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Racing Stripes

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This article is about the movie. For the design element used on racecars, see racing stripe.
Racing Stripes
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFrederik Du Chau
Written byDavid Schmidt
Story byDavid Schmidt
Steven Wegner
Kirk DeMicco
Frederik Du Chau
Produced byAndrew Kosove
Broderick Johnson
Lloyd Phillips
Edward L. McDonnell
StarringBruce Greenwood
Hayden Panettiere
M. Emmet Walsh
Wendie Malick
Frankie Muniz
Mandy Moore
Michael Clarke Duncan
Jeff Foxworthy
Joshua Jackson
Joe Pantoliano
Michael Rosenbaum
Steve Harvey
David Spade
Snoop Dogg
Fred Dalton Thompson
Dustin Hoffman
Whoopi Goldberg
CinematographyDavid Eggby
Edited byTom Finan
Music byMark Isham
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. (United States/international)
Momentum Pictures (United Kingdom)
Summit Entertainment
Roadshow Entertainment (DVD)
Release date
  • January 14, 2005 (2005-01-14)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$90,754,475

Racing Stripes is a 2005 American sports comedy-drama family film directed by Frederik Du Chau. The film was produced by Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Lloyd Phillips and Edward L. McDonnell, based on a script written by David Schmidt, Steven P. Wegner and Kirk DeMicco. It was released theatrically on January 14, 2005 by Summit Entertainment and Warner Bros..

The film tells the story of Stripes, a circus zebra who is accidentally abandoned in Kentucky and raised on a farm next to a racing track. Believing he is a racehorse, Stripes dreams of training for and competing in the races. Racing Stripes stars Hayden Panettiere, Bruce Greenwood, Wendie Malick and M. Emmet Walsh, with the vocal talents of Frankie Muniz, Mandy Moore, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jeff Foxworthy, Joshua Jackson, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Rosenbaum, Steve Harvey, David Spade, Snoop Dogg, Fred Dalton Thompson, Dustin Hoffman and Whoopi Goldberg

It was filmed in Pietermaritzburg and Nottingham Road, South Africa. The film received mixed reviews from critics and it earned $90 million. Racing Stripes was released on DVD and VHS on May 10, 2005 by Roadshow Entertainment and Warner Home Video.

Plot

During a thunderstorm, a traveling circus accidentally leaves behind a baby zebra. The foal is rescued by widower Nolan Walsh, a former Thoroughbred-racehorse trainer who retired when his wife, a jockey, died in a racing accident. Nolan takes the zebra home to his farm and leaves it under the care of his daughter Channing "Chan" Walsh, who names him "Stripes". Stripes befriends the other farmyard animals, including Saanen goat Franny and Shetland pony Tucker. One day, he becomes convinced that he is destined for the nearby racetrack, the Kentucky Open, after watching a race, not realizing that he is a zebra and is not qualified to race.

Three years later, an adult Stripes meets a Lipizzaner mare named Sandy and develops a crush on her. While talking to Sandy, he is approached by Trenton's Pride and Ruffshodd, Stripes' tormentors. Pride challenges Stripes to a racing match; he accepts, but loses the race. The following day, Tucker, having secretly watched Stripes, approaches him and suggests that he get proper training first. Stripes, in need of a rider, chooses Chan and convinces a new farm animal, a pelican named Goose, to sabotage Chan's motorcycle and Nolan's old pickup truck so that Chan can ride him to her workplace at the Kentucky Open. The plan works, and Chan, with Nolan's reluctant approval, rides Stripes to the Kentucky Open. There, Chan is antagonized by her boss, Clara Dalrymple, for bringing Stripes to the racetrack, while he meets a pair of horsefly brothers, Buzz and Scuzz.

As night approaches, Chan, remembering her first ride on horseback with her mother, completes a lap around the racetrack with Stripes. They are approached by Woodzie, a racetrack gambler, who encourages Chan to sign her and Stripes up for a tryout race tomorrow. She does, despite Nolan's disapproval, but Stripes becomes scared by the horse-gate, and then gets hit in the face by flying dirt while racing, causing Chan to fall off. Though she is uninjured, Nolan chastises her. Then, Dalrymple sarcastically signs Stripes up to compete in the Kentucky Open competition. Meanwhile, Stripes realizes he is a zebra, which severely discourages him. Despite Chan's pleas, Nolan refuses to let her race with Stripes. Realizing this, the farm animals lure Nolan into the farm to show him a table holding his accomplishments, and he changes his mind. Meanwhile, Franny reveals to Stripes that Tucker helped Nolan train the racehorse champions without getting any thanks, which encourages him to begin training.

