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• Formulaic nonsense. posted on 24 Feb 2007

  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

• The plot is clichéd the side stuff is wonderful. posted on 02 Feb 2007

  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.

• Awesome! posted on 28 Nov 2006

  Since I work at a movie theater, I can see movies for free. Well I saw part of the movie, but I wasn't really into the movie, at all. But I later came back to watch the entire thing. It was awesome. Especially the last 15 minutes of the movie. The Race was awesome! Although the flies, we sort of funny, the 1000 eye joke, I can say was hysterical. Those flies brought down the seriousness of the movie, but it attracted the younger crowd. I remember a parent asked me why is was rated PG. all I could say was, that it was basically a overall great kids movie. But I'm not sure that some parents approve on animals crapping on people, a good movie. Great Movie!

• feel good movie, but just too many flaws posted on 18 Nov 2006

  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.

• Enjoyable Adventure posted on 10 Nov 2006

  Going into the cinema to watch Racing Stripes, I expected this to be another clichéd, over-dramatized adventure. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a good mixture of children's adventure with the relationships between animals and Stripes' struggle to be accepted as a racehorse, as well as the competitive world of horse racing. There are some fine acting performances in this film, in particular I enjoyed Hayden Panettiere's job as Channing. The highlight of this film without a doubt is the humour of the two little flies, and they create constant humour even while the film is serious. Overall, I found Racing Stripes to be a fantastic film, one I have watched again, and would recommend to all.

• Not even an 8 year old should watch.... posted on 13 Sep 2006

  This movie is a cheap knockoff of Babe combined with Rocky. Ridiculous. Sure an eight year old might be enjoy it, but there are SOOO many other great(let alone good, or even decent) movies that eight year old can see and enjoy. This is pure copycat trash that does not even copy well.Forget it...(stop reading review here)Why do reviews have to be a minimum of 10 lines, that is absolutely ridiculous, it only makes people who are paid by the industry write a review, it is one of the most ridiculous things ever.I Just Don't understand why reviews need to be 10 lines.It really does not make ANY sense to me.They probably won't even post this comment.In which case I will review this site and totally rip it apart.Lets see what they do....

• A cute family movie posted on 20 Aug 2006

  I really enjoyed Racing Stripes... I watched it with my family, and everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I recommend it for all ages.The plot is predictable, but fun, and the story has plenty of comical humor. Racing Stripes also has a good moral: "even if you're different, you can still be a winner" and has good values for small children.There is very little violence in this movie, and I thought that how they made the animals' mouths ''move'' was AMAZING!!! If you are planning on seeing this movie on DVD, definitely watch the bonus features; they're quite fascinating.The actors all did great jobs, and I found Stripes to be quite endearing. If you're looking for a great film for all ages, rent Racing Stripes today!

• Great for Kids posted on 12 Aug 2006

  Racing Stripes may not be a classic or very good but its still enjoyable and worth watching especially if you have you kids they will love it and to adults it is predictable but generally still fun and fairly funny. The story is formulaic but still fairly good and works well. The screenplay is fair and works even if that is because its so cheesy that it will have you laughing very, very hard with cheesy dialogue mostly but also minor plot holes and the way it chooses to develop the characters. The acting is cheesy and often just doesn't work at all, all the great cast this has have been so much better before. The direction is fair and generally works without being great. The visual effects are disappointing, when the animals talk the dubbing is horrible and sometimes you can tell its a fake animal. A film kids will love and adults may like a little.

• I Loved It! posted on 07 Jul 2006

  This movie was good old-fashioned fun. If you like animals, you'll love this movie. A wonderful metaphor for life; go for what you believe in, and don't listen to the naysayers. The acting was well done, especially the young girl (what a beautiful fresh face and natural manner) - her father was excellent, not over-the-top. The villianess was over-the-top, but appropriate for this little gem of a movie. I loved Dustin Hoffin's interpretation of the pony, and Whoopi Goldberg's goat voice. I went to this movie not expecting anything, and I was mesmerized by the sheer fun of it all. And the zebra gave an Oscar-worthy performance!

