Review of Racing Stripes

Introduction

Think National Velvet with fart jokes and you`ve pretty much got the handle on this modern-day fable.

Stripes is a baby zebra, accidentally abandoned by a circus caravan in a rain storm. Found by a kindly farmer (and former horse-trainer), Stripes grows up dreaming of being a racehorse because nobody bothers telling him he`s a zebra. He`s befriended by the other animals on the farm, including a friendly goat, a grumpy Shetland pony and a neurotic rooster. He`s attracted to the elegant showjumper who`s just arrived at the neighbouring stables but he also has to suffer the jibes of the thoroughbreds training for the Kentucky Open there.

Agent Cody Banks star Frankie Muniz voices Stripes, while Dustin Hoffman and Whoopi Goldberg voice the grumpy Shetland Tucker and the goat Franny respectively. Comedy relief is provided by two horseflies Buzz and Scuzz voiced by Steve Harvey and David Spade, and by Joe Pantoliano as a Goodfella pelican called Goose (think Joe Pesci with feathers).

Stripes winds up entered in the Kentucky Open, much to the disgust of the thoroughbred racehorses led by black stallion Sir Trenton (voiced by former US Senator Fred Dalton Thompson).

While acted off the screen by their animal co-stars, the human on-screen talent includes Bruce Greenwood as Nolan Walsh, the kindly farmer and former racehorse trainer; Hayden Panettiere as his feisty daughter Channing and veteran actor M Emmet Walsh as Woodzie, the old racetrack pundit who recognises the ability of Channing and Stripes as a winning team. Wendie Malick turns in a brittle, sub-Cruella-De-Ville performance as Clara, racehorse owner and Nolan Walsh`s former boss.

Video

The movie, presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen, is absolutely spotless. The transfer is picture perfect, with excellent colour and contrast. The extensive CGI work throughout the movie is seamless and within moments of the animals starting talking, you can just accept that a pelican can have a Noo Joisey accent.

Audio

The sound is a pleasantly immersive Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that isn`t too tricksy. There are a couple of top rate song tracks on the end titles, my personal favourite being Sting`s track "Taking The Inside Rail".

Features

The movie is well supported with extras for discerning fans and little `uns alike. Director Frederik Du Chau provides an audio commentary track that makes interesting listening. There are some digital outtakes, which turn out not to be those strained Pixar-style joke outtakes but extended or deleted scenes in themselves. There are further bona-fide deleted scenes in a section of their own and an alternative ending that would have added little to the movie.

There are three short featurettes: "How To Make Animals Talk" which gives an overview of the CG image manipulation processes used. "Animal Acting Class" details the work of the animal wranglers who coaxed the basic body performances out of the animal actors. "The Music Of Racing Stripes" details the contributions of Sting and Bryan Adams to Mark Isham`s excellent score.

For the smaller members of the audience, there is an interactive comic book and video game "Buzz and Scuzz`s Flying Fiasco".

Conclusion

If you enjoyed Babe, you`ll probably love Racing Stripes. A lot less sentimental and full of jokes of more dubious origin, the movie is a four-legged adventure romp. You`ll cheer for the zebra and boo the thoroughbreds. The littlies might not get the Godfather genre jokes that Goose the Pelican brings with him, but they`ll definitely get the gag where he sh*ts on the rooster...