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Horton
Hears a Who!
(2008)
Horton Hears a Who! is one of the best
and most memorable of prolific children's author Dr. Seuss's
vast catalogue because it contains such a universal moral core.
Published over fifty years ago, it has been translated into
fifteen languages and has stood the test of time as an
equal to The Lorax, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The
Cat in the Hat, and Green Eggs & Ham . The
newest incarnation of Seuss's 100% faithful pachyderm is an
animated adventure from the team that brought us Ice Age. It's
not as timeless as the source material, but it's a good time
nonetheless.
It's the now nearly ubiquitous tale (the book has sold over
200 million copies worldwide) of Horton (Jim Carrey) the steadfast
elephant who finds a tiny civilization living on a speck of
dust and vows to save it from distruction. Both Horton
and the Mayor of the Whos (Steve Carell) must convince their
peers that the other exists, or the Whos on the speck would
cease to be. The humanist message of the film is clear
("a person's a person, no matter how small") and
the power of Horton's struggle and determination can not be
denied.
It's clear to me that animation is the way to go when adapting
Seuss, as his visual style is only paralleled by his distinctive
way with words. Not since Chuck Jones' 1966 animated
version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas has Seuss
worked so well off the printed page. Finally, we have
something to help us forget the bad taste Seuss-fans have had
to endure with the two most recent live action adaptations
and the Broadway musical. That said, the film does suffer from
a few too many artistic liberties, and for Seuss purists, these
might be the last straw on the elephant's back for film adaptations
of his work.
The various non-Seuss-sourced material clearly isn't up
to the standards of the original Geisel, and in stretching
a 76 page picture book into a 90 minute film requires that
a lot of unworthy jokes and exposition are added in. I
loved the inclusion of Seuss-style animation as Horton imagines
the fate of the Whos on the speck, but I was abhored that they
went so far as to include an anime-influenced
segment when he envisioned himself as a superhero saving the
day. This along with the other anachronistic, modern pop-culture
references (especially the Myspace parody "whospace" and
an REO Speedwagon sing-along) are disrespectful to Seuss's genius
legacy. In
essence, a timeless fantastical nonsense fable has been turned
into a dated animated film with a sorta-kinda moral in there
somewhere.
For their part, the voice actors can not be blamed for any of
the film's faults, and should be recognized as the reason for
its successes. Jim Carrey is one of the few people around
who matches Seuss's wackiness, if not his originality, but he
takes it too far some times, to the extent that one can almost
see his rubbery face stretching to make funny voices and sounds,
even beneath the otherwise acceptable animation. I
do prefer him as a voice over actor to a live action Grinch,
though, so I can't complain. If
anyone succeeds in the film at bringing a character to life through
their vocal addition, it's Steve Carell, who basically plays
the role straight (or as straight as he's capable of) and it
works great, letting the source material speak for itself.
Kids will love Horton Hears a Who! as will forgiving
fans of the original book. But
do a favor for anyone who will be experiencing Horton for the
first time in his cinematic incarnation: read them the
book or at least recommend to them that they check out the Chuck
Jones animated short from 1970. This isn't a bad movie by any
means, but it doesn't hold a candle to the story in its original form.
-Mark
Moreland
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All contents ©
2004-2007 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
Jimmy
Haywood & Steve Martino
Writer: Ken
Daurio, Cinco Paul, Dr. Seuss
Starring: Jim
Carrey, Steve Carrell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen,
Dan Folger, Isla Fisher, Jonah Hill, Amy Poehler, Jaime Pressly,
Charles Osgood
Distributor: 20th
Century Fox
Runtime: 88
min
Rating: G
Release Date: March
14, 2008
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