Racing Stripes
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on the film itself: It is, it's kind of like a cross, I've heard it sort of compared to a
cross between Babe and Rocky.
This baby zebra falls off the back of a circus truck. My daughter raises it with horses so it thinks it's a horse, and she's determined to race it...It's a Babe kind of movie in which the animals talk to one another. I tell people I have a picture with Dustin Hoffman and show them one with me and a donkey because he supplies the voice of the animal.
I was doing a movie for Warner Brothers called Racing Stripes. About a baby Zebra that grows up to be a big Zebra and thinks he’s a race horse because he’s surrounded with racehorses....and the animals all talk. The humans don’t know they talk. So, it’s a little like, Babe....
It's very sweet and quite cute It's such a sweet story. It's a very simple story and the format is much like Babe. The animals are already standing there looking stupidly at one another. Soon they will be infused with artificial life and the dialogue is quite clever. It's about triumph of the spirit. It's also a story about a
little girl falling in love with an animal and nurturing him until he reaches
his full potential, and finding the same in herself. So, it's a perfect family
movie, and I've never really been in a movie so uplifting, humorous and
enthusiastic.
It's about the triumph of the spirit. It's a really positive message about be who you want to be - independent of who other people think you are. If you feel like you're a thoroughbread race horse - even if you look like this [ points to zebra] go ahead. Just follow your dreams, basically. on why he did the film: The biggest reason was that the movie has a great big heart. And I get to play a decent guy with no agenda but trying to take care of the people he loves. Well, the script was really, really funny and really sweet. And those two things together kind of hooked me in. I laughed out loud and had a little tear at the end, so I thought [looking at the stuffed zebra and using a voice like talking communally to a child] 'Let's give it a try.' The father was a stretch 'cause I'm not - the nice guy even more of a stretch. The nice guy was what I was after. I wanted to do something where the guy was just a decent human being. He's got problems and everything - He doesn't want to let his daughter grow up and go away. He wants to protect her from the world - and he can't. Yeah. I am sort of known for being a kind of institutional bad guy, and more of an actory type than this. But it was just so much fun, I just thought - I was touched and I was amused, so I thought [looks at zebra again and uses the zebra voice] well, OK. Well, they don't really care! You know, you can be talking like this [looks at the interviewer directly and moves closer] and they'll just go [uses his hand like a head to show it turning away]. They're just not that interested in what you have to say! Or you'll look down and they've gone [clears his throat] on your shoe, y'know. This is a little more frivolous, a little more fun and long overdue for me. The sentiment is so genuine and it just really appealed to me on a really
visceral level.
Without wanting to sound too serious, the emotional life of
the human characters are independent of all the animals. So I just looked
at that as a very simple emotional story that's quite easy to follow ... I
thought it was really well-told on the page, and it's surrounded by all
these goofy characters.
