The movie proves a funny, elevating ride that should beguile the young and keep their parents or grandparents enthralled too. For once, the G rating stands for Glorious.
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Tomatometer
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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!
doesn't have the brisk economy of the original book, but the animated Horton feels nevertheless close to the sweet, quirky heart of Dr. Seuss.
Yes, Horton Hears a Who! has been dragged into the modern age, nowhere near as hyperactively as the Shrek movies, but not without damage.
Horton Hears a Who! is razzle-dazzling and artful, and it builds on Seuss' words by the clever cart-full.
When Horton sticks to the sweet, funny spirit of its source, though, all's right with the worlds, big and little.
This is animation most animate, a kid-pic so rare, that even adults will fall off their chairs!
On the 14th of March, from the Land of L.A., comes a film based on Seuss that I'm happy to say, isn't overblown junk like The Cat in The Hat -- a movie that messed with the book and fell flat.
Compared with those mega-budget predecessors, the adaptation sticks pretty close to the text and tone of the book, faithful enough to earn its just reward.
It works. As a kid flick, as a legitimate comedy, as a worthy extrapolation from the original book. The rendering of Theodor Seuss Geisel's characters and worlds here feel remarkably lifelike and put rerecent live-action monstrosities to shame.
Horton Hears a Who! brings a masterwork into the here and now with both respect and wide-eyed enthusiasm. So smart, so stimulating, so much fun.
It's a relief then that writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio have fun with the belief that all humor doesn't have to be of the wink-nudge variety to appeal to adults in the 'plex.
Directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino direct with a keen eye for bringing Dr. Seuss' whimsical drawings and humanistic message to CG life.
It's so funny and good-natured that I can't imagine anybody not smiling through it. Not even a Grinch.
Your enjoyment of this G-rated enterprise will have everything to do with how much you're willing to overlook: how much story padding, how many references to Henry Kissinger or Apocalypse Now or MySpace. Does Seuss need any of this?
If you're willing to ignore the Hollywood gloss and enjoy the cinematic experience, you'll find a Horton that's faithful, if not 100 percent, to the spirit of the beloved children's classic.
The tolerance and loopy poetry of the beloved book by Dr. Seuss have been nicely captured in this CGI adaptation.
Horton Hears a Who! represents a fresh, and mostly refreshing, approach in Hollywood's pillaging of the good doctor's oeuvre.
Carrey and the animators imbue Horton with resilience and elan that merge into an oddball grace, and Carell is more touching as the beleaguered Whoville mayor with 96 daughters
Seuss' stories depend on an economy of line, both in their rhymes and their drawings. 'Horton,' to some extent, respects this...
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