Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who

FINALLY FINALLY someone has made a good Dr. Seuss movie!!! Grinches have messed up recent live-action adaptations beyond repair: I do not like The Cat in the Hat, I do not like it, fancy that. But this exuberant translation of the 1954 classic is true to the Seuss vision, with a contemporary integrity that makes full use of CG power without sacrificing the delicacy of the author’s springy, zingy illustrations. Certainly the excesses of the live-action Cat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas movies can’t eclipse the durable genius of the good Doctor, who, in Horton, has created one of literature’s great pachyderm role models. One day ’’in the Jungle of Nool,’’ as anyone who was ever an American child may remember, the title elephant hears the tiniest squeak coming from the smallest speck floating through the air, and discerns an entire universe in a dust mote. It’s the residents of Who-ville he alone hears — city folks in a vulnerable universe teensy enough for Horton to carry on the head of a clover flower. And so, even though he can’t see them, Horton tenderly carries the Whos to safety, despite outlandish obstacles in a jungle of naysayers, led by a bullying bossypouch of a kangaroo. His explanation, ’’A person’s a person, no matter how small,’’ is a verity right up there with ’’give peace a chance.’’ The actors who lend their voices to the film aren’t people we generally think of as working ’’small’’, comic powerhouses Jim Carrey (as Horton), Steve Carell (as the Mayor), and Carol Burnett (as the sour Kangaroo) temper their own full-throttle performances with an unironic respect for the original text. The movie’s visual pep complements the nonconformist glee of Seuss’ line drawings. And when the entire population of Who-ville clangs and chimes to announce ’’We are here!’’ loud enough to be heard beyond their city limits, the noise is downright joyous. This is a film for kids of all ages, and quite possibly the best animated film i’ve seen since the first Shrek. I loved every minute of it, if only the creative team behind this movie could have did the first two Dr. Seuss movies, they wouldn’t have sucked so hard. FINALLY someone has made a good Dr. Seuss movie. I HIGHLY recommend Horton Hears a Who, its so good that when it was over the audience in the theater actually applauded and cheered. How often does that happen?

4 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie.

one luv, Toinne