Racing Stripes

A zebra colt, accidentally abandoned by a traveling circus, is taken in by a Kentucky farmer (Bruce Greenwood) and his teenage daughter (Hayden Panettiere). As he grows up, he cherishes a dream of becoming a racehorse like the thoroughbreds on a neighboring farm. As in Babe (the obvious inspiration for the script by David Schmidt, Steven P. Wegner, Kirk De Micco and director Frederik Du Chau), the zebra Stripes and his farmyard pals can talk among themselves, and the voices are where the real star power is: Frankie Muniz, Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, David Spade, Mandy Moore, Jeff Foxworthy, Snoop Dogg, etc. The jokes are corny, and the story predictable—the outcome of the big race is never in doubt, especially after Dad literally bets the farm—but it’s all perfectly acceptable kid stuff.