TheNewAge.co.za – 31st October, 2013

‘Khumba’, the South African film produced by local animation company Triggerfish about a half-striped zebra, has captivated local audiences since its release on 25 October.

On its opening weekend, the film topped the box office, ahead of Hollywood films ‘Gravity’ and ‘Battle of the Year: Dream Team’, raking in more than an impressive R1,7 million. It also outperformed the previous film from Triggerfish, the award-winning ‘Adventures in Zambezia’, bringing in 13% more attendances.

“This is an incredible feat, especially given how local and international box office takings have been rather soft in recent months,” says Helen Kuun, CEO of Indigenous Film Distribution, which is distributing ‘Khumba’ locally. “This level of success speaks to the quality of the film and the fact that it offers excellent entertainment for the whole family.”

‘Khumba’ features the voice talent of international stars like Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Richard E Grant, Catherine Tate and Liam Neeson. It has also been released in Afrikaans, and is voiced by several well-known Afrikaans actors including Brumilda Van Rensburg, Hannes Brummer and Leila Etsebeth.

The film tells the story of Khumba, a zebra who has only half his stripes. When he is blamed for the drought by the rest of his superstitious herd, he embarks on a brave quest to find the legendary waterhole where the first zebras got their stripes. Along the way, he meets a quirky range of characters and teams up with an unlikely duo: Mama V, an overprotective wildebeest, and Bradley, a self-obsessed, flamboyant ostrich. But before he can reunite with his herd, Khumba has to come face to face with Phango, a sadistic leopard who controls the waterholes and terrorises all the animals in the Great Karoo.

“It’s a delightful, entertaining story that is beautifully told,” says Kuun. “We are confident that it will continue to perform well and to drive the development of more local films with the same high production values.”

Official Website: www.KhumbaMovie.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KhumbaMovie

Twitter: @KhumbaMovie

-sapa