Runtime: 1 hr. 28 min.
Rating:
G
Cast: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell,
Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Isla Fisher, Jonah Hill, Amy Poehler,
Charles Osgood
Director: Jimmy Heywood and Steve
Martino
Written by: Ken Daurio & Cinco
Paul
Genres:
Family-Oriented Adventure, Children's/Family
I haven’t had
much luck with Dr. Seuss adaptations at the theater. Yes, they make money, but
somehow either the books are always better or the original adapted versions.
Take for
instance, The Grinch.
The classic cartoon is nothing less than perfect, which can probably explain my
100 or so viewings of the classic. Whereas, the movie, with Jim Carrey felt
long and genuinely not funny.
The same can
be said about The Cat in The Hat with the increasingly annoying Mike Myers. Again, long. Again,
not funny. And Myers’ make up looked like something that escaped from a toxic
waste dump.
So I went into
the new Horton Hears a Who with not really trepidation - but an “I don’t care” attitude.
The girls wanted to see it. And who am I to argue with my girls. I did expect
it to be bad though. Not College Road Trip bad, but damn near close.
I’m happy to
report back, that while not perfect, the new Horton Hears a Who comes the closest to capturing the
spirit of the source material.
Horton
is the story of an imaginative elephant who discovers Whoville lives on
a tiny speck…on top of a clover. Once Horton shares this find with the rest of
his jungle society he is ridiculed, especially by the skeptical Kangaroo. As
voiced by Carol Burnett she reminded me of every self-righteous, know-it-all,
nosy woman that tries to run the Cul-De-Sac in the ‘burbs. She is small-minded,
doesn’t look outside of her world
and chastises anyone who does. Actually, she will set out to destroy anyone who
doesn’t think like her. Where have we seen that before?
Horton ignores
her warnings and takes it upon himself to protect the little people of
Whoville. Meanwhile down in Whoville, The Mayor (voiced by Steve Carrell) comes
to the realization, through a series of tremors, cloud patterns and the ground
tilting, that there may be more out there than the world of Whoville.
He too, is
scoffed by the town council who consider him a puppet more than a leader.
Through some
sort of (it’s alluded too as possibly) divine intervention/coincidence, Horton
and The Mayor come across each other. Both are invisible to each other, but
each believes in the other’s existence.
The rest of
the pic follows the two as they go through hell to prove to their respective
societies that the other exists.
No one
believes them…until possible disaster happens. Isn’t that the way it always is?
I enjoyed Horton. For me, it’s the best feature
adaptation of Seuss. Jim Carrey voices Horton with imagination, sympathy and a
certain selflessness that I responded to. There is a wide-eyed innocence that
he brings to the elephant. Yes, the usual Carrey ramblings are there – not sure
the kids will get the Henry Kissinger reference – which the kidswill also smile
at.
Steve Carrell
is also pretty good as The Mayor. He brings a yearning to his portrayal of the
mayor – who pines to join his other great mayor/relatives – which most adults
can relate to. One complaint – please Hollywood stop thinking it is funny to
have white guys try to be cool by sounding black.
It’s not
funny.
I also thought
the animation was decent. Overall, it is colorful, fun and captures the book.
It made me believe that Seuss books should not be live action, but some sort of
animation. Ooo that rhymed. I really enjoyed one sequence where the animation
turned to anime. Very fun.
The themes of
faith and selflessness come through loud and clear. When the Who’s cry out in
desperation, “we’re here,” my heart actually warmed.
If you have 90
minutes and want to take your kids to something truly entertaining, give Horton a try. Like an elephant, I think don’t
you’ll forget it.
Three Ball Point Pens