"Horton Hears A Who" Reviewed

"Horton Hears A Who" Is Dr. Seuss At His Best.

by
Carey L. Fisher

After 2 live action adaptations of the works of Dr. Suess, the tedious and obnoxious "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" with Jim Carrey and the utterly terrible "The Cat In The Hat" with Mike Meyers, Hollywood has finally learned that animation is the key to success with the charming "Horton Hears A Who". Adapted from the Seuss book of the same name, the aforementioned Carrey lends his voice to the character of Horton, an eccentric and somewhat flaky elephant who suddenly finds himself charged with protecting the citizens of Whoville after rescuing their speck of a world from disaster. Horton vows to Whoville's Mayor, voiced by Carrey's "Bruce Almighty" co-star Steve Carrell, to find them a new home after their world is set adrift by blowing winds. Horton and Whoville's Mayor each share the same dilemma, persecution and ridicule from their respective worlds because no one will believe that each world coexists with the other. The film remains very faithful to the original book but the film pads the original story with some unneccesary scenes to stretch it out to a feature length film. And this, like the 2 previous live action Seuss movies, is it's one downfall. The story simply does not merit a film of this length and the movie could benefit from a shorter run time. However, the film is so charming and endearing that it saves itself in spite of it's shortcomings.The animation is breathtaking. Seuss's characters seem tailor made for this medium of animation. Carrey is simply wonderful as Horton and opts to not go as over the top as he usually does. Carrell is terrific as the hapless mayor fighting to save his world and find his voice as a true leader. Carol Burnett is a wonderfully vile villain as Horton's main nemesis, a prudish kangaroo who will go to any means necessary to ensure that Horton not upset the status quo with his mission to save Whoville. In her mind, Horton's "imaginary" world of Whoville is the Seuss equivalent of heresy. Will Arnett gives a scene stealing performance as Vlad, a vulture with a thick Russian accent who is dispatched by by Burnett's character to destroy the clover flower in Horton's posession that the small speck of Whoville rests upon. This leads to one of the most beautifully animated chase scenes ever and a scene with a vast cloverfield that is simply amazing to see.

Whether it was Seuss's intention or not, the kangaroo's mission to stop Horton from spreading the word about Whoville almost feels like religious intolerance. There are a lot more undertones and metaphors to this Seuss story than I ever realized as a child. "Horton Hears A Who" is one of the better animated films of the last few years and I hope this trend continues with some of Seuss's other works. Seuss was a true genius and "Horton Hears A Who" is a true testament to just how talented this man really was.