Movie Review: Khumba

Movie Review: Khumba                                                                                                  4-18-20

In the African plains known as the Karoo, a zebra calf named Khumba (Jake T Austin) was born. However, he is only half-striped, and when Khumba is blamed for a drought, he sets off on an adventure to earn his stripes. Along the way, Khumba meets a motherly wildebeest named Mama V (Loretta DeVine) and a flamboyant ostrich named Bradley (Richard E Grant), and must confront an evil leopard named Phango (Liam Neeson).

At first glance, Khumba looks like a knockoff of DreamWorks' Madagascar. However, upon further inspection, Khumba is actually closer to Happy Feet, as both films starred black-and-white animals who are blamed for a famine/drought and go on a dangerous adventure full of exotic characters.

Khumba encountering meerkats, a pangolin, a fennec fox, and some bushbucks at the Ying National Park.

In my eyes, Khumba is an underrated film with impressive animation, likable characters, a score that brings you right into Africa, an all-star cast, and a strong story that not only dives deep into African lore, but also strong messages about not judging others by superficialities, working together for the better good, and knowing that friends can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Bradley telling Khumba and Mama V about the time he was 'ostracized'.

In fact, if this had a proper theatrical release in the States, I would've nominated Khumba for the KCA for Favorite Animated Movie, since 2013 was a rough year for animated movies.
If you want to watch Khumba yourselves, here's a link below, and it's 100% free! However, you do need a Gmail or YouTube account.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH-NfR2o7T0
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
PS. If you're reading this, Rachel, please consider reviewing this in your next Obscure Animation video. It's a true diamond in the rough.