Racing Stripes

A young zebra is accidentally left behind by a travelling circus during a storm and is taken in by Nolan Walsh, a widowed Kentucky farmer who once trained racehorses. Nolan's daughter Channing raises the foal, named Stripes, on a farm next to a racetrack, and the zebra comes to believe he is a thoroughbred destined to race. The other animals on the farm encourage him, but Nolan has not trained a horse since his wife died in a riding accident, and the local racing establishment has no interest in a striped entrant. Channing, who wants to be a jockey, works with Stripes as he tries to prove he belongs in the prestigious Kentucky race.

The film is a live-action family comedy with talking animals, directed by Frederik Du Chau as his second feature, between Quest for Camelot and Underdog. David Schmidt wrote the screenplay, and the cast mixes voice work and live performances: Frankie Muniz voices Stripes, Hayden Panettiere plays Channing, Bruce Greenwood plays Nolan, Mandy Moore voices the mare Sandy, and Wendie Malick, M. Emmet Walsh and others appear.

Made for about 30 million dollars, it took roughly 91 million worldwide, a solid return for a family release. On IMDb it holds 5.2/10 from around 19,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.9/10 from 699 votes; the critics' score of 5.2/10 from 95 reviews sits close to the IMDb figure and above the smaller TMDB sample.