Horton Hears a Who!

Horton Hears a Who! (Steve Martino, Jimmy Hayward, 2008)

***½
USA

One of the happier Dr. Seuss adaptations as well as one of the warmer contemporary cartoons about talking animals with spurts of 'attitood'. Even the aggressively postmodern snippets like the erratic anime parody, although jarring, are never quite grating since they're never mean-spirited. The voice-work by an unusually well-behaved Jim Carrey and the always lovable Steve Carell helps enormously. That said, here's hoping the overbearing-dad-alienated-teen dynamic never becomes a cartoon subplot again.

Horton Hears A Who! (2008)

I’m still in shock at how good this movie was. I was expecting some kiddy, cute flick (and it is in many ways) but this was almost Pixarian in sheer ambition. A perfect balance of kiddy, social and political commentary, grown up stuff, and a good message that the whole family can happily take home without any sort of frowning at the screen.  Jim Carrey’s voice work was ace.

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Horton Hears A Who!

Note to self. When you watch a kid's movie...do it late at night when they're all in bed. I was watching this film with a cinema full of children making all kinds of racket. You should have seen the "this was your idea" look Terry gave me before the movie started. Thank God I sat next to one hot babe. But like all girls...... she ignored me.



Horton is based on Dr. Suess' classic cartoon about Horton, voiced by Jim Carrey. He's an eccentric elephant who found Who-Ville sitting on a dust speck and makes friends with it's mayor, voiced by Steve Carell. Along the way, Horton and the mayor forms an unlikely bond and sought to save each other from utter humiliation by their friends.



For one thing, Horton was damn original and funny. There were no reused toilet humour from it's predecessor and at times, I even forgot this was a Dr. Suess movie. There were times the film went a bit corny. Like the whole manga segment in the middle of the show. I don't know....I kinda hated it. PEOPLE...MANGA IS GAY!! But luckily, Horton did it in a cute and funny way so it wasn't that bad.



Horton was kinda fun for the whole family. There were some laughs for the kids, CGI for the teens and lessons for the parents. Like that kangaroo lady and the mayor who forces their kids to see things their way and weigh them down with all their expectations. Maybe I should have let my mom see this movie.



I like the show but I hated it's audience. Throughout the whole movie the kids were like:

Kid 1: Mommy, who is the elephant?

Kid 2: Mommy, now what happen?

Kid 3: Mommy, I wanna go toilet.

Kid 4: Mommy, why it like that wan?

Kid 5: Mommy, I cold.

Kid 6: MOOOOOMMMYYYYYY!!!!! 

RATING: 6/10

NicholasC

DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO (2008)

BOTTOM LINE: A cute CG cartoon filled with some very loveable characters and a wacky, fascinating story, but also has many strong life-lesson themes underneath its kiddy-friendly surface, making for a kids' movie that adults can enjoy at their level as well.

THE GOOD: Going in to a movie based on a Dr Seuss book, you have to know you're going in to something quite off centre and this very successful adaptation of "Horton Hears A Who" definitely lives up to that credo. While frolicking in the forest one day, Horton the Elephant hears a yelp coming from a speck on a flower, eventually discovering an entire village of 'Whos' living on it; the problem is, no one else can hear them, and when "Kangaroo", leader of the jungle, sees Horton trying to convince people of what he's heard, she tries to bring him back in to line with deadly force while Horton is determined to put the speck in a safe place so the citizens of "Whoville" can live peacefully. Apart from the usual appeal of a movie like this to kids with its loveable characters, odd-ball storyline and some fabulously rendered CG visuals, this film is cut above the rest in that it has some very strong themes, least of all being that all people should be treated equally, no matter their shape or form. Or perhaps a larger theme is the idea that we shouldn't ever block our minds to other possibilities, which applies to both Horton (who in an excellent sequence points out that we could all be living on a speck and someone up there could be looking down on us and we'd never know) and the Mayor of Whoville who has to convince his town that they are living on a speck without them thinking he's mad. These themes give the film a larger quality that goes beyond your simple children's story and makes for some entertaining and thought-provoking sequences that even adults will enjoy even if the kids don't. Jim Carrey is perfect as Horton, and for the most part is restrained (although there are some exceptions) and Steve Carell is likewise perfect as the Mayor of Whoville who is just trying to keep his town safe. A nice touch is that the film is narrated with the words from the book in certain places, and given that its CG you feel like you're watching a 3-D, moving version of the original book.

THE BAD: There isn't a lot to criticise in this superior adaptation of the Dr Seuss children's book, other than to say a few more good jokes and laughs might have been nice, but that's really just my personal preference (the idea of Horton hearing life on a speck certainly lends itself to more funny scenarios than were presented in the film). Jim Carrey gets to indulge in his own personal brand of noisy comedy every now and then, but for the most part he's not cut loose all that often. This is a very good movie.

RATING: 8.5/10

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Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

Special Movie Review - Horton Hears a Who!

I went into Horton Hears a Who! fully expecting to be disappointed. I figured it was going to be like any other animated series that has released, and for it to be a Dr. Seuss movie really made me scared for what was in store f0r me. I figured I'd be sleeping in my seat, or kind of twiddling my thumbs together until the end of the movie. But such was not the case!