• There IS a place in the world for talking animal movies... posted on 07 Jul 2006

  This feel-good fun flick manages to be wholesome G-rated entertainment without being saccharine. An uplifting if somewhat familiar underdog story, its bevy of solid character actors and voice-over talent keep us interested and amused. Filmed on location in South Africa, its scenery is easy on the eyes.Kids will love it because, well, it's a good fun kid's movie. Parents will be sustained by the comedic talents of Joe Pantoliano, David Spade, Whoopi Goldberg and others. Keep an eye on its winsome young lead actress, Hayden Panettiere; she brings to mind other child actresses with serious acting chops and an actual future in the business, a la Jodi Foster, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci.

• Get that zebra out of here posted on 01 Jul 2006

  I give this movie a high five... Now, before you go thinking that-that is a good thing, I mean a high five rating rounded up to six so it is a little above average. Or maybe that is worth a high five. A black and white mule, also known as a zebra, wants to race against the big dogs (or should I say horses, I'm getting my animals mixed up). Stripes, a fast zebra (I guess) has dreams of racing in the Kentucky Derby against thoroughbred race horses. His dream is realized and you can watch to find out the rest.The movie was mildly humorous, the funniest characters in the movie were two flies voiced by Steve Harvey and David Spade. It was a typical David v. Goliath story with not much captivation. It was a waste of known actors for a poorly executed movie.

• Light hearted film that your children will like posted on 11 Jun 2006

  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)

• I thought it was quite good... posted on 20 May 2006

  Even though I am NOT a fan of David Spade (he does the voice of an obnoxious fly), I thought the movie was quite good and actually caught myself laughing pretty hard and loud in a nearly deserted theatre (It was really late...) I thought the actors were great, especially the teenage girl and the animals were cool. There may have been a bit too much screen time given to the David Spade and Steve Harvey characters (the two flies) but otherwise, I thought it was great. Of all the choices at the theatre tonight, I'd say this was the best thing playing.If you liked Babe and Lion King, you'll like this. I still can understand why it was PG though.....a bit off farting jokes (again...David Spade...I don't even like him as a guest on The Tonight Show...but, other than that. ..who knows?)

• Great Movie!! Fun for Kids and Adults!!! posted on 08 May 2006

  It really puzzles me why this movie has received such a low rating here. It's a great film for kids and adults, lots of laughs, and never a dull moment. The messages of "you can do anything if you try", "it's OK to be different", "always believe in yourself", "friends are gold", etc., can all be taken away from the movie. It is an absolutely marvelous film. For those who choose to see movies based on the critiques of others(including mine), I urge you to put the dependency on hold for once and check it out for yourselves. Fun! Fun! Fun! BTW, I am a married mother of 3 young boys who could not stop talking about it (and repeating every funny line on the way home!) Two hundred+ peoples votes out of millions who have most likely seen it, should never be a basis for seeing this film...LB

• I like animals movie posted on 31 Mar 2006

  He is not a house but he has a dream. One stormy night, a circus leaves baby zebra behind. He is helped by Channing Walsh who is house trainer. Her family called him "Strops" and he want to be a first-class horse. He is not a horse so his rivals tease him. But His friends and Channing cheer him up. And the final race is begun… I thought this movie is just a happy ending story. He becomes a winner and the end… but after I watched it, I want to say thank you to my friends. This movie poignant me and tell how important my family, friends and my existence. This movie is going to release 17th November on TV in Japan. I want to watch it again and get courage!! You and your friends, family are going to be heart warming people!!

• Decent stuff--if you're the target audience posted on 27 Feb 2006

  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.

• Wow! posted on 05 Feb 2006

  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!

• C'mon, it's only a family flick - and a rather fine one posted on 30 Jan 2006

  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 ;))

• Dull Racing Stripes posted on 14 Jan 2006

  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.

• Mister Zed posted on 13 Dec 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.