past that it shamelessly and ineptly imitates. 'National Velvet' may not merit a mention in any cinephile's top 1000, but it had originality, verve and commitment that made it a regular favourite for girls of a 'certain age'. It does NOT deserve to be bastardised by a pack of unfunny morons.

'Dumbo' may not be the greatest animated feature of all time, but again, it does not deserve to have one of its finest sequences completely lifted, almost moment for moment, but the same bunch of nerks.

Message for inept unoriginal screenwriters. If you can't be original, find another job! Minor plus point: Hayden Panettiere has charm and energy.

Mister Zed

[BrandtSponseller · 8/10 · 5 June 2005]

If you strongly dislike films that are predictable, clichéd or derivative, and you're not showing Racing Stripes to kids, you should avoid this movie. Well, at least looking at things somewhat pessimistically. Ideally, you should sort out the conceptual errors you're making and see the movie, because it is a very good film. The Cult of Originality had it wrong. Artworks aren't inherently more valuable just because they're unprecedented, and they're not inherently less valuable just because they're engaging in a well-established form, or "template", to put it in more modern terms.

Stripes is a zebra who is orphaned at the beginning of the film when a traveling circus accidentally leaves him behind during a storm. Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood) finds him and brings him back to his Kentucky farm (actually South Africa doubling as Kentucky). Walsh, a recent widower, has a teenaged daughter, Channing (Hayden Panettiere), who works at the local horse track for a mean, snooty and rich boss lady, Clara Dalrymple (Wendie Malick). The horse track is the heart of the town. The farm next door to the Walsh's breeds racehorses, and in fact, Walsh used to breed and train racehorses, too, for Clara, and it's implied that Walsh's wife, a former champion jockey, died in a horse-racing accident.

Meanwhile, Stripes is trying to adjust to life on the Walsh farm, which means assimilating with a motley crew of animals. All of the animals can talk to each other, "Mister Ed" (1961)-style, but in the more traditional filmic instantiation of talking animals, they can't talk to humans, although it is implied that they can at least slightly understand human speech. Stripes knows he looks different, but he figures he's a horse, like the racehorses next door, because that's what he looks closest to. Their teasing because he looks different merely creates a stronger desire for him to fit in and even best them, which naturally means a growing desire to race.

Any older cinephile could probably fill in the basic developments of the plot, up to and including the ending, given the premises above. The important consideration is not whether Racing Stripes is unprecedented, but how well it does what it sets out to do. The formulaic aspects of the plot, as with all artworks that engage with some traditional "formula", enhance Racing Stripes rather than detracting from it by (a) filling in a deep milieu of shared meaning, signifiers and so on, and (b) underscoring the ways in which Racing Stripes makes its variations on the form. It's a good film both because it executes the basics of the form so well and because the variations are well done, creative and entertaining. That's if you're an adult, at least. For younger audiences, it's a great film because it's establishing the form in their minds. The form exists as a template because it's a very effective, classic plot rooted in a particular kind of cultural mythology. But this instantiation is simply a funny, inspirational story featuring a talking zebra.

Filmic visual manipulation has come a long way in the 40 years since "Mister Ed". Mister Ed, the original talking horse, was made to "speak" by putting something in his mouth that he would then try to remove. In Racing Stripes, the animal speech is all done through cgi--actually computer animation/manipulation of cinematographic images of the animals' mouths, and it looks incredibly realistic. Like most movies of this sort, Racing Stripes is a pleasure to watch simply for its animal stunts. I suppose one can never get too old or intellectual to enjoy a dancing monkey, so to speak. There are a few instances of animal "stunts" being too dangerous for the animals--such as Stripes' wipeout, so these are animated with cgi, too, and they're integrated very well.

There are also two completely cgi-animated characters--flies named Buzz and Scuzz. These are the most consistently comic characters, although as flies, a lot of their visual humor, at least, hinges on jokes about things like garbage, discarded food, manure, and so on.

