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Movies / On DVD / Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!

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Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 127

Fresh: 99

Rotten:28

Average Rating: 7/10

Consensus: Horton Hears A Who! is both whimsical and heartwarming, and is the rare Dr. Seuss adaptation that stays true to the spirit of the source material.

Rated: U

Runtime: 2 hrs 54 mins

Genre: Childrens

Theatrical Release:21-03-2008

Synopsis: On the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool. He was splashing...enjoying the jungle's great joys...When Horton the elephant heard a small... On the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool. He was splashing...enjoying the jungle's great joys...When Horton the elephant heard a small noise. With his signature evocative and rhyming text, writer and cartoonist Dr. Seuss, an American treasure whose books have delighted generations of young people, opens one of his most beloved tales, Horton Hears a Who! Now, over fifty years since Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, published this perennial favorite, the makers of ICE AGE and comedy giants Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, bring it to life in a way never before experienced. For the first time, a motion picture transports audiences into Dr. Seuss' incredible imagination, through state-of-the-art CG animation. DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO! (TM) is Seuss as you want to experience his work at the movies - and as it was meant to be seen. The film, like Seuss' book, presents an imaginative elephant named Horton (Carrey) who hears a faint cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Although Horton doesn't know it yet, that speck houses an entire city named Who-ville, inhabited by the microscopic Whos, led by the Mayor (Carell). Despite being ridiculed and threatened by his neighbors, who think he has lost his mind, Horton is determined to save the particle...because "a person's a person, no matter how small." Horton's eight-word explanation for his actions embodies an idea both simple and profound, and which means so much, to so many. The film provides more food for thought, having Horton explains to his skeptical friends: "If you were way out in space, and you looked down at where we live, we would look like a speck." Then there's Horton's code...his motto... that, "an elephant's faithful 100 percent" - pointing to his honesty and determination to never abandon his mission to find a new home for the speck that houses the incredible world of Who-ville. These philosophical declarations point to Seuss' unique ability to take complex issues and boil them down into understandable thoughts that anybody, at any age, could understand. It all comes together through the vision of a master storyteller, the magic of computer animation, and the special alchemy of three generations of comedy stars - Carrey and Carell are joined by the legendary Carol Burnett, as well as cutting-edge talents Will Arnett, Isla Fisher, Amy Poehler , Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill - to create an all-audience comedy event. --© Fox [More]

Starring: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Dane Cook

Starring: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Dane Cook, Amy Poehler, Jesse McCartney, Isla Fisher, Dan Fogler, Will Arnett, Jonah Hill, Laura Ortiz, Jaime Pressly, Josh Flitter, Carol Burnett

Director: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino

Director: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino
Screenwriter: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Jon Vitti, Mike Reiss
Producer: Bob Gordon
Composer: John Powell
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Adds a manic spin that strains to convey far too many moral messages while overloading the film with wacky action.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/20/08
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Beautifully realised, entertainingly absurd and as true to the original as a feature-length expansion can be, this animated allegory gets the child in all of us to think big thoughts about small things.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/18/08
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Horton started as a book, less that 40 pages long. To make it a feature seems just a little bit wrong. The magic of Seuss isn't quite there. It's got the look but it's missing some flair.

Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
12/23/08
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

Taking on Seuss has proven a challenge for Hollywood, but a nice balance has been struck here between authenticity and new ideas. This one's a winner.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
12/12/08
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Horton Hears a Who! -- Dr. Seuss' imagination never goes out of style.

Full Review Source: What Would Toto Watch? | comment Comment
12/10/08
Christian Toto
What Would Toto Watch?

What is most remarkable about this film is the fidelity it retains to Seuss' work and intentions.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
12/10/08
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review

Lovely and only marred by a slightly sagging middle and a gratuitous, tacked on pop song finale.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
07/17/08
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Even if Horton's world can't shine like Whoville, this movie's visuals keeps things vivid, while digital animation is so often crisp, precise, and cold.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
06/21/08
Matthew Sorrento
Film Threat

The movie is sweet, but not really memorable.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/18/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

Earth, as Robert Frost thought, might be the right place for love, but television is certainly the right place for Dr. Seuss.

Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | comment Comment
05/08/08
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

Sygkratimeno kai petyhimeno hioymor demeno me to eggyimeno ap' tin ypografi ton dimioyrgon toy Ice Age (2002) animation, to Horton Hears a Who den proorizetai pantheon, alla apotelei toylahiston aksiologotati epilogi kyrios (alla ohi apokleistika) gia nea

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
05/06/08
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

The metaphysical angle is too awkward: Horton comes off like a Giant Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment Comment
04/16/08
Stephen Himes
Film Snobs

after the overcooked live action Grinch and nauseating Cat In The Hat, Hollywood has finally served up a tasty adaptation of Dr. Seuss.

Full Review Source: Peterborough This Week | comment Comment
04/15/08
Mike Sage
Peterborough This Week

Perfect for children, for adults not so much.

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
04/04/08
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

Teeters throughout at that juncture between masterpiece and piffle.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/02/08
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

[The filmmakers] capture the whimsy of Seuss' drawings and add a nice tactile feel.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
03/28/08
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

A mediocre movie's a mediocre movie, no matter how overhyped, overblown and overbearing.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment 3 Comments
03/26/08
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Succeeds where previous Dr. Seuss adaptations have fallen short, most notably by using animation -- fluid, elastic, genuinely Seussian animation -- to tell the story.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
03/23/08
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Despite the stretch of adapting Horton's tale to a feature movie, Dr. Seuss' original story and the worlds he created, plus some particularly winning characters, put Horton Hears A Who! over the top.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
03/21/08
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

The elephant, the stars' names, the digital production, the critical buzz, and the product tie-ins -- with all this going on, the movie can't help but be huge.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment 1 Comment
03/21/08
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
 
 
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Latest News for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!

January 08, 2009: Josh Brolin Talks Jimmy Hayward and Jonah Hex Opens in new window
Want to know how Jimmy Hayward landed in the director's chair for "Jonah Hex"? Please allow Josh Brolin to fill you in. More...

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Warner Bros. has searched high and low for its replacement for departed "Jonah Hex" directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and now they've found their man: "Horton Hears a... More...

December 12, 2008: Pure Seuss, with plenty of Flower Power to spare. Not to mention that when paying attention to all the possibilities of this planet and beyond, size indeed matters. Opens in new window
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Welcome to The Dark Knight DVD week at Rotten Tomatoes! Warner Bros.' dark, masterful sequel arrives on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday as one of the most anticipated home video... More...

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