I LOVE DR. SEUSS.
(Ok, now that everyone knows the obvious, on to the review.)
Horton Hears a Who is the animated cinematic adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ universally loved book about an elephant who believes people are people, no matter how small. With the exception of the actor who plays the main character, Horton Hears a Who is a touching film with real heart.
While teaching his small jungle students on day, Horton (Jim Carrey) hears what can best be explained as a small voice floating through the air. He realizes it is coming from a speck, at the mercy of the wind. With great care Horton catches the speck on a clover. With a little ingenuity, Horton is able to communicate with the mayor of the Whos, the people on the speck. When the crusty know it all Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) finds out about Horton’s “discovery” she is quick to insult and berate him. Undeterred, Horton sets off on a quest to save the people on the speck from his world.
Writers Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, wrote Horton a quirky sincerity that is both tender and humorous. Jim Carrey takes that sincerity and puts it through a cheese grinder. His performance was noticeably unnatural and often pathetic. He and his dialogue seem to be constant tug of war over Horton. The animators didn’t do anything to solve the problem, often wavering between the directors’ and Carrey’s Horton with animation that sometimes feel like it is based on a Carrey expression and sometimes completely absent of his influence. I started to loathe when Horton was talking.
When the visuals, writing and acting work against each other, there is only the director to blame, without question. The directors, Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino , are responsible for the continuity of his film. Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino better show up for their noodle-lashing because their inability to properly direct this aspect of the film seriously damages the feeling of the movie.
The supporting cast of Horton Hears a Who far outshines the main character. Flawless, sparkling performances by Steve Carell as the Mayor of Whoville and Carol Burnett as the cantankerous Kangaroo put a thespian shine on this story. Carell was Whotastic as he gives such believable life to such a unbelievable looking character. Carol Burnett really gives Kangaroo a creepy essence but doesn’t make her too frightening for small children nor too simplistic or annoying for the adults in the audience.
The animation in Horton Hears a Who is so crisp, clear and beautiful it made me feel like I was wandering through the wilds of my imagination. Backgrounds, foregrounds and dimensional renderings that would make many video game developers jealous, ease the audience into a magical world of the slightly off familiar. There are rich textures on the walls of the Mayor of Whoville’s home. The depth of field in the forest made the chase scenes treacherous and exciting. Much to their credit, though, the animators didn’t go so far into the realistic as to rub the shine off the essential magic required to slip deeply into the Jungle of Nool or Whoville.
The characters are so lively you feel like you are living in the moment with them. Knowing how to animate creatures that are both in our world and in their world as well as completely new creatures must require strength of imagination I could only enjoy as an audience member.
There is a subtle message running through the plot about questioning authority. Kangaroo is the self appointed leader of the Jungle of Nool. When she realizes Horton’s speck challenges all the long held beliefs of Jungle leadership she refuses to ignore it as an eccentricity and instead decides his belief must be publically annihilated. It would be impossible not to draw the conclusion that Kangaroo is a symbol of the harmful effects of established religion or the overreaching danger of an unchecked government. To this I say, HORRAY! Teaching children to think for themselves and to be a good person even when it is hard or unpopular, that’s a moral I can get behind!
Even though there is an obvious taffy pulling going on with Horton’s direction, Horton Hears a Who’s supporting cast, the writing, the moral and animation is strong enough to make it an utterly lovable movie for Seuss fans of all age.