Racing Stripes review

There's a pleasant, old-fashioned feel about Racing Stripes. It's a film whose target audience is children but whose parents won't mind at all accompanying their offspring to this entertaining and engaging affair. It's made by the team behind Babe, and the affectionate way in which animals come to life and speak is reminiscent of that great success of the 90s. While it's not likely to become as huge a phenomenon as Babe, it's a cut above the norm and should prove a pretty irresistible proposition both on the big screen and later on DVD.

Frankie Muniz voices the central character, a zebra abandoned by his circus owners only to end up on a farm belonging to widower Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood) and his horse-loving daughter Channing (Hayden Panettiere). Nolan is against keeping the animal but bows to his daughter's wishes and soon the newly-christened Stripes is making friends with the farmer's livestock: a Shetland pony and a wizened old goat (Dustin Hoffman and Whoopi Goldberg respectively), a benign bloodhound (Snoop Dogg), and even two flies who buzz the farm on a daily basis, and provide many of the film's funniest moments (David Spade and Steve Harvey).

Soon Stripes becomes aware that he is very different from the other equine creatures, especially the high and mighty racehorses at the local track who taunt him about his unusual appearance. Stripes decides that if he can't join them he will beat them and sets out to prove that he can run as fast as any of them in the upcoming derby race. Thrown in for good measure are a snooty track owner (Wendie Malick), and a jaded but keen trainer (M. Emmet Walsh) who offers the young Channing plenty of advice on riding her unique charge. The climax sees the farm on the line as the zebra tries the impossible.

The film gets lots of things right. It's great to look at and the talking animal effect is highly convincing. The actors voicing the animals give an excellent team performance, and there are plenty of laughs throughout, which are not always aimed at the children. Under Frederik Du Chau's assured direction, the script and story never become too schmaltzy, and there's a very positive and well-made point about prejudice. It may not be the most original story in the world, and it's pretty easy to see where everything is heading, but there's a lot of fun to be had in watching it all unfold.

Paul Hurley