Themes: Talking Animals, Death of a Parent, Fathers and Daughters
Main Cast: Hayden Panettiere, Bruce Greenwood, M. Emmet Walsh, Wendie Malick, Frankie Muniz
Release Year: 2005
Country: US/ZA
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
A horse of a different pattern becomes a spoiler in a high-stakes race in the family-friendly comedy-drama. Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood) is a farmer who once earned his living training racehorses before his wife was killed in an accident while riding, which led him to leave the racing game. Nolan tends to his farm and looks after his daughter Channing (Hayden Panettiere) and a large flock of animals, who speak to one another but not to humans. After a traveling circus passes through town, a zebra pony is left behind; Nolan takes in the animal, intending to return it to the circus, but at Channing's insistence they keep the zebra, naming him Stripes (voiced by Frankie Muniz). Channing loves Stripes, and the zebra is welcomed by the other critters on the farm, including grumpy Shetland pony Tucker (voiced by Dustin Hoffman), slow-moving hound dog Lightning (voiced by Snoop Dogg), a New Jersey-born pelican named Goose (voiced by Joe Pantoliano), skinny-brained rooster Reggie (voiced by Jeff Foxworthy), and deep-thinking goat Franny (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg). Channing discovers that Stripes can outrun nearly any horse around, and Woodzie (M. Emmett Walsh), a local character who has spent years handicapping the ponies, is convinced the zebra would be shoo-in in the Kentucky Open, a prestigious race held at the estate of champion horse breeder Clara Dalrymple (Wendie Malick). Channing believes Stripes can win, but he'll need the help of Nolan, who isn't so sure he's ready to start training again; meanwhile, Stripes gets plenty of advice from the other farm animals about his big step onto the race track. Mandy Moore, David Spade, and Steve Harvey also contribute their voice talents to the picture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
In the world of delusional barnyard animals, a zebra that wants to be a racehorse is a lot like a pig that wants to be a sheepdog, and that's not the only thing Racing Stripes owes to Babe. Unfortunately for Racing Stripes, it didn't steal any of the parts that made Babe classic. For one, the technical specs are not up to snuff. The animals' moving mouths have that disembodied quality that was industry standard before Babe raised the bar -- a whole ten years beforehand. Secondly, the characters are just more annoying versions of the Babe stable, notably the cowardly wise-guy pelican (voiced by Joe Pantoliano, a typically obvious choice), who could be the long-lost cousin of Babe's displaced duck. The characters who bring the most fun to the proceedings -- precisely because they are rendered effectively -- are a pair of flies called Buzz and Scuzz, who are 100-percent digital creations. The intensely formulaic nature of Racing Stripes does not preclude it from having some nice moments, even though they may be of the preschool variety. Bruce Greenwood gives a tenderly sober performance as the widowed trainer, and the rudimentary racetrack he cuts into his cornfield feels like a pleasant homage to Field of Dreams. Director Frederick Du Chau is even capable of the occasional clever shot. And if we're focusing on preschoolers, it never hurts to learn that age-old lesson of accepting those who are different. Unlike its determined zebra, Racing Stripes is not one of a kind, but it's still competently heartfelt family entertainment. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Jonathan Hely-Hutchinson - Art Director, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Cathy Sandrich Gelfond - Casting, Philip A. Patterson - Co-producer, Kirk De Micco - Co-producer, Kira Davis - Co-producer, Jo Katsaras - Costume Designer, Philip A. Patterson - First Assistant Director, Frederick Du Chau - Director, Tom Finan - Editor, Steven P. Wegner - Executive Producer, Mark Isham - Composer (Music Score), Deva Anderson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Wolf Kroeger - Production Designer, David Eggby - Cinematographer, Lloyd Phillips - Producer, Broderick Johnson - Producer, Andrew Kosove - Producer, Edward L. McDonnell - Producer, John Cox - Special Effects, Nico Louw - Sound/Sound Designer, J.Paul Huntsman - Sound Editor, Kirk De Micco - Screen Story, Frederick Du Chau - Screen Story, Steven P. Wegner - Screen Story, David Schmidt - Screen Story, David Schmidt - Screenwriter, Kent Houston - Visual Effects Supervisor, Dion Hatch - Visual Effects Supervisor, Eric Rosenfeld - Visual Effects Supervisor, Karl Lewis Miller - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Alex Williams - Supervising Animator, Emelia Weavind - Set Decorator
Racing Stripes is a 2005adventure/comedymovie, directed by Frederik Du Chau. It is similar in the style to the 1995 movie Babe, in that the protagonist is a talking animal who lives on a farm and succeeds at an activity not expected of his species. (The animal characters also call Nolan Walsh "the Chief"; the animals of Babe called Arthur Hoggett "the Boss.") The movie was filmed in Pietermaritzburg and Nottingham Road, South Africa. This film is rated PG (mild crude humor and some language).
