Zebra in the Kitchen

Ivan Tors, who brought "Flipper" to movie (and later television) screens, tried his luck again with this animal-based comedy-drama starring Jay North, from TV's "Dennis the Menace". Framed in flashback for no apparent reason (other than to pad the reedy-thin narrative with exposition), story concerns a domesticated Puma mountain lion and his unhappy preteen owner, who is forced to give his pet to the local zoo after his parents relocate them from the sticks to the city. Nothing in this movie feels accurate: the boy's father lost the family homestead because he was apparently hurt, but there seems nothing wrong with sturdy Jim Davis in the part; the zoo appears to be in mountain terrain (away from the town) and is described for us as "shabby" and "pitiful" when, actually, it seems well-staffed and very clean; also, the youngster is taken in quite readily by the friendly zookeepers as an assistant, yet he treats this job indifferently (while scheming to betray everybody and free the Puma). North, a competent child actor, isn't allowed much mischief beyond stealing Andy Devine's cage-keys, and is kept petulant and scowling. The extraneous shots of animals eating or pacing their cages are dropped in sloppily (much of the time, they're not even reacting to anything, so there's no humor in their presence), while the quasi-slapstick finale--with zoo animals finding their way into homes, as well as the local ice cream shop--lays a big egg. *1/2 from ****

I enjoyed this film very much. Jay North does a fine job as a child who has raised a mountain lion from birth but because he has to move with this family to the city, the mountain lion has to be put in a zoo that is poorly funded and with tiny cages. As a result, Jay North's character frees all the animals there 45 minutes into the film. The middle part then is more comedic as the animals enjoy their time away from the cages. Longtime character actor Andy Levine and Martin Milner are wonderful in their roles as the zoo caretaker and zoo director, respectively. Now zoos are more animal-friendly but when this film was made, many zoos were like jails with cramped cages and the rights of animals was an afterthought in zoos. This film enlightens the public in that regard and does so in an entertaining and heartfelt way.

This is not a good movie but the central idea of treating animals humanely is ok for a movie from the 60s. It wasn't then & still isn't a common subject for a movie. I do not know how well the caged animals were treated during filming. I hope it was w/ great care & they were confined for a very limited time. But it's important to know awful zoos, like the once shown in the movie, we're common & sadly still exist in the world today. I have mixed feelings about zoos. No wild animal should be confined to a zoo but then again, zoos have also saved some animals from extinction, caused by man. If you can look beyond the silliness and see the beauty of these animals, I sort of recommend it. Children would be the best audience but a parent or guardian should be there to point out what's not acceptable in human behavior, how all animals must be treated humanely & wild animals should never be pets. They are not to be poached or hunted for any reason, especially for trophies. So it's a so-so recommendation w/ reservations.

Ivan Tors (creator of TV's "Seahunt," "Flipper," Gentle Ben," and "Daktari") produced and directed this effective family comedy. With a low budget, creative editing, a cast that included "Dennis the Menace's" Jay North and "Adam 12's" Martin Milner, and a Hollywood Animal Farm assortment of animals, Ivan Tors is able to create slap stick and a message out of a story about a boy (Jay North) and his pet cougar. When the boy's family must move to the city, his pet cougar is placed in the city zoo, a run-down out-dated collection of cages maintained by zookeeper Chill Wills and Zoo Vet Martin Milner. Soon North ends up working for the zoo, but unhappy with the way the animals are caged up, releases the animals onto the city. The animals really aren't very dangerous and cause a lot of mischief in people's backyards, houses, and shops. Watch for Marshall Thompson ("Daktari," "Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion") in a cameo.

Was really taken aback by the number of people who recall it as their first movie.However weird and made up it may sound,it was one of my first movies as well.My friends had it on home video and I remember laughing hard and having a really good "childhood" time with my buddies.The memories are very faint,but there was some sequence where they show a big key or something.And its a miracle that I recall the name!Seeing the rating I guess the movie must be pretty crappy,but I would still buy the movie,even though my friends back then are only memories now.I have to see the movie now to make a more critical comment,but for now I just want to reminisce the memories...