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Horton Hears a Who!
Posted: Mar 13, 2008 in Things to do, Movies
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Twentieth Century Fox Animation's take on "Horton Hears a Who!" is easily the best feature-length film made from a Dr. Seuss story. But with predecessors like "The Cat in the Hat" (2003) and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000), a statement like that doesn't qualify as praise.
The "Horton" forerunners were so bad that being better doesn't mean much. So, it's good news that "Horton" is more than better, it's halfway decent. Faint praise, yes, but at least this film seems to appreciate Seuss' wonderful literary legacy.
The animation, rendered in state-of-the-art CG, is beautiful from the first frame to the last. Everything from the heroic title character -- an elephant whose massive ears help him find a world on a speck of dust -- to the colorful backdrops, is a feast for the eyes.
The problems kick in only in the storytelling, which has been heavily padded in order to turn a 70-page picture book into a feature-length movie detailing Horton's efforts to protect the world he's discovered.
Through conversations with the mayor, Horton learns the place is called Who-ville, and that it is home to hundreds of creatures. So, he pledges to keep his dust speck safe from the elements. Alas, Horton's jungle peers don't have the ear strength to hear the Whos, so they ridicule him and even try to destroy his beloved speck.
Children who know the story should revel in seeing it unfold with a first-class voice cast that includes Jim Carrey as Horton, Steve Carell as the mayor and Carol Burnett as the nasty Kangaroo who leads the anti-Who charge.
The movie hits all the key points of Seuss' book, and falters only when the screenwriters stray from the original material. Unfortunately, this happens frequently, as the picture would have come in at about 30 minutes had they adhered strictly to the book.
Frankly, a 30-minute picture would have been better, because watching a half-hour of brilliance is far more enjoyable than seeing a good concept sour with unnecessary filler.
After all, a movie's a movie, no matter how short.
*Forrest Hartman / Reno Gazette-Journal
Dr. Seuss must be rolling over in his grave. There's a reason he didn't want live-action films made from his books. He fought it his entire life.
I think the atrocities that were the live-action Grinch and Cat in the Hat movies proved he was right.
Cartoon shorts are fine...but stretching this short story into an hour and half movie requires too much filler material. At least it isn't live action.