For many viewers, "the zebra movie" refers to the South African animated feature [6].
While an ensemble film, Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) is the catalyst for the plot. His mid-life crisis and desire to see "the wild" lead the Central Park Zoo quartet on an accidental journey to Africa. Documentaries: Zebras in the Wild
This concept was famously explored by critic Roger Ebert (though he used the term to describe confusing plots in other contexts, the sentiment stuck in screenwriting circles). The "Zebra" film is a movie that masquerades as one thing to lure the audience in, only to reveal a subversive or experimental core.
Take Sorry to Bother You (2018). Boots Riley’s film is a satire of capitalism, a surrealist nightmare, a workplace comedy, and then—inexplicably—a reveal about horse-hybrid laborers. It should collapse under its own weight. Instead, the stripes work together: the absurdism highlights the horror of wage slavery more effectively than any realist drama could. The film’s “predator” (audience expectation) is confused, and in that confusion, new meanings emerge.