Genres: Adventure | Animation | Comedy | Family Countries: USA Actors: Jim Carrey Horton Steve Carell The Mayor of Who-ville Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Town Crier Will Arnett Dane Cook Josh Flitter Rudy Dan Fogler Yummo Jonah Hill Seth Rogen Shelby Adamowsky The Mayor\'s Daughter Carol Burnett Kangaroo Samantha Droke Mayor\'s Daughter Isla Fisher Selena Gomez Mayor\'s daughter Joey King Katie Directors: Jimmy Hayward IMDB Rating: 7 out of 10 (13472 votes)

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Those so young they need to be read the Dr Seuss books and those old enough to have read first editions as kids should equally enjoy this engaging, hilarious, and heartfelt tale of an elephant who hears Whos. Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino from a screenplay by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the classic Dr Seuss tale springs to life on the big screen using a color palette so vibrant you may feel the urge to don a pair of shades. Although the animation itself isn’t groundbreaking in its technique, it is perfectly in keeping with the tone and style of Dr Seuss’ work.

The Story

Jim Carrey provides the voice of one of the jungle of Nool’s friendliest creatures, Horton the Elephant. Horton is like that goofy older kid all the little kids want to hang out with. He’s footloose and fancy free, and definitely marches to the beat of a different drummer. His bubbly personality is at odds with Kangaroo (voiced by Carol Burnett), a woman who likes everything nice and neat and who has absolutely no imagination. Kangaroo’s so anal she never even allows her son time outside of her pouch to play with the other kids. Poor guy!

Horton’s just being Horton when he hears a cry coming from the tiniest of specks. Now any other creature in the jungle of Nool might have figured they were hearing things that weren’t there, but Horton’s open-minded and willing to go along with the idea that an entire world could exist on a speck that’s resting on a stalk of clover. Making contact with the Mayor of Who-ville (voiced by Steve Carell), Horton takes on the responsibility of finding a safe place for the speck to reside, despite the fact that in doing so he becomes the laughingstock of Nool. With Kangaroo and a squad of menacing monkeys on his tail, as well as an evil vulture named Vlad, Horton sets off on a journey to save the community of Who-ville before it’s too late.

The Voice Cast

Jim Carrey and Steve Carell lead the cast of recognizable voices in bringing this feel-good story to life. Carrey’s a perfect fit as Horton, an elephant with a huge heart to match his huge body. There’s a real warmth and childlike wonder in Carrey’s voice, and Carrey’s controlled enough to never go too big with the voice. Steve Carell (who worked with Carrey on Bruce Almighty) gives the Mayor, a guy looked down on by the Town Council, a voice that’s edged with manic nervousness. The Mayor - and father of almost a hundred Whos - is thought to be crazy once he starts claiming Who-ville’s only a tiny speck and its good citizens are in imminent danger, and Carell’s voice reflects the fact even he believes he might be a little loony.

The Bottom Line

The filmmakers have remained true to the spirit and themes of Dr Seuss classic children’s book while padding out the story enough to make it worthy of a full-length feature film. Horton Hears a Who! is lovable and embraceable (like the film’s main character) and touchingly funny, and a movie that’s almost impossible to not enjoy. There’s enough going on onscreen to keep the little ones entertained and adults (or at least those who aren’t human versions of Kangaroo) will lose themselves in this gorgeous adaptation of the Dr Seuss story. Hear this – Horton’s worth listening to and definitely worth spending 86 minutes with in a theater.

Rebecca Murray
Hollywood Movies Guide

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