It's a nice uplifting film to do and it has humour and a couple of tears -- and
that's entertainment, dammit. I try to pick stuff that I think is going to be most satisfying to me on
a couple of levels," Greenwood says of his career choices. "And more and
more, I'm just picking the stuff that I respond to on a visceral level. I
do stuff that touches me or makes me laugh or that I think has merit. I
don't really plan what I do. I'm pretty spur-of-the-moment. I don't have
many responsibilities, either, so I'm lucky that way. I'm not in many movies that kids can go to and it's really nice for me to be part of that. Cause it plays to the stuff that I really like....It has poop jokes! I found this movie before they found me. It appealed to me because it was entertaining and had a heartfelt message. I'd never been in a movie so uplifting, humorous and enthusiastic. I was very touched. It's about believing in who you are. And I was surrounded by goofy, crazy animals with real personalities. I loved the script. I loved the script from the very first day. on his character: I was a horse trainer who’s a race horse trainer, whose wife has died tragically in a racing accident. So, I didn’t want to let my daughter ride and my daughter brings up this Zebra and wants to ride the Zebra, and I’m, you can’t, never mind the Zebra, you can’t ride anything. He’s afraid to let her grow up and of course she grows up and the closer she gets to wanting to break free and the more he holds on and then finally he has to let her go.... There is a point where my character turns a corner in himself and he . Even then, I think there's this reluctance to give in completely to the moment. He's still weighed down with responsibility and that's a very real conflict to have. It was a crucial aspect of what made me want to take the role. Truly, [my character] is the anchor of the story. You need to
ground the story in some sort of reality. Everyone else is providing so
much froth that it's really left to me to keep the fantastical aspects
from floating away with the film. If you think of it in terms of kites,
the stronger it is on the ground the crazier and higher it can fly. I'm a guy that's afraid to let his daughter grow up. Because his wife
and her mum was killed in a tragic racing accident. So he doesn't want
her to ride, he doesn't train horses anymore, and he's afraid to let his
daughter spread her wings. He's a bit stern, and he's resistant and as she grows up and as the zebra grows up beside her thinking it's a racehorse, and she grows up wanting to be a jockey, those things are going to come together, and I
want to stop them from coming together because I want to protect her. Question: [Your character] was really stubborn with his daughter on shooting the film: It was a wild shoot. There was so much talent there, and that makes you feel
pretty good. When you come on set, and everything looks right, you feel a little
heavier on the ground.
I loved being there and my co-star, Hayden Panettiere was fantastic and Emmet Walsh was a lot of fun. We had a really good time and I think it’s going to be a good movie. I actually couldn't believe how quickly some elements of the production went. They found old beams and incorporated them into the barn set. It looked right
and that's a huge help for an actor. on Hayden Panettiere: Hayden doesn't count as a child. For one thing, she's been working in films since she was an infant. She's an incredible professional. For another, she was too caught up with the zebras to act like a child. She's really, really sunny. She's extremely positive and works really hard. But she's very open - she was really open to me being her Dad [snaps his fingers] right away . And it was very impressive the way she got on the motorcycle and had to ride off in the scene. And she rides off camera and we were "Oh!" [makes horror sound] and she rode right through a fence! And came scampering back and did it again! She's a lot of fun, a lot of fun. Oh, she rode like a fiend. She was there two months before I was,
training and training and training. And uh, she did ride them, yeah. Question:And working with Hayden Panettiere who plays your daughter...? on working with the animals: That was one of the hardest things - leaving the show was leaving all the animals.
They're really part of your family The animals don't really care about your acting. You can
be acting up a storm and they'll rip the back pocket off your pants or wet your
shoes. The first thing you have to do is get them comfortable around you. Food always helps. I can tell you they are definitely the stars of the show, though never in any
acting class did I imagine I'd be co-starring opposite a pelican. Question: Would you work with animals again? It was full-on crazy, wacky barnyard all the time and when one adult would do
something right the other animal would wander off and nibble the grip or
something. Almost never would you see two animals do something right at the same time. So the rooster would get it in one take and the goat would get 40 takes.
[This shoot] was the only time a co-star has ever bitten me or knocked me
to the ground and kicked me repeatedly," he says. "The next time I work
with a group of actors, I'll definitely get there a few weeks early and
soften them up by feeding them warm milk from a bottle.
And so we spent four months shooting the animals standing there going (pretends to stare off into space) and then they’ll spend a year having the animals go (stares off into space with his lips moving) but they’ll be good, it’s funny, the script is funny, it’s really cute....We had a pelican that could walk up to a mark, then be told to fly away, then fly away, fly like 100 yards (demonstrates with his hand) land on the mark. We had a rooster that could a - we had a rooster that could turn on a light bulb...
