Making feature length films out of Dr. Seuss books has been iffy. Live-action versions have been lucrative though artistically questionable. They're sticking to animation with "Horton Hears a Who," but they've still got a lot of story to fill in. Amy Poehler, providing one of the Who voices, explained some of the film's characters.

"I play the mayor's wife, Steve Carell's wife, the mayor of Whoville," said Poehler. "She might be [called] Mrs. Mayor. Her role is she's kind of the frustrated mother in charge. They have a really spazzy son so she's kind of the beleaguered mother and her husband who just thinks that this whole world is living on the tip of an elephant, right? You know how it goes."

An expert at characters and voices from her work on "Saturday Night Live" and "Upright Citizens Brigade," Poehler found a voice that perfectly suited this frazzled character. "I do a little bit more home[body], a little bit more like very typical sweet mother."