 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Racing Stripes
- Review Date: May 7, 2005
- PG
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2005
Common Sense Media says
Best live-action talking animal movie since Babe.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie has some mild language, including insults like "idiot," "blow sunshine up your tail," and "kick your butt." A bad word is amusingly cut off by an animal's "baaa." There is some crude humor, much of it involving animal poop (which most children will find very funny). An animal parent is very harsh to his child. There is a scary fall and some off-camera violence, but no one is hurt. Some viewers may be concerned about the storyline concerning the death of Channing's mother in a racing accident.
What's the story?
RACING STRIPES gets rolling when horse trainer turned farmer Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood) finds a baby zebra and brings him home. For his daughter, Channing (Hayden Panittiere), it is love at first sight. Three years later, Stripes is a cherished part of the farm family. But Stripes (voice of Frankie Muniz), who has never seen another zebra, thinks he is a racehorse, like the thoroughbreds he sees at the race course next door, owned by snooty Carla (Wendie Malick). His friends include pony Tucker (voice of Dustin Hoffman), a goat (voice of Whoopi Goldberg), wayward seagull Goose, and horseflies Scuzz and Buzz. The race horses jeer at him, but Stripes trains and dreams of winning a real race. A sympathetic filly named Sandy (voice of Mandy Moore) provides encouragement. The animals find a way to let Channing know that Stripes is fast enough to race and wants to ride him, but Nolan, whose wife died in a racing accident, does not want Channing to compete.
Is it any good?
Racing Stripes is the best live-action talking-animal movie since the beloved Babe. The human performers are just fine, especially the underrated Greenwood. He is too often relegated to bad-guy roles, but he shows real warmth and screen presence here. Up-and-coming young Panittiere makes us believe in her devotion to her father and the dream of racing she shares with Stripes.
But the movie is all about the animals and the voice talents and computer-aided "acting" make the characters very real and very appealing. The humor may overdo the doo-doo, but there are sweet and funny moments as Stripes tries to follow his dream and learns the importance of friends.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about why Stripes was so unhappy to find out he was not a horse. Why did Clara and Nolan have different ideas about what was important? Why do some people think "different is scary?" What does it mean to say "You can put your boots in the oven but that doesn't make them biscuits?" What made Nolan change his mind about letting Channing race? They should also talk about the importance of both skill and discipline, and both ability and heart. What can you tell about the way families can resolve differences by the way Nolan and Channing talk to each other?
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AGE
good messages, middling entertainment
My six year old really liked this and I was able to watch it. Very easy to talk about the messages, which are positive and important at this age (believe in yourself and you can succeed even if you're small, different, etc.). We spent most of the ride home repeating the funniest parts, there were half a dozen good jokes.
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AGE
strange...
This movie is strange because it's like they took a story line for a kiddie movie and tried to put some adult jokes into it... It's just a strange movie, and it's not very funny. I probably only laughed out loud once, and belive me: without the flies, this would have been classified as a kiddie movie!
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AGE
Difficult to sit through.
I took my 11, 9 and 6 year old to this movie and all were bored with it after about an hour. I think when a movie resorts to potty humor more than once, it is desperate for laughs. The message of the story is a good one though, always follow your dreams and don't let anyone keep you down.
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AGE
ya!
Cutest thing ever. I absouloutley love this movie and even though there might be a little bad words like, moron or idiot it is totally fine! It is a great movie so I would recomend it!
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AGE
Great!
You're child will love this movie, but may be scared in the begining when a thunderstorm hits.
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AGE
Kids loved it
ALL my kids loved this movie, they watched it over and over! I need to buy it for them!!! LOL Starts out sad and ends on a very happy note!!!!
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| Topics: | sports and martial arts, horses and farm animals, wild animals |
| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Director: | Frederik Du Chau |
| Cast: | Frankie Muniz, Hayden Panettiere, Wendie Malick |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 94 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 14, 2005 |
| DVD release date: | May 10, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | mild crude humor and some language |
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