Racing Stripes (2005)

Anumra Accolade - Art
Director - Frederik Du Chau

Synopsis :
A zebra calf abandoned by zoo officials is adopted by a family which was once famous for horse racing. Years later, the zebra lands in a situation to compete against the horses in a race to save its family's pride.



Cast :

Frankie Muniz - Stripes (voice)
Mandy Moore - Sandy (voice)

Review :

What is this movie about? Talking animals, American humour, words, phrases and scenes which need to be in a racing movie. Is that all? No.

This is the story of a zebra who with the help of his animal friends and love of the daughter of his master, achieves the unthinkable - a race against the horses.

With a single zebra, these people have woven and created a celluloid which comes with ounces and ounces of passion, all for free. Right from the first scene when Stripes is introduced until the last flash of the race, passion is one word with which we are gripped. Stripes, the hero of the movie, steals our hearts with its innocent expressions, cute barking and an iron-fisted ambition.

A humble movie with a great animal team, good actors, visual effects, applaudable cinematography and editing,... wait. There is something which I am missing. Yes. Those unmistakable moments when the sounds and visuals speak to us. Flashes, slow motions, brilliant ups and downs of music and much much more which made all those animals' expressions visible and audible even when they don't speak. The shot by shot translation of the moods and motivation for the racing zebra build the whole movie.

Leave all to your imagination. Watch Stripes begin that run. Those minutes, I couldn't close my eyelids even for a routine blink.

Interesting Links:
Trailer
All about the Zebra
Zebroid - A Cross Breed
IMDb Link