KHUMBA

South Africa, 2013, 85 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Jake T. Austin, Steve Buscemi, Loretta Devine, Laurence Fishburne, Richard E Grant, Anika Noni Rose, Anna Sophia Rob, Catherine Tate, Liam Neeson.
Directed by Anthony Silverston.


This is a film for younger children, an animal film, a message film. In some ways, it is reminiscent of The Lion King and of the Ice Age films. However, this is the story of a half-striped zebra.

As the film do not have a big budget, made in South Africa, the animation style is less striking than many other films. It made up for this with the voice-cast, very strong, especially with Liam Neeson as the villain. But there are quite a number of comic characters as well is a serious characters, and Jake T. Austin is the voice of the half zebra.

The film establishes the range of animals, many of the popular animals from southern Africa. When Khumba is born, and everybody reacts to his lack of stripes, even his father who blames him for the drought and the death of his mother, there is nothing else to do but for Kuimbha to go off by himself, despite the dangers.

When he leaves, he goes into the territory of the villainous leopard, Phango, controlling the water, terrorising all the animals but who has a sad personal history of injury and coping. Khumba is rescued from a wild dog by a wildebeest and an ostrich, providing comic touches!

Mama V befriends him and is a different kind of mother, a wildebeest, unconventional, who cares for a somewhat over-the-top ostrich.

Khumba has a vision of a mantis, and draws a map to what could be a kind of promised land through the desert. He comes into his own, gaining itself confidence and maturity

Adult audiences with their children may find this a bit hard to sit through at times, but the children will respond to the animation, the characters and the adventures and the message of gaining self-confidence.