Not long ago, former Sopranos actor Joe Pantoliano had a painfully awkward moment at a film festival. As he was walking through a crowd with one of his young children, an overzealous and excitable fan approached him and began discussing the very gruesome way in which Pantoliano’s character Ralph Cifaretto had been dispatched in the HBO mobster hit series. The veteran actor quickly ended the conversation and ushered his child away.
When asked how he shields and protects his kids from hearing that their dad was decapitated on the Sopranos, Pantoliano responds, “They don’t know it exists.” Although he has portrayed unforgettably nasty characters on projects such as The Sopranos and The Matrix, his kids are not allowed to watch any of his rough stuff until they “turn 18. Not until then.” He referred to the film-festival incident as an “occupational hazard”–and one that he works hard to avoid.
This was one of the reasons why he was so anxious to work on the family-friendly, talking-animal film Racing Stripes. The story is about a baby zebra named Stripes (Frankie Muniz, Malcolm in the Middle) who is accidentally left behind in Kentucky by a traveling circus in the middle of a ferocious thunderstorm. Pantoliano portrays a wacky gangster pelican named Goose from New Jersey who tries to fit in on the horse farm.
Stripes was rescued by Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood), a retired champion horse trainer, and taken home to be cared for by his daughter Channing (Hayden Panettiere) who dreams of one day becoming a jockey. Their farm is a low-budget operation, especially in comparison to the snooty folks next door at the Dalrymple Estate–home of exceedingly high-strung thoroughbreds who train year-round for the prestigious Kentucky Open horse race.
The Walsh barnyard is filled with eccentric and humorous characters such as Tucker the Shetland pony (Dustin Hoffman), Franny the goat (Whoopi Goldberg), Reggie the perky rooster (Jeff Foxworthy), and Lightning the lazy hound dog (Snoop Dogg). They befriend Stripes and accept him as the oddity that he is–namely, a zebra who has the passion to run like a racehorse.
Stripes causes quite a stir among the thoroughbreds who view him as freakishly different, and with the Cruella Deville of the Kentucky horse racing world, Clara Dalrymple, who is mortified when Channing rides her pet zebra to the track for her part-time job.
You guessed it, with the help of Nolan Walsh (call him “The Zebra Whisperer”) and all of the barnyard animals, Stripes ends up contending for the finish line against all of his thoroughbred detractors.
Racing Stripes is an easily understood lesson against prejudice and judging others by outer appearances. It’s also a feel-good movie that’s great fun for kids and adults. Originally, I was as excited to see the film as I would be to watch a senior-citizen bridge tournament; but I had the opportunity to take my eight-year-old son along to the advanced screening. We both laughed through the film. As a matter of fact, he howled through it.
One of the tricky aspects of being a parent is judiciously being able to a) explain to your kids why they cannot watch movies that mommy and daddy see, as well as b) explain to them why you don’t want to watch Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie with them. Thankfully, the studios are creating more movies that parents and kids can enjoy together such as Shrek 2, The Incredibles, and Polar Express. Racing Stripes is the kind of humorous movie with a good message that the whole family can enjoy.
Judging from the big name stars associated with the movie, it seems that many Hollywood actors want to be part of projects that their children or grandchildren can watch without turning them into moral zombies.
Comedian Steve Harvey is one of the show-stealing horseflies in the movie (along with David Spade). “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have done this movie,” he confessed. “But I have five kids. I’ve got to start saying something that they can be proud of. I cussed a lot–HBO specials and stuff–but as you get older, you start looking at your mortality. You start thinking, ‘I won’t be here too long and I want to leave something for my kids.’”
–Steve Beard is the creator of www.Thunderstruck.org–a website devoted to faith and pop culture.