Refusing to allow Stripes to race, Pride's father Sir Trenton and several Thoroughbreds ambush Stripes and Sandy at a creek as they are talking, kidnapping Sandy and threatening to hurt her if he races. Stripes, Tucker, Franny, and Goose agree to rescue Sandy. With Buzz and Scuzz's help, they rescue Sandy from the stables. They then rush back to the farm, where Nolan, Chan, and Woodzie take Stripes and Tucker to the Kentucky Open. When the race begins, Stripes is unable to keep up with the other racehorses, and several other jockeys try to sabotage him. However, he remembers a piece of advice given to him by Tucker. This encourages him to catch up with Pride, who is in the lead, and Stripes manages to win. Impressed, Pride makes amends with Stripes, while an unsatisfied Dalrymple is embarrassed when Goose shoots bird droppings on her hat in public. As Nolan and Chan are awarded, Stripes approaches Tucker and gives him his award wreath as thanks. At the end of the film, Stripes, Chan, Nolan, and all of Stripes' animal friends take their picture together.

Cast

Animals and Humans

  • Stripes (voice of Frankie Muniz), a foundling zebra who desires to compete in the Kentucky Open race, which leads to bullying from the local horses with the sole exception of Sandy, whom he has a crush on. His younger self was voiced by Jansen Panettiere, Hayden Panettiere's brother.
  • Channing "Chan" Walsh (Hayden Panettiere), Nolan's free-spirited 16-year-old daughter who is determined to ride on horseback, and despite her lack of opportunity, she has a natural talent for it like her mother.
  • Nolan "The Chief" Walsh (Bruce Greenwood), Channing's widowed father, a corn farmer, and retired racehorse trainer who has not been able to bear training horses ever since Carolyn was killed when her racehorse stumbled a few years ago. Fearing that Channing will hurt herself if she rides, he refuses to let her anywhere near a saddle.
  • Tucker (voice of Dustin Hoffman), a Shetland pony who used to help Nolan train racehorses, including Sir Trenton. He presents himself with a grumpy demeanor after years of training ungrateful horses before retiring.
  • Sheriff Woodzie (M. Emmet Walsh), an old racetrack gambler and friend of the Walsh family. He sympathizes with Channing, especially since he sees the same gift in her that was present in her mother.
  • Clara Dalrymple (Wendie Malick), Nolan's former employer and Channing's boss, who admires Trenton's Pride and Ruffshodd and only sees the Kentucky Open competition as a means of business and money and is not concerned for the well-being of her horses.
  • John Cooper (Gary Bullock), one of the racehorse trainers for the Kentucky Open. He doesn't share his boss Dalrymple's views on pushing her horses past their limits, but continues to follow her instructions in order to get his paychecks.
  • Franny (voice of Whoopi Goldberg), an elderly Saanen goat who constantly encourages Stripes to pursue his dream and gives him many words of advice. She seems to be the only animal on the farm aware of how upset Tucker is about his retirement.
  • Sandy (voice of Mandy Moore), a professional jumper Lipizzaner mare. She is the only horse who supports Stripes's dream to become a racehorse. She and Stripes have romantic feelings for each other, which become mutual by the end of the film.
  • Buzz and Scuzz (voices of Steve Harvey and David Spade, respectively), a pair of horsefly brothers who serve as the film's comic relief and are good friends with Tucker. Buzz is larger and has blue eyes, while Scuzz is scrawnier and has red eyes. The brothers have a different tastes in music: Scuzz is a rap fan, while Buzz favors more classical songs.
  • Reggie (voice of Jeff Foxworthy), the Walsh farm's rooster, who means well, but is not very bright. He serves as the news announcer for the rest of the farm animals.
  • Goose (voice of Joe Pantoliano), an American white pelican from the big city. He states that he moved to the farm in order to escape several other birds who have placed a hit on him, and that he was a "hit bird". It is presumably his experiences that render him afraid of loud noises.
  • Sir Trenton (voice of Fred Dalton Thompson), an arrogant black Thoroughbred horse who sees his son, Trenton's Pride, as having no purpose other than to carry on the Trenton legacy. He also seems to view the Kentucky Open competition as his property, which leads to his antagonistic nature towards Stripes, whom he believes might ruin it.
  • Trenton's Pride (voice of Joshua Jackson), Sir Trenton's son, who is a bully and picks on Stripes every chance he gets. However, by the end of the film, he makes up with Stripes, having become impressed with his racing ability. His younger self was voiced by Kyle Alcazar.
  • Ruffshodd (voice of Michael Rosenbaum), Pride's friend and lackey. At first, it seems that he bullies Stripes with Pride merely out of sycophancy for the latter, but in reality, he is a worse bully by far, proving quite eager to help Sir Trenton in threatening Sandy in order to keep Stripes from running in the Kentucky Open. This is further evidenced when he persistently tries to sabotage Stripes during the Kentucky Open competition. His younger self was voiced by Frankie Ryan Manriquez
  • Lightning (voice of Snoop Dogg), the family's lazy Bloodhound who talks while asleep.
  • Clydesdale (voice of Michael Clarke Duncan), a Clydesdale horse who oversees the Bluemoon races.

