Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
Jim Carrey does it again with a great all star cast in the hilarious and very thought provoking Dr. Seuss classic about friends who stick together no matter what.
Film making 24/25
Cinematography 23/25
Audio 24/25
Bonus Features 23/25
Total 94/100
I won’t even try my hand at the rhyming that those classic poems and tales from Dr. Seuss are noted for, instead I’ll just tell it like it is. Horton Hears a Who! is a classic with Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett and Charles Osgood as narrator for this wonderful children’s classic with a message for everyone.
So many have heard of the stories and poems of Dr. Seuss with over 200 million copies of his books being sold and Horton Hears a Who! has now been turned into a great CGI feature film. Jim Carrey plays that tons of fun elephant Horton that hears something from a speck and discovers the people living there.
Steve Carrel is the Mayor of Whoville and has his own problems convincing everyone in his world that there is something bigger in life than their world. Carol Burnett plays the down to earth Kangaroo who tries to get the clover away from Horton to end the nonsense of the speck and Whoville.
Narrated in his rich deep voice by Charles Osgood the story of Horton Hears a Who! comes alive with plenty additional laughs and even a few surprises with this remake of a classic. You may have read the story and seen the previous versions but this animated feature is a delight not only for youngsters but a definite must see for adults as well.
If more would take the messages of Dr. Seuss to heart we would definitely have a better world of our own to live in and that is what this whole story is about. You don’t have to be a kid to see this and some of the messages are really meant for all ages as you not only delight in the laughs and fun but also take heart in the messages that are delivered through the rhyming story.
Horton is a carefree elephant who only wants to be a friend, he teaches a class of young animals in the jungle and lives in peace with everything. He takes care to teach the young animals all he knows of the jungle until one day he hears something on a speck.
He thinks there is a whole world on this speck and entrusts their care to his protection against all those that do not believe. He goes to great lengths to protect the speck against great odds and overcomes personal struggles to protect the speck that he comes to find out is named Whoville.
The mayor of Whoville also has problems of his own getting his people to believe that he has talked to someone outside their world. The Mayor of Whoville and Horton talk and decide how best to deal with their common problem of getting everyone to believe in the world that they cannot see.
Kangaroo is the major non believer of Horton’s world and she goes to great lengths to get rid of the bad influence of the speck and the clover that Horton caught the speck on. Kangaroo does not succeed in getting rid of the speck and Horton triumphs in protecting his newfound friends on the little speck.
The story is one you probably have heard and one that not only has the same story with its great message of love and all that other stuff but even more. Jim Carrey and Steve Carrel do a fantastic job of bringing their parts to life in a unique and charming way.
The entire story of Horton Hears a Who! Is brought to spectacular and vivid life and you do really get something out of seeing the great message brought to the medium sized screen. Horton not only has the great message of caring for others, love and peace but plenty of laughs with all the carefree fun that only an elephant voiced by Jim Carrey could.
Horton Hears a Who! on DVD has the added features of the usual commentary with directors, deleted footage, screen tests and bringing the characters to life. They try to talk extensively with the always joking Jim Carrey in a few different features but if you have ever seen him on camera and in character or not you would know what I mean.
There are several features with how they made the film as well as the universal message that comes from the classic Dr. Seuss tale that is a real treat to hear from the actors and others. You also get a nice fact expedition about elephants as well as a DVD-ROM feature for creating your own animation that adds to the full set of features of all the copies.
The Blu-ray and 2-disc special edition will of course have more and all the copies should have the newest animation short starring Sid the Sloth as he teaches a class of fellow Ice Age denizens about the woods. Why would parents of these animals ever trust Sid to watch over their youngsters much less try to have him teach them anything is beyond me but it is fun.
Additional features on the Horton Hears a Who! Single disc are great and really add to the movie with plenty of fun as well as great behind the scenes takes on the movie as well as the message behind the film. Horton Hears a Who! is one of those rare and beautiful films that not only works with the original classic of Dr. Seuss but adds to it without taking away from the original intent of the story.