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Movie review: Horton Hears a Who
BY MAGGIE SCOTT
No matter what their size,
No matter what they do,
This much is certain, this much is true,
The best by far movie (I’ll praise it to the skies)
For mom and dad and little Lou
Is 20th Century Fox Animation’s Horton Hears a Who! Who can resist a story by Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss? The zany words, drawings and characters have an irresistible magic for readers from one to 100.
The Grinch is a cultural icon and who doesn’t know about that cat and his hat? Speaking of who…there are some Whos who don’t know that they and their perfect world fit on the grain of pollen in a pretty flower growing in the Jungle of Nool, which is the amazing home of Horton.
An elephant with an imagination, Horton (voice of Jim Carrey) is on the hit list of Kangaroo (voice of Carol Burnett), a narrow-minded bearer of community standards. She shrilly insists Horton is poisoning minds when he insists he believes in something everybody else can’t hear, see or feel.
Horton heard a sound from a speck. Did someone speak? Horton wonders: What if he and his world were just specks in someone else’s world? Wasn’t it possible? Horton believes it is, and is not going to give up until he knows how he can help whatever it is that lives on that speck. Was it a sound of anger, pain, or sorrow that Horton heard?
No, it was the happy cheers of the citizens of Whoville, who “know only good news,” according to the soothing narration of Charles Osgood. Lucky for Whoville, they are led by Ned (voice of Steve Carell). He is the latest mayor in a line, stretching back to the cave, of sons who carried on the legacy of service to Whoville. Although he loves his 96 daughters, Ned is “expecting great things” from his son, JoJo; even though junior has made it clear that he could just as well do without that career.
Once Horton succeeds in communicating with Ned (through a squiggly drain pipe), that the news he has is not good, the Mayor realizes he must sound the alarm. He must convince the Whos to forget about plans for the Centennial and protect themselves while Horton finds a “stable” spot for their world. Whoville has its own disbelievers. Ned is a moron, as far as the town’s City Council is concerned; there’s no need to cancel the festivities.
Ned will have to make his case directly with the people; and they will have to make their case collectively to Kangaroo, before she succeeds in destroying their world. That means working together and making some noise; shouting from rooftops and banging on toys; not quitting or crying or afraid to say boo; until the citizens of Nool hear every last Who.
As one reviewer of this film so cleverly put it, the enormously gifted creators (including the empathically respectful and witty writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio) of this loving homage to Geisel’s genius “love all the blood, sweat and gears that go into making worlds…work.” A lot of heart has gone into it, too; and its G rating means Gotta See It!
