Zig Zag, l'étalon zébré

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)

In the field of live-action talking animal movies, "Racing Stripes" is no "Babe." Nor is it "Stuart Little." It's more like a "Paulie" - meaning that it's no classic, and a bit predictable, but it's a perfectly entertaining little movie.

I saw the movie at a preview screening, and it opened with an announcement that this is the Official Movie for Red Nose Day 2005. In case you're wondering, Red Nose Day is an annual event held by the charity concern Comic Relief - plastic crimson schnozzles are often worn, hence the name. Fortunately, "Racing Stripes" was not actually made for charity, which is just as well given the low quality of a lot of things with good intentions behind them; the story of a little zebra taken in by Kentucky farmer/ex-champion horse trainer Bruce Greenwood and daughter Hayden Panetierre who grows up with the will to be a racehorse benefits from good voice acting (Frankie Muniz as our hero Stripes, Dustin Hoffman as the Shetland pony who trains him, Whoopi Goldberg as his goat best friend, Mandy Moore as Stripes' actual horse love interest - Mandy and Muniz also voiced animals in "Dr. Dolittle 2"; will they ever appear on screen as HUMANS? - and Fred Dalton Thompson as the arrogant champion stallion who wants the cup to remain in the family) and nice turns from the humans (Greenwood, M. Emmet Walsh, Wendie Malick as the closest the movie comes to a human villain, and budding babe Hayden).

The movie sometimes goes overboard with its comic characters - particularly a Mafia pelican voiced by Joe Pantoliano and a pair of flies done by Steve Harvey and David Spade - and not all the effects are that brilliant (and is it me, or is South Africa - where most of the movie was shot - less convincing at standing in for America than Australia or Canada?), but it's less sappy than it could have been and short of condescension. It won't change your life, but it's pleasant - and it does make sure you're cheering on the right animal in the big race.

But Bryan Adams? And STING?

Racing Stripes tries to be like Babe, hoping to connect to audiences like the 1995 film had done. The new film has many of the same qualities, but it isn't as fresh, as witty, or as affecting as the pig starring film was. The concept of making animals talk is always tricky, and, for the most part, director Frederik Du Chau pulls it off. The animals' mouths move in a believable fashion, and the vocal cast is first-rate. The fault lies in the script), which doesn't believe that the animals have much worth saying to adult audience members. However, for the right demography (I am guessing pre-teen girls) this would be a nice film to sit and watch.

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.

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.