Search - Horton Hears a Who! [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 8/20/2023...

Funnymen can only bring so much to these animated flicks!

Horton hatches a hit

Amanda Richards | Georgetown, Guyana | 03/30/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the middle of March, with the kids out of school

In the heat of the day, `cos the tropics aren't cool

We were watching ....enjoying the cinema's joys...

When Horton the elephant first heard the noise



When Horton stopped splashing we learned that the sound

Came not from the trees or the stones on the ground

A small shrieky voice was appealing for help

But all Horton heard was a faint little yelp.

He heard it because of the size of his ear

So big and so wide and he knew it was clear

That the scream was attached to a speck in the air



We know from the tales that the scientists tell

That no speck of dust should be able to yell

So Horton the elephant quickly worked out

That some tiny creature was shouting the shout

A creature too small to be seen with the eyes

With a voice that belied its diminutive size



So sweet gentle Horton he rescued that speck

He placed it in clover, a small golden fleck

He pledged his protection, because after all

A person's a person no matter how small



Perhaps Horton bit off MORE than he could chew

When he crossed with the likes of the sour kangaroo

Who rallied the animals to go get the clover

To end his delusional rant, and moreover

To stop him corrupting the minds of our young

(This kangaroo chick was just too highly strung)



If you've read the story you know how it ends

It's good to have faith in the strength of your friends

There's no need to touch, or to see or to hear

To believe that there just may be people out there

Who'll stand by your side no matter the weather

And prove that we CAN make things happen together



It varies a little from Seuss's long verse

But watching the film, well, they could have done worse

The anime bit was a little bit weird

And the moldy old vulture had some kiddies scared

Carrey and Carrel and Carol are fine

But I don't think this movie is top of the line

I'll give it a rating of 4 - pretty cool

For this Seussian tale from the jungle of Nool.







Amanda Richards, March 30, 2008

"

Great rendition

Alyssa A. Lappen | Earth | 03/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not having seen the television version of Horton Hears a Who, I can't say whether this is better or not. But it's a perfect rendition on its own, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable---as did a 16-year-old with whom I saw the film yesterday.



There are marvelous Seuss-like characters animated on the screen, and their personalities match 100% those of the original two-dimensional Horton, Morton and friends who graced the pages of the good Dr.'s wonderful book.



My fondest memories of Horton include his egg-hatching episode. But that in no way diminishes the delight of seeing our old Elephant companion, dancing and prancing his way up a mountain side---through myriad obstacles---to a safe little cave where the Whos and their Whoville can safely reside.



Children young and old, including grandparent-variety kids, will love this delightful and colorful tale about sticking to one's highest goals, through thick and thin, and against the advice of all one's friends."

The Audience is Listening

Chris Pandolfi | Los Angeles, CA | 03/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Ron Howard's version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was released in 2000, I was amazed at the artistry, with the world of Dr. Seuss being brought to life through whimsical sets, creative make up and costumes, and impressive special effects. But even then, it still didn't feel entirely Seussian; the limits of live action filmmaking were present from the start. Such a problem doesn't exist in the case of "Horton Hears a Who!" a computer animated cartoon that looks and feels exactly the way a Seuss story should look and feel. Of the three films made from his material, this is the first one that completely convinced me to believe what I was seeing. It's also the only one with compelling characters and deeper levels of story. This is wonderful because it tells me that the filmmakers had all audiences in mind, not just children.



"Grinch" alumnus Jim Carrey voices the title character, a happy-go-lucky elephant living in the lush jungle of Nool. On the fifteenth of May, his big ears detect noises from a speck of dust floating in the air. It soon lands atop a fuzzy pink flower called a clover, and at that point, Horton realizes that the noises are actually voices. It turns out that the speck contains the microscopic city of Whoville, the home of the equally microscopic Whos. Theirs is a world fully realized, a world of misshapen buildings and swirling clouds and wacky gizmos, all of which are perfectly suited for such a bizarre-looking population. The limbs of the Whos are a little too thin and lanky. Their stomachs are a little too round. Their heads are a little too big. This is exactly the way they should look--when it comes to Dr. Seuss, odder is definitely better.



Horton soon makes contact with the Mayor of Whoville (voiced by Steve Carell), who not only has a city to run, but also has his hands full with a wife (voiced by Amy Poehler) and ninety-seven children (ninety-six of which are daughters). The upshot of this is negative for both main characters. No one in Horton's world believes that voices are emanating from a speck, least of all Kangaroo (voiced by Carol Burnett), an uptight woman who only believes in what she can see, hear, and touch. Likewise, not a single Who believes that their Mayor is communicating with an invisible elephant living in the sky. It all basically boils down to belief--just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't there.



As the Mayor struggles to maintain his city--recently plagued by tremors and immediate changes in climate--Horton remains determined to keep the Whos safe because, "A person's a person, no matter how small." Unfortunately, he has to deal with Kangaroo, who finds his line of thinking so threatening that she hires a ruthless vulture named Vlad (voiced by Will Arnett) to destroy the clover. Consider the fact that Horton's basic goal is to keep a flower safe from harm: In what way does this pose a threat to jungle life, seeing as Horton never once asked for anyone else's help? Obviously, there's no threat at all. Kangaroo is merely a control freak, demanding that others believe what she believes without stopping to question the status quo. The Mayor of Whoville has a similar problem with his elected officials, who overstep their bounds frequently and with no apology. Apparently, they would rather die than let the Mayor postpone the upcoming Who-centennial.



In case I haven't made it clear by now, yes, "Horton Hears a Who!" is in part a social commentary. But don't sell it short--it's above all a delightful family film, and probably one of the funniest of recent memory. There's a sequence in which Horton imagines he's in an episode of "Pokémon," fighting off the bad guys with martial-art moves; the Japanese-style animation in traditional 2-D was absolutely hilarious. I also enjoyed the plethora of side characters, all of which add their own comedic touches to the story. Horton's best friend is a blue mouse named Morton (voiced by Seth Rogen), and his tail ends in an odd curlicue, as is appropriate for a Dr. Seuss character. There's also an odd but cute yellow puffball named Katie (voiced by Joey King), who tries to go along with Horton by holding a clover of her own: "In my world, everyone's a pony, and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!"



The most prominent side character in Whoville is the Mayor's only son, JoJo. He's a brooding young man who refuses to speak to his father, not because he doesn't love him, but because he's afraid of being a disappointment. He's expected to become Mayor someday--like his father and his father's father and so on--and this is something he just doesn't want to do. Little does he realize just how important he is, not only to his family, but also to the entire city of Whoville.



As good as these characters are, there's no question that Horton is the best thing about the movie. He's a funny character, yet his personality isn't overshadowed by pure goofiness. He's loyal to those who are kind, yet he doesn't reject those who are not. He's loveable, yet he's not forced to take part in sappy subplots. Everything about the big fella is just right, and the same can be said for the movie as a whole. "Horton Hears a Who!" is the best Dr. Seuss adaptation yet, and it will probably be one of the year's best animated films; it's funny, smart, heartfelt, and engaging, a welcome combination for a film that easily could have been just another mindless cartoon. What we have here is rare: A family film that both children and adults will love. This elephant really is faithful one hundred percent."