The animals are voiced by an all-star cast. Director Frederik Du Chau, in his first live-action film (and only his second film), does an excellent job creating performances from the animals that match the public personalities of the voices. Stripes is Frankie Muniz, and has his innocent precociousness. Dustin Hoffman is an older, small horse named Tucker who provides advice and inspiration, a bit like a cynical Buddha. Snoop Dogg is the family hound, naturally enough, and tends to lie on the porch, chilling out and making sarcastic remarks. Joe Pantoliano is Goose--he made a wrong turn in New Jersey and is now comically trying to pass himself off as a gangster. The flies are David Spade and Steve Harvey, with Spade doing his infamous manic-but-mellow naivety. The human cast is good, too, but they're really ancillary to the animals. Older cinephiles will especially delight in seeing M. Emmet Walsh as a rumpled "track-rat".

As a film primarily targeted at kids and younger teens (although it's certainly not enjoyable only to them--I'm middle-aged and have no kids), Racing Stripes has a couple "moral of the story" subtexts, and as usual, they're themes that not only kids can benefit from internalizing. The primary theme is acceptance of difference. Stripes is unlike any being the other animals have encountered, and naturally he is teased, made fun of, ostracized and even physically abused because of it. The gist of the plot is a demonstration that difference isn't negative. This is often interpreted as a racial theme, but it's really more general than that, applying to all kinds of differences. The other main theme, acceptance of loss and confrontation of the resultant depression, fear and anger, arrives via Walsh.

Cute, funny, heartwarming and a subtly surreal fantasy, Racing Stripes is a great example of why predictability just doesn't matter when it comes to making a good film.

Wow!

[RisingStar12 · 7/10 · 26 July 2005]

At first i thought it would be just another little kids movie. I thought that maybe i would get a couple of laughs in. But i just saw it today and the movie was incredible. Much better than i expected it to be. It has a wonderful message about trying your best and following your dreams. The cast is wonderful! Everyone did such a great job. I admit that in the end it is predictable but you can still enjoy it. A family film that everyone can enjoy. Just to let all the people who (like me) do not like gross stuff well the bugs get into and do a couple of gross things. And Goose. It is a good film with a great message!

Formulaic nonsense.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 4/10 · 31 January 2006]

Of course when watching a movie like this one you know it is going to have a predictable and formulaic story. "Racing Stripes" is a very typical underdog sport movie with this time a zebra in the lead. The movie is not one bit original and all the typical genre clichés are once more present in this movie. The movie also reminds me too much of the other talking animal movie "Babe" at times. So, no "Racing Stripes" most certainly doesn't deserve an originality prize.

Perhaps the biggest problem of the movie are its characters. The characters aren't deepened out and it has many missed opportunities. The animals could had been a lot more fun to watch if they developed some more- and more likable personalities. But also the human characters are severally lacking. They could have done some more and better things with the element of Mrs. Walsh her death and how it effected her husband and daughter. Especially the Channing Walsh played by Hayden Panettiere feels like a big miss. In the beginning she isn't present enough in the movie and her relation with Stripes is amazingly underdeveloped, though she claims that no one understands him better than she does. It felt weird because they hardly had any screen time together in the first halve of the movie. It's even weirder because at the end of the movie it becomes obvious that she was actually the real main character of the movie, besides Stripes of course. You have the feeling that a better and more experienced director would had done something more- and better with the story and its character. But fact will always remain that movies like this will always be directed by below average and unexperienced directors like Frederik Du Chau.

The story is highly unbelievable and unlikely. It also lacks some real memorable moments or even some good humor. The only reasonable good humor is provided by the Joe Pantoliano voiced character.

It amazed me why so many great respected actors agreed to lend their voices to this movie. Actors like Joe Pantoliano, Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg and Michael Clarke Duncan. Those are some big 'serious' actor names. It makes you wonder if they had even read the script before singing on.

Guess it's good clean fun for children but obviously everyone else should just better skip this one.

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Outstanding Movie, not another Knock-off

[yourc21rl8r · 9 January 2005]

Not sure what those others are seeing or looking for in a movie... This is one of the best movies i have taken my two 12 year old's to in a long time. This movie was hilarious, it had jokes for all ages. At times you would hear the kids start laughing through the theater, but there were several time when the adults would start out the laughing. I laughed through the entire movie. My daughters have seen all of the other movies that this one is supposed to be copying, but (according to them) this is by far the best. This one will definitely be added to our DVD collection as soon as it become available!! Highly recommend this one for the whole family!!!

You've got to be kidding me!!