Yeah, well the cool thing is, in order to really work with the animal effectively especially if your playing the trainer as I was, you get to do the stuff that calms them down. So you know, you speak in mellow tones and move slowly and predictably and constantly and try and sort of be mesmeric, you know, which is fun. The thing about animals is it can take forever to shoot a scene. They have to
hit their marks, and stay there without moving or changing expression. Some
scenes took 50 takes. Question: It takes a long time to make a movie, doesn't it? I love animals. I love being around them. I think if you are
sensitive to them, and you can feel the vibe coming off them, you can sense the
space -- if you know what I mean -- between us and them. If you're tuned in, you
can feel the elasticity. They're not like people, they don't hide what they are
feeling. You'll be talking to the animals like [holds up a stuffed zebra like he's talking to it face to face] and the animal will go [and he turns the head away] as though he's not interested - because he isn't! Working with animals changes the focus of what you're trying to do. You always want them to relax, to trust you. With people, it's similar, but far more complicated. Question: How did you prepare to work with the animals Question: Had you worked with animals prior to this movie? on zebras:
They’re intractable. Arrogant little buggers. They’ll bite you as soon as....Oh yeah, bite you and kick you....they trained one to pull a plow, to be ridden, that was pretty... they took about six months to really train them to do the stuff.....well, you know it’s against their grain, isn’t it? (Puts on a South African accent) It’s against their nature. All they want to do is eat. They walk about ‘n eat.....They like being stroked over their face and have their eyes closed and that kind of calms them down. They bite and kick ... they're really wild animals. It's difficult to train them. Off the mark zebras are like greyhounds - bam! They're gone! It's the fight or flight reflex - their flight reflex being much more highly developed than their fight reflex, which is sort of pretty much biting and kicking. And then - after whatever - 30 yards or something - a thoroughbread is going to overtake them... but not this one! [nodding at the stuffed zebra.] First of all they can't be trained. And they're very (sound
effect) quick off the mark. But otherwise... After fifty yards, they're
either being eaten or they've lost interest, you know...[their] sprinting is good...We had twelve zebras. We had eight, eight fully grown zebras.
Each one had been trained to do a specific thing - to turn and stand or to
work with a goat or to work with a pony or to wear a saddle and let Hayden
ride it for a little bit. But when you're working with a zebra, you'll do your thing and then the zebra will go (snore). Or you'll say something very toughing, and it's
supposed to move its head and (imitates zebra looking away,
disinterested)......Or you'll look down on your shoe, and it's, oh...You know, that's wasn't necessary. Kind of a little rigid - and he goes [using sound effects along with his arms to illustrate] Ka-Boom! - and butt and booted me and through my sweater and my shirt are huge hoof marks..and y'know, he knocked me down. They bite and kick ... they're really wild animals. It's
difficult to train them. My work with them was mostly a lot of caressing, and some leaping out of
the way when they'd snap. The zebras were smart enough to know what they didn't want to do. These zebras were tame. But an adult, really well-trained zebra simply means it won't run away from you. Zebras don't like to be ridden. They are very wild
animals, but beautiful. Before we started shooting I wanted to spend some time
with them and get a feel for what they're like -- and to let them get used to
me. Working with zebras, you can never tell when they will wander off. You are doing some important work and they think you are so boring they yawn or wet your shoe or lose interest and fall asleep. That was a lot of fun. But it didn't stop them from biting me. on the baby zebra(s): You know they're about 100 lbs and they're a little bit skittish, so you have to treat them very, very gently. And the first time I was working with one - the scene where I was bringing it into the barn, right? I was working very, very gently and I held him a little bit tight and it got tense and I got tense and I held him a little bit tighter and then he went whoop! bam! and threw me onto the ground and kicked me mercilessly.
It started getting inky and twitchy, so I held it tighter. It got quite antsy, hurled me to the floor and started kicking me repeatedly. It hadn't read the script, obviously. No, I just got bitten by the baby zebra and kicked by the baby zebra, but so did everybody. Question: What was it like working with animals? Question: What was it like on the set with all these different animals? Was it crazy? on the rooster: [they have a brain] the size of a wafer, or a dime yet [are] still capable of hitting a mark on a barn floor from a flying distance of three hundred yards. I don't know many actors who can do that. on the pelican: The trainers were really amazing. The pelican! They'd throw him into the air, they'd roll the camera and he'd fly around until the trainer waved a rake! Then the pelican would fly down and go Boing! and land on a fence post! Get an actor to do that! Even if you beat him with a rake! the pelican - you throw him a herring! I wouldn't work for a herring! Well, I did in my youth. I worked for herring for a long time in my youth on stage. My granny actually inherited a pelican. I just remembered
this. This is an exclusive. A pelican escaped from the Vancouver Zoo she
named Percy. She lived on the water in Horseshoe Bay and she had him for a
while. So I have a history with pelicans, however remote. Question: What was it like working with all those animals?
