Horton Hears a Who! (2008) Reviews

• I do like, Sam I am

  cryofry2008-03-14

  So far, this is the best possible example of bringing a Dr. Seuss book to life. The animation is top notch and the design of the characters stay true to Dr. Seuss' vision. Overall, a splendid effort from 20th Century Fox. "Horton" tells the story of an eccentric elephant named Horton (voice of Jim Carrey) who stumbles upon a floating speck that is actually an infinitesimal world that is home to thousands of tiny little creatures called Whos. Though microscopic, the world known as Whoville is a land of technological achievement. The Whos are intelligent little creatures who are strange in appearance. The Major of Whoville (voice of Steve Carell) is the first person to come into contact with Horton after he hears his voice in a drainpipe. Like Horton, he has a somewhat bizarre personality, so no one believes him when he claims that the world is going to end. Likewise, no one believes Horton when he claims that a race of people are living on the diminutive speck. After he is somewhat shunned by his friends and society, Horton sets off on the misadventure of his lifetime to relocate the speck to a safe location so that the citizens of Whoville can live in peace once more. Again, this is a great film for all ages. Kids will lap up the lush animation while parents can have a chuckle at the adult jokes that are scattered throughout. Dr. Seuss would be proud.

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• Fast-paced and touching step up for Blue Sky

  Jay_Exiomo2008-03-21

  I guess it wouldn't be remiss if I've approached "Horton Hears a Who!" with some reservations as the trailers were anything but something to be excited about. Had it not been for the Whos and the Dr. Seuss tag that comes with the title, this latest computer-animated film from the "Ice Age" team would come off as yet another animal-on-a-mission flick straight from the assembly line. And films adapted from one of Dr. Seuss' books haven't been as successful as when they were in print, to put it lightly. A relatively neutered Jim Carrey provides the voice for Horton, an elephant who hears a voice from a floating speck and discovers that there are people actually living in it in a place called Who-ville. Called the Whos, these people have a Mayor (voiced by an also-neutered Steve Carrell) who has 96 daughters and a son who won't speak. It's up to Horton to find a safe place for the speck to save Who-ville from destruction, even as the well-meaning pachyderm has to avoid all sorts of obstacles, including Sour Kangaroo, Vlad the Vulture, the Wickersham brothers, and other metaphors of McCarthyism. As usual with such a thin material, the film has the obligatory additional scenes to pad the running time but all in all, it captures the spirit of its source, and it's a case where a G-rated film provides entertainment both to kids and their older companions as well. (I would have said "a rare case" but in this country, the G-rating is applied more liberally by the local censor board.) The animation is consistently good and a Japanese-inspired traditional animation does not feel out of place from the overall enjoyment material. The voice cast, according to the credits, involves some relatively big names, but other than Carrey and Carrell, none of the actors take attention from their characters and thus do not distract. Fast-paced and touching, "Horton Hears a Who!" represents a step up for Blue Sky Studios, who has played supporting roles to Pixar and Dreamworks. I'm tempted to say that it's the best Dr. Seuss film adaptation ever, but that won't be saying much considering the other films involved. So maybe I'll just say it's one of the best animated films, which is anyway true.

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• Hilarious!!!!

  fwgrhouse2008-03-14

  I went and saw this movie with my high school drama group, we had recently done Suessical for a school musical and I played the Mayor of Whoville, and I enjoyed the whole thing from start to finish. The cast of this film did an outstanding job with the voices of the characters, Jim Carrey is most notable in my opinion. Steve Carell also did an amazing job as the Mayor of Whoville.It also has good, clean humor that is both funny and suitable for all ages. I laughed through nearly 90% of the film and I didn't see one thing that would be deemed inappropriate for someone young. This movie lives up to the legacy of the book and I don't care what age you are, you will laugh out loud and enjoy this hilarious Dr. Seuss movie.

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• Very cute and so much fun! Dr. Suess would be proud

  Smells_Like_Cheese2008-03-14

  I saw the first teaser trailer for Horton Hears a Who a few months ago, and I have to say that it was a little off putting, it looked kind of strange and like it might be another Cat in the Hat lousy movie, but then they started advertising it a little more and it looked more cute. So I decided to check the film out today and I am really impressed, so far I'd say this is the best animated film of 2008 that I've seen. I remember reading the book as a child, it's one of my old time favorite's, you could never go wrong with Dr. Suess. When it comes to his films being put up on the silver screen, excluding the 40 minute cartoon classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, other films like The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat have been ultimate flops and horrible. But Horton Hears a Who proves otherwise and is a wonderful film to watch. Horton is an elephant just enjoying life, he's a teacher and is loved very much by the little animals of the jungle. But his life is about to change when he sees a little speck and saves it, inside this speck is a little town of Whoville. The mayor of Whoville has asked Horton to take them to a safe place before his town is destroyed. Seems like an easy enough task for Horton, until an angry mother, Kangaroo, feels like Horton and his speck are a bad influence amongst the children, and wishes to destroy the speck and trap Horton. Horton Hears a Who is such a wonderful film. For a book that you can finish in half an hour, they did a great job filling in other lines and such great jokes. The great thing is there is no pop culture or over the top jokes, they just go old school and make this film fun and original. The actors seemed like they just had a great time getting into character, Steve Carell and Jim Carrey are a brilliant combination, so their voices added a lot to the film. The animation was clever and colorful, it was a joy to watch. I very much recommend Horton Hears a Who, it's a terrific family film and just a fun movie to watch for the afternoon, I think Dr. Suess would be very proud too. 9/10

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• Finally, a film that does justice to one of Dr. Suess's childhood favorites!!

  johnnymacbest2008-03-11

  For the first time in years, I can state wholeheartedly that this film is the most faithful adaptation of Dr. Suess's children's books EVER being brought to the big screen with the voice talents of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and of course, Carol Burnett. I've never thought that Suess's cartoon illustrations can be so wonderfully spot on in this film with its bright, crisp colors, and flawless animation. What's great about all this is that they expand upon the film, rather than improving it with excess baggage like they did in 2004's live-action flop "The Cat in The Hat" which pretty much was "The Batman & Robin" adaptation of the classic children's book and I hated that film with an utmost loathsome passion. At least "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" was entertaining in its own right, though I admit it too was a little nauseating; namely because some scenes had so many garishly lit colors and was a bit too over the top. With all that aside, "Horton Hears a Who" not only will be the best animated film of the year, but may also win an Oscar for "Most Faithful Adaptation of a Children's Classic". I think this film will appeal to children and adults and for those who read the book since childhood not to mention serve as another venue of wholesome family entertainment for the general audience.

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