In a rush to pack up during a thunderstorm after blowing a tire, the Circus Sorano (a traveling circus) accidentally leaves behind a baby zebra. The foal is rescued by Nolan Walsh, a retired thoroughbred-racehorse trainer. Nolan takes the zebra home to his farm, and leaves it in the care of his daughter Channing, who names him "Stripes". The other farmyard animals try to educate him about life on the farm, but he is convinced that he is destined for the nearby racetrack, even though he isn't a real racehorse (a fact he doesn't realize for three years). He spends his time training, helped by Tucker, a Shetland Pony who had helped coach champion racehorses in the past.
Channing has a similar ambition: To become a jockey. Her father had refused to let her train, as he believed it to be too dangerous; he had retired from training after her mother, also a jockey, had died in a racing accident, several years before. However, her enthusiasm eventually wins Nolan over, and he agrees to train her and Stripes, with the aim of winning the illustrious Kentucky Open.
Characters
Nolan Walsh is Channing's father. Ever since his wife was killed when her racehorse stumbled, Nolan hasn't been able to bear training horses. Fearing that Channing will hurt herself if she rides, he refuses to let her anywhere near a saddle.
Channing Walsh is the movie's human star. She wants to ride, and despite her lack of opportunity she has a natural talent for it. She's determined to race just like her mom, whatever it takes.
Woodzie is an old racetrack gambler. He sympathizes with Channing, especially since he sees the same gift in her that was present in her mother.
Clara Dalrymple is Nolan's former employer and a classic example of an egotistical aristocrat. She seems at first to be the movie's main villain, but to her credit she's honest enough not to sabotage the competition; the real villain of the movie is Sir Trenton.
John Cooper is Clara Dalrymple's trainer after Nolan stopped. He is shown to truly care about the horses he trains, giving Sandy a break when she seems unsettled for the high jump hurdles. After witnessing this, Dalrymple berates him going as far as to say as long as she pays him, he will train to the pace she wants. He sarcastically asks her if she has a board meeting to go to. He is involved in Pride's training.
Animals
Stripes is the star of the movie. He may be a zebra, but he won't let that stop him from competing in the Kentucky Open. The horses from Turfway Park all make fun of him, with the sole exception of Sandy, a beautiful white jumper who loves him.
Tucker used to help Nolan Walsh train racehorses. He may be too small to stand a chance in a race himself, but he's got more than enough horse-sense to know what it takes. Years of training horses who never give him any thanks for his help has left him grumpy, though, and it takes almost as much work to persuade him to help Stripes run as it does to persuade Nolan to let Channing ride Stripes. His height and the length of his mane are the subject of running gags throughout the movie.
Franny is an old goat. She has a heart of gold, and unlike Tucker she's not afraid to let it show. She takes Stripes under her wing right from the start and makes it her business to help Stripes succeed on the racetrack—even when Stripes is ready to quit. She also plays a role in Stripes' relationship with Sandy.
Sandy is a professional jumper. She's been all over the world, so of course she knows that Stripes is a zebra (a fact that Stripes did not yet realize). But unlike the other horses, she believes that there's nothing wrong with being a zebra. On the contrary, she thinks that Stripes is "the cutest thing on four hooves." The sentiment is obviously mutual: the moment he first laid eyes on her, Stripes forgot what he was doing and crashed headfirst into a tree. As time progressed, they begin to really love each other.