Production

Kirk DeMicco is the film’s writer.

On September 10, 2002, it was announced that Frederik Du Chau was hired and set to direct Racing Stripes. David Schmidt, Steven P. Wegner and Kirk DeMicco wrote the script for the film. Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Lloyd Phillips and Edward L. McDonnell produced the film with the budget of $30 million for release in 2005. On 22 November, it was announced that Bruce Greenwood, Hayden Panettiere, M. Emmet Walsh, Wendie Malick, Gary Bullock, Frankie Muniz, Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Moore, Jeff Foxworthy, Joe Pantoliano, Fred Dalton Thompson, Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum, Snoop Dogg, Michael Clarke Duncan, Steve Harvey and David Spade joined the film. On March 25, 2003, it was announced that Mark Isham would compose the music for the film. Development of the film was completed in Los Angeles, California. On 21 May, Summit Entertainment and Warner Bros. acquired distribution rights to the film.

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. According to Ripley's Believe It or Not, at least one person has succeeded in training and riding a zebra as a racehorse. 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. Scuzz once calls himself "Luke Scuzzwalker", a reference to the Star Wars character, Luke Skywalker. Goose's remark towards Tucker ("Hey, be careful, Pony-Boy, or someday someone's gonna wake up with your head in their bed!") contains references to The Outsiders and The Godfather and his remark to Dalrymple ("Say hello to my little friend.") is a reference to Scarface. Reggie States "If you build it, they will come." is a reference to Field of Dreams (1989 film).

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Mark Isham, who also produced and co-wrote "Taking the Inside Rail" with Sting; "It Ain't Over Yet," heard with Channing and Nolan train Stripes and at the end of the film, was written by Bryan Adams, Gretchen Peters and Eliot Kennedy and produced by Adams. The soundtrack album was released on January 11, 2005 on the Varese Sarabande label.

  1. Taking the Inside Rail - Sting
  2. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night
  3. At Home on Walsh Farm
  4. I'm a Racehorse!
  5. The Blue Moon Races
  6. A Pelican Named Goose
  7. Tucker Lays It Out!
  8. Goose Makes a Hit on the Iron Horse
  9. Run Like the Wind
  10. Twilight Run
  11. Upstaged by a Zebra
  12. A Brave Decision
  13. Glory Days
  14. If You Build It, They Will Come
  15. Out of Africa
  16. Spring Training
  17. Ambushed!
  18. Filly in Distress
  19. Race Day
  20. They're All In!
  21. The Big Race
  22. In The Winner's Circle
  23. It Ain't Over Yet - Bryan Adams
  24. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Ennio Morricone
  25. My Girl – Steve Harvey
  26. U Can't Touch This – David Spade
  27. Here Comes The Hotstepper - David Spade
  28. Ebony and Ivory - Steve Harvey and David Spade
  29. Overture, from 'Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)' K.492 - Hungarian State Orchestra
  30. Exsultate, jubillate, K.165 - Kosice Teachers' Choir/Camerata Cassovia
  31. Walk This Way - Run-D.M.C.
  32. The National Anthem USA
  33. Doggy (Who Let The Dogs Out?) - Steve Harvey and David Spade

Release

Theatrical release

Racing Stripes was theatrically released on January 14, 2005 by Summit Entertainment and Warner Bros..

Home media

Racing Stripes was released on DVD and VHS on May 10, 2005 by Roadshow Entertainment and Warner Home Video.

Reception

Box office

The film was a modest success at the box office, having covered its budget. It grossed $49,000,000 at the American box office and an additional $40,000,000 at the international box office.

Critical response

Critical reaction to the film was mixed to negative, with the movie scoring 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 99 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "An entertaining children movie that ought to be tolerable for adults."[1] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 43 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[2]

Awards

International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA) 2005
Award Category Nominee Result
IFMCA Award Best Original Score for a Comedy Film Mark Isham Nominated
Teen Choice Awards 2005
Award Category Nominee Result
Teen Choice Award Choice Movie: Animated/Computer Generated Frederik Du Chau Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Racing Stripes". rottentomatoes.com. 14 January 2005.
  2. ^ "Racing Stripes". Metacritic.
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