Khumba: A Zebra’s Tale

This likeable but limp South African ’toon about a half-striped zebra aims to reclaim its continent’s wildlife from Hollywood safaris like The Lion King. Alas, it’s too timid to survive against feistier competition.

Everything is leftovers, from the bone idle casting of trusty but typecast stars (Liam Neeson, Steve Buscemi), to a quest structure Robert McKee would dismiss as formulaic.

Even the film’s key source of charm, its heartfelt allegory about tolerance, becomes a flaw when rare flashes of anarchy (notably a tribe of crazed rodents) are eclipsed by over earnestness.