[scaraco · 1/10 · 13 January 2005]

Okay, I have to admit right from the start, I haven't actually seen this movie yet. But I just had to comment on it. When I saw the preview for it in the theater, I *LITERALLY* thought it was a joke. I kept on waiting for this "joke trailer" to reveal itself as some clever commercial or something (I've seen this happen before with other trailers). But sadly enough, this movie is real.

The next thing I thought was, "Okay, we've gone through the entire alphabet, from A to Y, and made a movie about everything we could possibly think of. Now we've come to the letter Z, and we've no choice but to make a movie about a zebra". I literally sat there with my jaw hanging open, in total disbelief at what I was seeing. And this was just the preview! I was convinced this whole thing was some sort of sick joke, until I saw the movie as actually existing, and opening this week on the IMDb. The reviews it's gotten so far (an average of 4.0 out of 10 stars) says a lot already - this is a ridiculous waste-of-film movie that should have never been made. I just looks downright STUPID!

Pointless, pathetic and full of crude humor

[SusieSalmonLikeTheFish · 3/10 · 11 October 2014]

Stripes is a zebra abandoned by a circus when he's born in a box on the highway. A farmer, Nolan, rescues Stripes and raises him in all aspects like a horse. His daughter Channing loves him but other animals think he's weird, and Stripes falls in love with Sandy, a white pony. Stripes sees an elite racetrack one day and wants more than anything to be a racehorse, but the competition is extremely difficult.

Racing Stripes is an extremely silly and predictable movie, with a lot of crude humor (horse patties surrounded by talking greenbottle flies, ugh), an original but dopey and unbelievable scenario and bad acting, along with even more horrible soundtrack.

Still, Racing Stripes, at least for a kid's film, beats Hotel for Dogs (2009) and Good Boy (2003) by a long shot.

Racing Stripes

[jboothmillard · 3/10 · 22 November 2010]

I saw the trailer for this film and thought, "here we go again, another film where an unlikely animal tries his/her hand at doing something and wins against all the odds", and that is exactly what it was, from director Frederik Du Chau (The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot). Basically a baby zebra is abandoned by a travelling circus during a thunderstorm, and he is taken home by horse farmer Nolan Walsh (I, Robot's Bruce Greenwood) to be cared for by daughter Channing (Heroes' Hayden Panettiere). Since giving up horse training and racing, Nolan has a quiet life with his daughter on their Kenutcky farm, and the zebra named Stripes (Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz) grows up believing he is a horse. He gets to know and makes friends with the other fellow barnyard animals, including cranky Shetland Pony Tucker (Dustin Hoffman), wise old goat Franny (Whoopi Goldberg), and a pelican named Goose (Joe Pantoliano) joins them too. The farm is very near the Turfway Racetrack where Channing does some work, it is run by the mean Clara Dalrymple (Wendie Malick), who looks on competitors training for the prestigious Kentucky Crown. Stripes has been determined for a long time to become a real race horse, just like Clydesdale (Michael Clarke Duncan) and the other meanies, and Channing is very keen to ride him like one. After some promising looking speed checks from Woodzie (M. Emmet Walsh) and a reminder of his former glory, Nolan is talked round into helping his daughter train Stripes to become the proper racehorse he could be. Stripes has an admirer in professional jumper horse Sandy (Licence to Wed's Mandy Moore), and Tucker comes round to believing in him too, he may be jumpy at the gate and have the mean horses laughing, but he seems ready to go. In the end, of course Stripes and Channing are in the big race aiming to win the Kentucky Open and the Crown, and inevitably they do for a happy ending. Also starring Jeff Foxworthy as Reggie the rooster, Joshua Jackson as Trenton's Pride the horse, Snoop Dogg as Lightning the dog, Steve Harvey as Buzz the fly and The Emperor's New Groove's David Spade as Scuzz the fly. The critics got this right, it is a mix of Babe with the talking animal format and the hope and glory feel of Seabiscuit, making it a completely predictable story that the kids probably won't even get a buzz from, a silly family part-animated comedy adventure. Adequate!

An entertaining family movie.

[Shopaholic35 · 7/10 · 2 June 2014]

Poor little Stripes, how could anybody ever abandon him. As you can imagine his luck turns around and life takes him on an exciting ride. OK so enough with the corny factor but seriously this movie is actually very entertaining. I was not bored during one minute of the movie which in my books makes for a pretty good family movie.