on shooting in South Africa:
I lived in an old farmhouse, a turn of the century farmhouse in Kuazulu, Natal. Which is just west of Durbin. If you think of the country like a triangle (demonstrates with his hands) if you are looking at it this way, we were sort of in the right hand corner of the triangle.....[I] had a great place to live, went surfing on the weekends..... [The shoot was] from August to Christmas of last year. It was fantastic! We were in an area called KwaZulu-Natal, which is about an hour and a half West from Durban, which is on the East Coast on the Indian Ocean. It's just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful rolling hills and little villages. It was spectacular! It's such a, it's a beautiful, beautiful country. And the longer you're
there, the more you want to stay and contribute in ways besides just
contributing money.....[we were there] four months, from August to Christmas. on his starry co-stars: I have a photo of the shetland pony and myself that I'm gonna get Dustin to sign and say how great it was working with me. Question: Have you ever worked with Dustin Hoffman before? on seeing the finished product: It played even without syncing... could've saved a lot of money in post. Generally when I watch a movie I'm in, it's over a curved elbow with fingers
spread in front of my eyes and I'm so nervous, but this one was different. I'm usually so freaked out that's it's going to be crap that I normally can't enjoy what I do, but within five minutes I was laughing my head off and pounding the seat in front of me. [Pounding the seat?] I've been asked to leave movies occasionally. I'm
such a good audience. It was fantastic, because it was what you hoped for. And to laugh out loud at a movie you're in. Usually I'm so catatonic with fear and trepidation that I've done a terrible job that I can't enjoy anything. But in this one I laughed out loud and made a real pest of myself. I need to feel who did the voices....because we shot the movie independent of that....and we did the voices later.... It's really funny. I mean, Kids from 5 to 15 really dig
it. It's funny for parent, too, because it's quite irreverent. It was so cool at the premiere in L.A., it was 50/50 kids and children.
And when the kids are going, wah wah wah wah wah, they're laughing, the
adults are going, oh, gawd. And when the adults are laughing, the kids
are going, they're watching something else. Everybody was involved, and
there were very few [sound effects] walks up the aisle, there was none of
that. Everybody was into it. If someone has kids or nephews or nieces or whatever, it's fun for the whole family. But it is! It's laugh out loud. Usually, when I'm in a movie, the first time I watch it I'm like [cowers with his hand over his eyes] I can't bear to see myself and this time, I just forgot all about it. I was laughing out loud from the first five minutes. It's high-energy, very funny. The animals are
ridiculous. on Director Frederik Du Chau:
A Belgian and a lovely guy who’s done a lot of animated movies before and quite funny.What Bruce Greenwood has to say about Racing Stripes
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Answer: He's scared for her! He doesn't want her to grow up! He wants to protect her! Cause her Mum was killed riding horses! Can you blame him? Does he finally roll over? And let her blossom? Is that not the point of the movie?
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Answer: Kind of the same thing. Little bits of kibble now and then, gentle voice, warm milk occasionally.
Question: Did you do anything special to develop the father-daughter bond?
Answer: We had a really cool thing going right from the very beginning. We got really lucky that way. It was like [snaps his fingers] instantly. There was no kind of warm-up period.
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Answer: Yeah, but they’re tricky.
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Answer: Well, especially with animals. I mean, the actors get one take and the goat gets forty. You know, because it takes a long time for the goat to
do what's in the script.
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Answer: I petted a lot of them.
Question: That's it?