Horton Hears a Who! tells the story of the same name by Dr. Seuss. Horton, an elephant living in the jungle, finds a speck of dust in which a huge colony of molecule-sized peoples named Whos live. No one in the jungle believes Horton, because they don't believe that anything so small can exist because they can't see it. We also get into the Whos' lives, where the Mayor of Whoville comes in contact with the gigantic, invisible elephant in the sky. He faces the same problem, because none of the Whos believe that there can be anything bigger than them ruling over them.

The movie pleasantly surprised me, so much so that I did a full turn-around. I went from hate to love in an hour and half! Honestly, if you let your maturity slide for just a little bit, and stop taking everything seriously, you'll be laughing your butt off even after the opening credits roll. The humor is not just slapstick; in fact, there's a lot of funny parts that cater to adult humor as well. It just kind of glides over the children's heads.

The movie has some great animation. There are some scenes, the opening in particular where we fall down a waterfall, that really put you into the world. It feels like one of those 3-D rides at theme parks, where you're actually in the movie. They also did a great job of making two gigantic, realistic worlds. I felt I could get lost in these places - and would love to live in them. The Who world is especially intricate, and remains pretty loyal to the Whoville in the live-action Grinch movie, and also mimics the book drawings from Dr. Seuss, which is especially important.

Horton also tackles some very adult, intricate themes, such as the belief in a higher power or God, and the fact that everyone is equal, no matter what. In a time where homophobia is at a high, along with racial tensions with the political campaign, and the always-controversial theory of religion is running rampant still, Horton presents an interesting take on each while remaining un-preachy. It's funny, because you can watch the movie without taking anything away from it, or you could take a lot of messages away about a theory that you don't have to see the higher power to feel it's there and that everyone is equal in the eyes of the higher power. Maybe it's just me seeing too far into it, but I definitely got the feeling that "believing doesn't mean you have to see."

The voice-acting is great here, as well, but what would you expect from an all-star cast with the likes of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Amy Poehler, Seth Rogen, and Carol Burnett. Everyone did a great job at bringing each of their characters to life, while also imbuing certain aspects of their real selves.

While you may want to write off Horton Hears a Who! as just another animated family comedy, I'd urge you to take a closer look at what really makes up the film. You might think it's childish to see a Dr. Seuss movie, but Horton takes the flair of its voice actors, the enchanting animations, the slapstick and adult humors, and the deep and complex themes and combines them all together to create a highly appealing concoction that'll leave you sputtering out rhymes, Dr. Seuss style.

Horton Hears A Who!

This is an animated movie about an elephant’s attempt to rescue a speck which harbours a city of inhabitants. Sounds very much like Dr Seuss’ work. This is the third Dr Seuss-based feature film following How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Cat in the Hat but unlike the previous two, Horton Hears A Who! is less impressive and rather dull.

While The Grinch and The Cat have their unique characteristics, Horton the Elephant is a typical protagonist from a worn out children tale. It seems he’s trying too hard to be likeable. The plot is something we’ve seen before and everyone should be able to tell how the story is going to be.

I take comfort the film isn’t as bad as it could have been. The film runs for a short 86 minutes which is probably because there isn’t ways to elaborate or further develop the story. It was all too forgettable. But I must comment on the animation team. Though it is still far behind Pixar, they’ve done a good job. There’s an animated ninja scene in the film which I thought was brilliant.

I guess this movie is a case of the right people on the wrong script and unfortunately, I prefer watching a good script than techniques.

Mel says: 5.2/10

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Horton Hears a Who!

This is arguably the best of the Dr. Seuss movies, but its not without its faults.
The voice casting is spectacular. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell compliment each other in a way that we haven’t seen since the few scenes they had in Bruce Almighty. It really works.
Carrey is hilarious as Horton, and you can just imagine him in the studio making the faces as he was reading the lines, which eventually became part of the animation.
Carell is a bit more of the straight man here, but he has a few good comedic lines and gives a pretty good performance.
Seth Rogan as Morton is pretty good. I wish he would have had a bigger role, though. Of course, wherever Rogan is, Jonah Hill isn’t far behind. Listen for him as one of the students in Horton’s class.
Carol Burnett is inspired casting as Sour Kangaroo. I would never have thought to cast her in that role, but she really works it. She’s amazingly a good villain.
Will Arnett as Vlad is also pretty good, though to look at his character, you’d think he was more evil, but looks can be deceiving.
Something I noticed about this film is that it takes place in Whoville and the City Council all look like the Grinch.  In The Grinch,though, Whoville is on the back of a snowflake. Makes one wonder where Whoville really is located.
As with most Dr. Seuss books, I loved this one as a kid. After watching the film this afternoon, I got the same feeling  I did with The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat. It’s a good film with lots of hilarious moments, but had that feeling where they just dragged it out and added stuff to flesh out a feature length motion picture.  Still, this one quotes the book the most (as far as I know).
The anime and traditional animated sections are awesome as well. One looks like the book really came to life and the other is a spoof of anime and is hilarious.
This is a must see for Dr. Seuss fans. A good family film is hard to find these days, but this one more than qualifies. Watch and enjoy!

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