I enjoyed the new concept of making a Zebra the star of the movie as it is usually an overlooked animal. Cuter than a horse and more exotic than a barnyard animal. Although did we need to corrupt the other animals so much.

Anyways, Racing Stripes is a lovely family movie and quite underrated in my opinion. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

By-the-numbers, flat, and predictable, even for a kid's film

[lemon_magic · 4/10 · 5 February 2006]

I admit it: if I were 10 years old (or younger), and "Racing Stripes" was the first movie of its type that I'd seen, I'd probably like it better. And while this is strictly hackwork, even the 2nd string and 3rd string actors involved here (and I count Muniz waaay back in the 3rd string as a voice actor, although he may improve with time) are obviously professionals - "Racing Stripes" is at least mostly competent.

The trouble is, as an adult, I can see that the screenplay's got no heart, no juice, and no guts, and the director doesn't know how to give it any. Stack this up against "Cats And Dogs", and this film gets left in the dust. Stack it up against something like "Babe", and it doesn't even make it out of the gate. Both those films had the same theme as "Racing Stripes", ("You can do it if you try"), but here it just comes out flat - the hero wins because the hero is supposed to win, because that's what heroes do.

For instance, a day or two before the big race, the Bad Horse from the Rich Stables horsenaps the hero's mare-friend, and Munoz's character is beaten and left unconscious by the hench-horses. Yet the very next scene, he's running around emoting , with no visible ill effects from the beating. Dammit, race horses are delicate creatures, for all their size, and even a small injury, something that leaves them limping, is enough to completely ruin their chances of winning a high stakes race (where the winning difference is often measured in .10ths of a second). The screenplay ignores this little aspect of horse-racing, which could have been milked for some real drama and suffering and anxiety - but no, that would be some actual emotion, and there is no room for that in this by-the-numbers tale of a maverick winning against the odds.

Also bothersome - our hero actually gets some help during the race that none of the other horses get. The two flies zip back and forth several times between Stripes and his coach/mentor with tactical advice and last moment inspiration. I realize that this plot device is meant to invoke the "Use the Force, Luke" moment from the run on the Death Star, but...Excuse me, is this ethical? Or even legal? None of the other race horses are allowed this kind of assistance (that the film shows us, anyway), so how is Stripes' victory any kind of moral victory? It's as bad as movie like "Angels In the Outfield", where the ethics of using supernatural forces to cheat the other team of their deserved victory (cause your own team just ain't good enough to win on its own) are conveniently overlooked. In fact it's worse, because usually in the clutch championship moment, the hero has to pull off the big play on his own. Not here.

I will admit that the final sprint to the finish, where Stripes reaches down and finds what he needs to win, is well done. It's almost worth all the 2nd rate work that precedes it. Anyone who has been in crew races, bike races or marathons can identify with those make-or-break emotional decisions.

The voice acting - well, the two juvenile leads just can't surmount the drabness of the material. I feel this is the director's fault as much as the actors. I deride Muniz's voice talent, as he mostly got over on "Malcolm" with his looks and charm..., but still, he is a pro who carried a popular TV show. As a pro he is still better voice actor than 99 out of 100 amateur actors of the same age. So the director could have gotten better line readings out him (if only by happy accident) with better coaching. As it is, it sounds as if the two leads are reading the lines off cue cards for the first time, with no chance to punch up the drab dialog.

The human "live" acting - well, the 'live' half of the screen play is "National Velvet Lite", written for a situation comedy (and given a lobotomy). The actors do the best they can and it's serviceable for a juvenile movie.

For a family flick, there sure are a lot of poo and fart jokes, but those don't offend me. It DOES cement my opinion that the film team tried to make a "hipper" picture than, say, the old Disney films like "Herbie" and "The Nutty Professor" in attempt to hide the film's basic lack of invention. The trouble is, by centering the film around talking animals, they invite comparison not only to other live "talking animal" films, but also to animated classics like "101 Dalmations" and "The Aristocats", neither of which needed to worry about "hipness" (or fart jokes) to get over. For that matter, "Mr. Ed" and "Francis the Talking Mule" managed to be funny and whimsical without riffing on horse feces either.