Buzz and Scuzz are a pair of horseflies. They are brothers, prone to arguing, humorous, and quite alike in appearance. The easiest way to tell them apart is that Buzz has blueeyes and Scuzz has red eyes. This could be seen as an outward manifestation of their musical tastes—Scuzz is a rap fan, whereas Buzz favors more conservative music. They are old friends of Tucker from the racetrack, and play an indispensable part in Sandy's escape from Sir Trenton, as well as helping Stripes out in the race.
Reggie is the Walsh farm's rooster. He means well, but is not very bright. He seems to be in the movie mostly for laughs.
Goose is a former mob hitman pelican from New Jersey with a gangster accent so thick you could cut it with a knife. Fleeing his boss after a botched assassination, Goose crash-landed on the Walsh farm. Tucker sums up Goose's personality as follows: "Goose, who is really a pelican, is really a stool pigeon, who is actually a chicken that ducks. That makes five birds in one, count 'em." In addition, he is terrified of loud noises, as they bring back memories of his mobster past.
Sir Trenton is the villain/antagonist of the movie. He is an arrogant Thoroughbredhorse. Trenton sees his son, Pride, as having no purpose other than to carry on the Trenton legacy. He was trained by Nolan Walsh and Tucker, but shows no gratitude.
Trenton's Pride, Sir Trenton's son, is a bully to be sure, and he picks on Stripes virtually every chance he gets, such as beating him in a night race at the beginning of the movie. Pride is not as bad as his father, though and its implied that his father is pushing him on to be great and strong. He wants to win the race fair and square, and in the end he is honest enough to admit that he lost fair and square, despite his father's cheating.
Ruffshodd seems at first to be merely a bully-lackey to Pride, but in reality he is a worse bully by far, proving quite eager to help Sir Trenton threaten Sandy in order to keep Stripes from running in the Kentucky Open. Even when Stripes and his friends thwart the cheat, Ruffshodd—and even his rider—persist in fighting dirty. During the race, Ruffshodd's rider whacks Stripes with his riding crop, and Ruffshodd pins Stripes to the rail with a maneuver Goose calls "the old Jersey squeeze," until both Ruffshodd and his rider are taught a lesson by Scuzz. In all probability Ruffshodd is jealous of Stripes. When Ruffshodd first tried to get Sandy's attention, she bluntly turned him down, parting with a comment of "Talk to the tail. Her attentions were obviously for Stripes alone, much to Ruffshodd's chagrin.
Lightning is the farm's lazy watchdog and family pet. Lightning is rarely seen onscreen with little speaking lines. However, on the film's advertisements Lightning is depicted to be a major character but he actually is not.
The bulk of the visual effects work on the film was carried out by the Santa Monica based company Digiscope. The visual effects supervisor was Dion Hatch, and the animation supervisor was Alexander Williams.
Plot details and coincidences
Racing Stripes has many plot similarities to the later-released Disney movie, Herbie: Fully Loaded. In fact an Image Search for "Racing Stripes" on Yahoo revealed pictures of Herbie (due to his design) much sooner than it did any pictures pertaining to Racing Stripes.[citation needed]
Tucker makes reference to the movie Chicken Run when talking to Franny about the species that are known to race.
When Stripes asks why Tucker stopped training horses, Franny begins speaking in Pig Latin, Tucker makes a pun on this by saying "Stay with me, Franny, we haven't spoken Latin since the pigs left."
In the movie, Tucker says he has "shorter legs than a sheepdog." This is probably a bit of a pun on the fact that he is a Shetland Pony, since there is also a Shetland Sheepdog.
In the alternate ending on the DVD, it is revealed that Stripes and Sandy eventually had a son. Such a hybrid of zebra and horse is possible, and just as Nolan said such a crossbreed is called a "Zorse", though the animal shown in the film more closely resembles a quagga. However, professional horse-trainers claim they are not the easiest animals to get along with[citation needed].
Scuzz once calls himself "Luke Skuzzwalker", a reference to the Star Wars character Luke Skywalker. A further reference is made when Goose attempting to hit a metal rooster fixture on the barn says "C'mon Goose, use the force".
Overall reaction to Racing Stripes was mainly mixed to negative. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 35% "rotten" rating, with the consensus stating, "An entertaining children movie that ought to be tolerable for adults." Despite the panned criticism, the film was a commercial and financial success, grossing over $90 million worldwide.
