Dandy 'Horton Hears a Who!' speaks the Seuss magic

By DAN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Thursday, March 13, 2008 12:26 PM PDT ∞

In the rich and thematic world of Dr. Seuss, even small voices have important things to say.

For more than 50 years, that's been one of the vital messages in "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!," a Seuss favorite now making its big-screen debut in an entertaining and easily enjoyable computer-generated animation film.

Keeping themes and characters intact, but visually expanding the world surrounding both the benevolent elephant Horton and the Who-ville town he is compelled to protect, "Horton Hears a Who!" bridges generations and mediums nicely.

The story, as at least three generations of Seuss readers know, has the amiable elephant Horton, voiced in the film by Jim Carrey, discovering a sort of micro-universe called Who-ville buried deep inside a speck of dust. Horton makes contact with the affable mayor of Who-ville, and conveys to him that something big and not so good is on the horizon. Who-ville may cease to exist merely because the much larger and dominating world where Horton resides holds ultimate power, and ---- except for Horton ---- is clueless as to Who-ville's existence.

This news puts the already high-strung mayor (Steve Carell) in distress, as he is unlikely to convince the town elders that Who-ville is in danger. If that happened, the public would panic and the serenity of Who-ville be ruined. Instead, the mayor is labeled a crackpot.

Horton has his own troubles, trying to convince his fellow jungle inhabitants that they have the power to either protect or destroy a tiny civilization invisible to the eye. Horton's claims allow Kangaroo (Carol Burnett), the jungle's resident busybody, to take advantage, and get things done her way, meaning Who-ville may soon be lost forever.

It takes a tremendous amount of courage from the Who-ville residents ---- a determination to be heard no matter how small and distant their voices are ---- to rescue their town and their very lives from the coming destruction.

"Horton Hears a Who!" champions the voice of the child, the voice of the underdog, the voices of those not easily heard, presenting the idea that we must listen as carefully as we speak. It accomplishes this in an exciting, funny and joyous film that, while presenting challenge and danger, remains accessible to the story's smallest fans.

Made by some of the people who worked on the CGI films "Ice Age" and "Robots," the film enjoys some marvelously creative scenes, particularly the machinations of Who-ville, with its contraptions and complex systems that flow together with delightful detail. While jokes are rarely laugh-out-loud funny, and there's somewhat of a lull in the middle of the film, "Horton Hears a Who!" consistently reinvents itself on the spot with choice little bits and wondrous moments of color and character that expand on the Seuss style with reverence and obvious delight.

Not as witty, well-structured or elegantly detailed as "Ratatouille," the film is better and more fully realized than so many halfway-there CGI films of recent years, and will probably win public opinion much more readily than the film version of "The Cat in the Hat." The film also enjoys credentials, with longtime San Diego resident Audrey Geisel, Seuss's widow, serving as an executive producer. The filmmakers visited the official Seuss library at UC San Diego to gather ideas before production. "Horton Hears a Who!" is likely to please the book's legions of fans, keeping the legend intact.

B+

"Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!"

Featuring voices of: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett

Directors: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Rated: G

RT: 110 minutes

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