"Zebra In The Kitchen" may look at first glance to be a wholesome family movie, seeing that it was made by Ivan Tors of "Flipper" fame, and that it was made in the innocent '60s, long before humor like breaking wind becoming popular. Yet when you examine it closely, it has some disturbing messages that may give kids the wrong ideas. It has the idea that it's okay that truly wild animals like cougars should be domesticated and kept around the house. The movie also feels that it's okay for the child protagonist to free all the animals kept in a zoo and let them run riot in the adjoining town. And get this - the kid doesn't really get punished for this in the end! Besides disturbing messages like this, we get stupid characters and situations, like a family driving 800 miles between sunup and sunset. And I think even kids will find the child protagonist very annoying with his constant whining about his cougar named "Sunshine" (!) Only for viewers who want to see animals sprayed with whipped cream.

This very lousy movie does have two redeeming features: Martin Milner gives a sincere performance and anchors the whole thing. Without him, the film wouldn't even hold together. Also, any film from those days with the wonderful Andy Devine should be watched by kids and adults alike because he is an adorable delight.However, the ridiculous totally overwhelms the redeeming qualities for me. For example, right at the start you have a mountain lion supposedly liking corn on the cob. It is never shown actually eating any, only playing with it. This is because it cannot and would not eat that, as its body requires red meat to survive.Highly dangerous animals are shown on the streets being treated in a cavalier manner by the public. These animals are frightening and some would kill the public if disturbed or provoked. Only the bad old police seem to take them seriously. Of course, the fact that each policeman has sworn an oath to protect the public never gets any consideration.Jay North's character appears at times just plain crazy. Watch carefully, you will see that this character is as one-dimensional as any ever written for the screen. Just the look on North's face is at times wacko as he commits numerous irrational acts. Its almost as if his character, rather than being the star, is solely there to do certain specific things over and over throughout the movie. He's not allowed to be a kid, never playing or going to school. Just a relentless tool of the script. Certainly children viewing this might bond with the animals, but I don't see how they could possibly bond at all with the non-kid character portrayed by North. Too bad for Jay North, its not his fault.Despite the nice filming in the beautiful California sunshine, this is very badly written and conceived. If you were expecting something like "Flipper" forget it- that kind of entertainment is not what this relentless movie is about.

Was really taken aback by the number of people who recall it as their first movie.However weird and made up it may sound,it was one of my first movies as well.My friends had it on home video and I remember laughing hard and having a really good "childhood" time with my buddies.The memories are very faint,but there was some sequence where they show a big key or something.And its a miracle that I recall the name!Seeing the rating I guess the movie must be pretty crappy,but I would still buy the movie,even though my friends back then are only memories now.I have to see the movie now to make a more critical comment,but for now I just want to reminisce the memories...

How bizarre!This was one of the first films I recall seeing as well.And I do remember how much I laughed. Like another commenter here, I do not wish to see it again as I just know it will spoil the memory for me. And like the same commenter, I too was in South Africa at the time and was only about 6 or 7 years old. However, as I now have a six-month old daughter of my own, I will try to get it for her to see, and perhaps she too will laugh as much as I did all those years ago. Funny how we remember such simple things. I'm sure there are many, many movies that are far better, but I just remember this one in particular. Perhaps it was because my mother was in the hospital at the time giving birth to my baby (35 now) brother and I watched this to keep me occupied.If you have youngsters yourself, rent it for them if you can. They'll love it!