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Horton Hears A Who!, starring an amazing cast of voice talents including Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Carol Burnett, is an adaptation of the famous children’s story by Dr. Seuss. The story begins in the Jungle of Nool, where a frolicking elephant named Horton (voiced by Jim Carey) suddenly hears a “YELP!” Overcoming numerous obstacles, Horton follows this yelp to a tiny speck of dust on a clover, which is really a whole other world existing in the jungle. Horton’s antics come to the attention of Kangaroo (voiced by Carol Burnett), who is the self-proclaimed authoritative ruler of the jungle. Horton seeks to protect the speck and refuses to give it to Kangaroo, who declares, “If you can’t see, hear, or feel it, it does not exist!” She accuses Horton of poisoning the young minds around him and commands him to stop and get rid of the speck. Horton stands his ground and states the popular line from the book, “A person’s a person, no matter how small!”
As Horton discovers and begins to engage in a relationship with the Mayor (voiced by Steve Carell) of Who-ville, the world existing on the speck of dust, Horton becomes committed to bringing the speck to safety. “An elephant is faithful 100 per cent!” Horton declares. Meanwhile, in Nool, Horton has problems of his own. Kangaroo becomes enraged by his non-compliance to get rid of the speck. She angrily asks him once more to give her the clover and then seeks the services of Vlad, a hit-vulture of sorts, to rid the jungle of the speck and bring Horton into submission. As the relationship between Horton and the Mayor of Who-ville resumes, both characters sacrificially put the needs of others above themselves. Horton, against advice from his dear friend, despite attacks from Vlad, and against the whole population of the jungle, fights for the life of the speck and its needs.
Many different perspectives are presented, taking away from the simple work of Dr. Seuss. While the movie extols Christian, Biblical and moral values of sacrifice, love, compassion and faithfulness it also supports politically correct notions, such as man is responsible for his own fate. The CGI animation in Horton Hears A Who! is magical. The worlds depicted maintain the character and integrity of the original works by Dr. Seuss. Despite its confusing messages and seemingly contradictory philosophies, the movie does encourage faithfulness, self-sacrifice and looking out for others. Carrey, Carell and Burnett delight the audience with their voices, and the animation surely leaves nothing to be desired. Reviewed by Dr. Ted Baehr photos courtesy 20th
Century Fox
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The Mayor, meanwhile, risks his position
and reputation to identify the problem and save his world. He sacrifices his
dream of being perceived as a Great Mayor and instead accepts being treated
as the town “boob.” He attempts
to educate the community on its fate, and its helper from above, Horton.