Don't misunderstand me. If your kids want to rent or buy this, or want to watch this when it comes on cable again,it won't kill you to watch with them. "Racing Stripes" is not offensively bad or stupid, it's just a little, um, lame, compared to other, better, more original kid's films. They'll probably enjoy it OK (although I can't see it displacing "Finding Nemo" or "A Bug's Life") and forget about it within a week. So will you.

C'mon, it's only a family flick - and a rather fine one

[omega13 · 7/10 · 24 June 2005]

I'm rather against so called family movies 'cause I'm too old to like'm, but not old enough to have to watch'em. Anyway, I saw this movie at the hotel because there was nothing else to watch and I just want to say that this is movie is quite good (in its genre). Interesting (although kinda childish) story, well made effects, amazing "talking animals". We all know that such a thing like a zebra racing against horses couldn't happen but who cares. It's a cute portray of everybody's dreams about being someone better. And a doze of humor which's not even that bad (I really liked those talking flies) as in family movies. All in all - one of the best family flicks I've even seen. Kind of good to see a movie like this once a time ;))

Don't see this movie if you are over two!

[dreaminginthemidnighthou · 1/10 · 13 January 2006]

A terrible boring film with nothing at all to recommend it! I would TRY to divert a child's attention to doing anything else but seeing this piece of cinematic garbage! Poor old Zebra encounters a hard time then just gets up to WIN a horse race (where's the slo-mo?) A real Disney plotted piece of trash that should have had directors shot.

Made and shown in the school holidays to entice babies.....the under threes may even think it foolish. I have heard of parents going to sleep during this movie and their kids having to wake them up. I don't blame them it's a typical snorefest with every single move plotted to exactly how you'd expect a Disney-like life to run.........booooooooring. Do not go under surgeon's warning of narcolepsy!

Pete

Excellent movie - if you remember it's fantasy

[KYWes-1 · 8/10 · 14 January 2005]

This is a movie that touches all the right spots. It has Stripes striving for an unattainable goal, Channing striving for her own life, the loyalty and help of friends and the tragedy of a love lost. Just remember this isn't trying to be real life "gritty" drama. It's entertainment and my wife and I were satisfyingly entertained. If I had any complaints it would be with the inclusion of Snoop Dogg's character. It was a waste of screen time and I wish I could have gotten a better feel for the hate of the stallion Trenton. It's a formulaic movie but it follows the formula well with a new twist, likable and hate able characters.

Ignore the critics, take the kids

[jmdstern · 7/10 · 12 February 2005]

Perfect?, no but cute and family oriented, definitely. I think we get so caught up sometime with CG and special effects that we forget what can just make us smile. While this movie doesn't produce action figures, lunch boxes or any kind of "merchandise" it does deliver on the good old Disney tradition of storytelling. Okay adults, remember the days when we'd watch wonderful world of Disney?

I went with four children who all enjoyed it, okay so they laughed hardest at the party humor. Point being it was well told, presented and something nice to do with the kids. The acting is first rate and the characters, lovable. Get back to the basics, see it.

Decent stuff--if you're the target audience

[endora60 · 4/10 · 8 February 2005]

If you're a six-year-old girl, Racing Stripes is made for you, and you'll love it. It has all the ingredients necessary to thrill you and your little girlfriends: Big, beautiful horses, a gutsy young girl, a loving dad, talking farm animals and an underdog--errr, underhorse--who wins both the race and the heart of the lovely Arabian girl horse. Yeah, if you're a six-year-old girl, Racing Stripes is great entertainment.

Only thing is, to go see it you've got to subject an adult to this torture. The adult who drives you to the theater will be glaze-eyed by the time plucky Stripes crosses the finish line. Is there anyone over the age of ten who didn't know exactly how this movie would go from the moment little Stripes first decided he liked to run? Racing Stripes is so predictable--from the well-known voice actors to the tough-kid top competition and his arrogant sneaky father and the pretty Arabian love interest--that adults will groan as one cliché follows the last and prepares for the next.

So Racing Stripes isn't a bad movie, by any means; you just have to be the target audience to enjoy it. If you're not, it's 94 minutes of checking your watch and knowing that's 94 you'll never get back again.