Answer: Yeah, I went training with them. I learned how to dig the stuff out of their hooves; I'd watch them shoe them and I learned how to put bridles on them and all that business and how to talk to them. But it was mostly - for me - sensing the vibe of the animal and trying to pitch my voice in a way that would make the animal relax. So, if you let that pour out, the animal will pick it up and if you don't, the animal will go [makes a snarl and biting motion with his mouth] and bite you! So you feign calm while your heart's going [shows pumping motion with his sweater on his chest]
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Answer: No, I’ve never done that before. I worked with horses where you just jump on them and ride them around.
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Answer:Well, we had to be careful, as you know, from getting bitten. And I got bitten and I got kicked.
Question: Did you really?
Answer: Yeah, the baby, too. You know, you're petting away [demonstrates with his hand] or feeding them and you'll take the bottle away and bang! They'll have a grip on your arm or finger-
Question: Telling you what they want
Answer: Uh huh; Or just saying, 'I'm just tired of your company.'
Question: No More of you. So, did it put you behind schedule or were you OK with the shooting with the animals?
Answer: No, in fact, we've got a bunch of stuff on our gag reel of me being kicked around - basically, having the tar kicked out of me by a 3-month-old zebra. Put me down and kicked the living hell outta me.
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Answer: Well, you get nibbled, you get bitten. You get snapped and kicked. I was taken to the ground by a 100 pound baby zebra and kicked mercilessly.
Question: How did that happen?
I was showing it too much love. I held it a little bit too tight. They don’t like to be held tightly. You have to hold them very, very gently. It’s the scene where I bring it back into the barn and I’m just trying to dry it off. And it kind of got tense and I got tense. I held it a little tighter and it got a little more tense, and I held it a little tighter. It went bam! and threw me on the ground and kicked me repeatedly.
Question: And that was a baby zebra?
Answer: Yeah. Much smaller than [the zebras at the premiere]. Like big dog size (laughing).
Question: So, how do you make friends with a zebra?
Answer: Warm milk. We fed them for a long time for a couple of days before hand every few hours, out of a bottle. And just being close to them and getting them used to your smell and your voice.
Question: Did you give them lots of treats?
Answer: Yeah, little handfuls of what look like kibble.
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Answer: The pelican was *unbelievable*. I mean, it's got a brain the size of a pea, and it probably doesn't use all of it, right? So they put a mark on the ground, then they'd start camera, and we'd have a scene, we'd start talking, and the pelican is supposed to arrive in the midst of the scene. They'd hurl it into the air, it would fly away, and then at an appropriate moment, the trainer would wave a rake, like a garden rake. And the pelican would go (actions and sound effects) and land on the fence post. And if you can ignore the trainer behind the person you're speaking to, waving a herring.
Question: Oh, that's what it's really coming for.
Answer: Of course! No, it's not coming to be in the movies.
Question: How many pelicans did you have?
Answer: We had two. We had two, the first pelican we had was terribly, terribly bright and realized - this is true - realized that if it wasn't getting what it wanted, it would fake a limp....It would limp, and then they'd come in and the trainers would give it various things until the limp went away. At one point, the limp remained until they brought in dirt from its hometown.
Question: Which was...
Answer: Which was Capetown, where it was raised. They brought in Capetown dirt, it perked right up. And a week later -
Question: It's just like actors!
Answer: It's worse than actors! I never ask for dirt from Vancouver, ever!
Question: Just red Smarties.
Answer: Just red Smarties. And the next time - this happened half a dozen times - and the next time it came up with a limp, it kept limping until they
brought a woman pelican.
Question: And then?
Answer: And then the limp went away!
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Answer: I've got a photo of the two of us together, but he looks like a, like a pony.
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To have an actor of his caliber in this movie is a true
blessing because if the audience doesn't believe in our human story, then our
talking animals don't seem real either.
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As for the human story, it simply wouldn't have worked if the chemistry
between Bruce and Hayden. If you don't believe the story, you can't
expect people to be engaged.
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Hayden, Bruce, Wendie and Emmet are all unbelievable actors in their own rights, and we've put them in a situation where they have to weave their story through scenes where animals talk, which is tough.
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