It amounts to making entertainment for adults by hijacking a story intended for kids...
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:130
Fresh:102
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.
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
Reviews for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
Seuss' genius, updated for the masses. It's a curious mix, and it isn't always successful, but there's no doubt that this jumbled tale is the best mass-market adaptation yet of one of Seuss' works.
I think you'll love this pachyderm. On Horton's charms I must stand firm.
A sparkling 'toon that ought to have the family crowd lining up. Seamlessly blends the charming Seussical brand of wit and wisdom with animated thrills today's movie audiences expect.
Everything in the movie (Whoville in particular) seems hyperactive, noisy and shrill -- and yet, for all the manufactured carry-on, there isn't enough story for a feature film.
It feels empty and over-inflated, with the book’s simple charms lost in the filler dreamed up by screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul.
As long as it sticks to Seuss -- which, given the brevity of the book, amounts to about a third of the 88-minute running time -- Horton makes for charming, kid-friendly entertainment.
The sad thing is that this Horton doesn't stick by its central message -- that every voice counts -- the way Horton sticks to the Whos. It pretends to, but the sincerity is just too scary to commit to fully.
The team behind Ice Age capture the Seussian visuals without squishing emotions or squelching the sing-songy language. Listen closely: It's the sound of a million Who fans cheering.
Frequently charming, beautifully drawn and far more faithful in spirit to the source material than those dreadful Ron Howard-Brian Grazer productions.
And a motto moguls should take some time learning, if they'd like their movies to finally be earning, for it's not the cash that makes a prize of the art, but the warmth of the tale, and the size of the heart.
The computer-animated Horton is largely funny and faithful to the spirit of the Dr. Seuss book.
This new Horton 'toon may be state of the art. But it's great virtue isn't the 3-D animation. It's the good Doctor, whose writing about Whos never goes out of style.
Stretched to 85 minutes and padded with action, the story often loses focus and resonance, and seems crammed with modernized material, as if Seuss' themes were insufficient.
At times, the action in Horton overwhelms its softer, more Seussian traits. At these moments, the picture comes across as just another computer-animated film -- and there must be 100 by now -- about an animal on a quest.
This Horton Hears a Who! never loses sight of the simple but perennially powerful theme at the heart of Seuss' tale: 'a person's a person, no matter how small.'
It's a success as a movie, but it still isn't quite perfect as a Seuss adaptation.
Horton is mostly up to the challenge of adapting Seuss' brief, deceptively simple books to the 90-minute format of kids' movies.
Latest News for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
January 08, 2009:
Josh Brolin Talks Jimmy Hayward and Jonah Hex ![]()
Want to know how Jimmy Hayward landed in the director's chair for "Jonah Hex"? Please allow Josh Brolin to fill you in. More...
January 06, 2009:
A New Director for Jonah Hex ![]()
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. ![]()
More...
December 08, 2008:
RT on DVD: The Dark Knight Is Here!
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...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! at Rotten Tomatoes
- Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! at IGN
- Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

