Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who
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Enchanting animated adaptation of the classic children's book about a warmhearted elephant (voice of Jim Carrey) who discovers that a speck of dust is home to the microscopic town of Who-ville, led by a slightly eccentric mayor (Steve Carell), and who must find the particle a safe resting place despite the opposition of a closed-minded kangaroo (Carol Burnett) and a wicked but dim eagle (Will Arnett). The film, co-directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, promotes excellent values and the script, performances and animation all match the high quality of the original source material. A-I -- general patronage. (G) 2008
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who
"A person's a person, no matter how small!" So runs the motto of the title character in "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who" (20th Century Fox), an enchanting computer-generated animated adaptation of Theodore Geisel's classic 1954 children's book.
The story is a familiar one: Enjoying his jungle bath one day, the warmhearted elephant (voice of Jim Carrey) hears faint noises coming from a speck of dust. What he's discovered, thanks to his outsized ears, is the existence of Who-ville, a microscopic but fully developed community which he gladly undertakes to protect.
Working with the tiny town's slightly eccentric mayor (Steve Carell) Horton comes up with a plan to transport Who-ville to the safety of a far-off mountain peak. Even as he sets out on what will prove a perilous journey, Horton faces the mounting opposition of his closed-minded fellow animals, led by the naysaying busybody Kangaroo (Carol Burnett).
When Horton refuses to yield to her demands and hand the precious particle over, Kangaroo -- who insists that "if you can't see something, it doesn't exist" -- turns for help to a wicked but rather dim eagle named Vlad (Will Arnett). Things look dark when Vlad gets Who-ville in his talons, but Horton is determined to come to the rescue because, to quote another article of his creed: "An elephant's faithful 100 percent!"
The film, co-directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, promotes excellent values, such as compassion, self-sacrifice, persistence and teamwork. (Seuss' story has even been read by pro-life activists as upholding the dignity of the unborn, a not unreasonable interpretation.)
The script, performances and animation all match the high quality of the movie's source material. From the moment, early on, when Horton manipulates his rubbery ears into a snug bathing cap, grown-ups as well as youngsters will know they're in for a 90-minute treat. For those with very long memories, there's even a Henry Kissinger shuttle-diplomacy gag!
The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. All ages admitted.
The following movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.