Horton-Horton Hears a Who (2008)

Directed by: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino | 85 minutes | animation, adventure, family | Original voice cast: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Isla Fisher, Will Arnett, Dane Cook, Selena Gomez, Jaime Pressly, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Dan Fogler, Amy Poehler, Josh Flitter, Carol Burnett, Laura Ortiz, Joey King, Shelby Adamowsky, Samantha Droke | Dutch voice cast: Filemon Wesselink, Giel Beelen, Carice van Houten, Loek Beernink, Michiel Huisman, Lenette van Dongen

Animated movies, we love them. When you look at what Hollywood produces in animated films, Disney-Pixar and Dreamworks are still flag bearers. Since ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Robots’, Twentieth Century Fox has also contributed in collaboration with production company Blue Sky Studios. With ‘Horton’, the film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic children’s book, they immediately skip a few steps on the stairs. It’s a perfectly animated movie, with a captivating story, fun characters and lots of humor. Director Jimmy Hayward has already proven himself as an animator, having worked on classics such as ‘Toy Story’, ‘Monsters, Inc.’ and ‘Finding Nemo’.

Horton is a sweet and naive elephant, with his heart in the right place. He teaches the young children of the jungle interesting facts about inmates, and the kids look up to him. But not everyone is charmed by the cozy pachyderm. The pesky meddlesome kangaroo forbids her son Rudy to hang out with Horton, in fact, he’s not even allowed to play with the other jungle inhabitants. He is bag schooled, she tells the other mothers in a funny play on the word ‘homeschooled’. It actually all goes past Horton. When he is taking a bath, he suddenly hears a voice that seems to come from a piece of dust. Horton jumps into action when he realizes that the voice may be a person in need and he does everything he can to save the dust from a horrific death by drowning. He ensures that the dust can rest safely on a clover flower and promises to bring the dust and its inhabitants to safety. However the other jungle dwellers may laugh at Horton, the gray lob is right. The Who’s live on the fabric, in a unique and fairytale-like world. The voice Horton heard comes from the mayor of Who-Ville, an eccentric character not always believed by the Supreme Court. The mayor has 96 daughters and one son, Jo-Jo, who will succeed him – against the wishes of the young Who. When the mayor realizes that his world is in danger, because the dust particle is no longer where it has been for years, he tries to warn all residents, but he – like Horton – is not believed.

Some scenes are so exquisite that the word ‘breathtaking’ might not do them justice. Much attention is paid to details in nature; the opening scene alone, in which a drop of water slides off a leaf, hits a prickly ball in its fall, which then rolls through the forest and crushes the flower on which the dust in question rested is spectacular. The scene in the clover field is also beautiful. The wonderful town of Who-ville is very special and imaginatively depicted, with funny round houses, slides and other surprising finds. The inhabitants, both those in Who-ville and those in the Nool jungle, remain very close to Dr. seuss. The film manages to combine action, suspense and humor well, you won’t roll off your chair laughing, but there are both visual jokes and puns in it. For example, the monkeys, called the Wickershams, have a comic scene in which bananas play a major role. Also very nice is what Horton does with his ears. The remarkable 2D cartoon scenes, such as Horton in Pokémon-like style, add little, but still stay with the viewer.

Jim Carrey as Horton is excellently cast and becomes one with his character. The crazy face-pulling actor has had some influence on Horton’s facial expressions, but not as much as the actors in ‘Shark Tale’, for example. An excellent choice. Steve Carell as the mayor is also amusing and has a great time. Other voice actors include Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen and Isla Fisher, with Arnett notably standing out as the evil Vlad.

An elephant never forgets, so Horton doesn’t forget his promise. And once you’ve seen ‘Horton’, you won’t soon forget this film. ‘Horton’ is a timeless film, which will undoubtedly achieve classic status very soon.