MOVIE REVIEW- Horton Hears a Who
By Gabrielle Cerberville
“On the fifteenth of May in the jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,” and right smack in the middle of page one of Dr. Seuss’ classic book—that’s where this story begins. Horton is a gentle, docile elephant whose activities consist of swimming and living the peaceful life, but when he is interrupted by a tiny scream coming from a speck of dust floating by, his life may never be peaceful again. Horton immediately investigates, and finds that a whole world of tiny people called Whos live on that speck. He offers them security and shelter from the frightening world outside, and they in turn become his friends. Enter conflict: the kangaroo. Naturally, she doesn’t believe in Whos, and she accuses Horton of lying to the jungle children by telling them about “things that don’t exist.” Mrs. Kangaroo will stop at nothing to remove the dust from Horton’s possession.
The story is taken right from a Dr. Seuss book, so what you expect is pretty much what you’ll get. There is no sexual content whatsoever, except a wisecrack here and there about the number of children that the mayor and his wife have (nothing explicit). Violent content is kept at a silly, cartoonish level. No profanity is spewed, but a few very minor crudities and put-downs that parents may not want their small children to repeat include the terms “darn”, “boob”, “half-wit”, and “moron”. Other negative elements include a poor model of homeschooling families and a somewhat startlingly vicious bird.
This film was a pleasant surprise for me. I had been very disappointed with the other movie renditions of Seuss books that I had seen, but Horton has a sweet, innocent disposition, as a children’s movie ought to. Kids will enjoy the silliness of the movie, and their parents will certainly enjoy listening to the voice talents of Carol Burnett (credits include Once Upon a Mattress, The Carol Burnett Show), Jim Carrey (The Truman Show, The Number 23), and Steve Carrell (The Office, Little Miss Sunshine, Dan In Real Life). I guarantee that your family will find a bright spark of enjoyment in this playful film.
