There's a reason that Disney is the top animator in the business, both technically and in terms of success. On the technical side, the company will spare almost no expense to ensure only the most proficient and wizardly of animators work on their projects. As far as financial success goes, no matter how one might feel about the company or its internal machinations as a whole, it must be given to them that they do know how to market their product just right to appeal to both kids and adults on a genuine and--one could say, given the company's lengthy history and brand-name familiarity--an almost genetic level.
Blue Sky Studios, the computer animation arm of Twenti-eth Century Fox, has just released the CGI version of the Dr. Seuss classic story Horton Hears A Who! While not as per-fectly stylized as The Incredibles or Ratatouille from Pixar and Disney, Horton does manage to achieve the job of transport-ing the viewer--especially the intended target audience of kid-dies--into the dual magical realms of the titular pachyderm's home the jungle of Nool and the tiny town of Whoville. The script, as written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul(co-writers on The Santa Clause 2 and College Road Trip) also faithfully follows the storyline of the source material to enable easy mental recall for later on when parents lull the young'uns to sleep by reading said story.
For the one person on Earth who might not be familiar with the story: Horton(voice of Jim Carrey) is a mild-mannered elephant living in the jungle of Nool. His days consist of frolicking in small ponds and teaching the children of his fellow animal friends all about the jungle in which they live. His best friend is a tiny mouse named Morton(voice of Seth Rogan) and his only adversary of a type is Kangaroo Jane (voiced by living comedy legend Carol Burnett), who believes that she sets the rules for what goes on in the jungle.
One day while out frolicking, a tiny dust mote floats by and Horton swears he hears a tiny cry emit from it. Investigating further as the mote alights upon a flower, Horton accidentally makes contact with The Mayor of Whoville(voice of Steve Carell), and comes to realize the town is infinitesimally small, existing on the dust mote itself. The news that Whoville exists on the mote, and that Horton is a giant elephant existing out-side the only reality the Mayor has ever known, rocks both characters' worlds momentarily. But realizing that Whoville can't stay suspended on a flower so open to all the dangers of the jungle(such as animals and ants foraging for food), Horton decides to take the flower on a long trek to a secluded cave on top of a mountain, where no one will ever be able to get to it.
While one can never go wrong with Dr. Seuss, there are some flaws in the tale which might hurt it slightly for both kids and adults. First of all, the pacing is off just a hair. The visuals hold the viewer's attention continuously, but at times the flick feels much longer than its hour-and-a-half run time. There is an amusing yet somewhat incongruous segment where the animation briefly turns into Japanese style anime, which might be jarring and confusing to some kids. While more people of all ages are getting into anime, some of the Pokemon references might be lost, as that style is somewhat passe. Also, from a storytelling standpoint, it makes no sense that while Horton is baffled by the Mayor's mention of bath-rooms, and is confused by what they could ever be, why is it that when the Mayor mentions to his people that Horton is an elephant, everyone understands exactly what that is? One can argue that in order to not bog the story down with details or more exponential dialogue, it was necessary that the citizens of Whoville simply know what an elephant is, and so that can be let go.
Overall however, the film(rated G) is a solid afternoon diversion for the kids--or for any adults who simply want to take their children somewhere they can find a moment of peace and silence while the little ones stare up at the screen, enraptured. It also delivers a good life lesson for the kids, in the form of Horton's motto, which he recites while doing his best to protect the flower upon which the speck containing Whoville is placed: "A person's a person, no matter how small". It is a sincere declaration of Horton's desire to look out for his tiny friends, and a sociological metaphor for how the stronger in a society should always look out for the weaker.
And in the world we now live in, where our youth act before thinking when dealing with the feelings of others, it's a life lesson that should be ingrained in the smallest and most innocent of minds, and which those children will hopefully carry with them for a long time to come.
Blue Sky Studios, the computer animation arm of Twenti-eth Century Fox, has just released the CGI version of the Dr. Seuss classic story Horton Hears A Who! While not as per-fectly stylized as The Incredibles or Ratatouille from Pixar and Disney, Horton does manage to achieve the job of transport-ing the viewer--especially the intended target audience of kid-dies--into the dual magical realms of the titular pachyderm's home the jungle of Nool and the tiny town of Whoville. The script, as written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul(co-writers on The Santa Clause 2 and College Road Trip) also faithfully follows the storyline of the source material to enable easy mental recall for later on when parents lull the young'uns to sleep by reading said story.
For the one person on Earth who might not be familiar with the story: Horton(voice of Jim Carrey) is a mild-mannered elephant living in the jungle of Nool. His days consist of frolicking in small ponds and teaching the children of his fellow animal friends all about the jungle in which they live. His best friend is a tiny mouse named Morton(voice of Seth Rogan) and his only adversary of a type is Kangaroo Jane (voiced by living comedy legend Carol Burnett), who believes that she sets the rules for what goes on in the jungle.
One day while out frolicking, a tiny dust mote floats by and Horton swears he hears a tiny cry emit from it. Investigating further as the mote alights upon a flower, Horton accidentally makes contact with The Mayor of Whoville(voice of Steve Carell), and comes to realize the town is infinitesimally small, existing on the dust mote itself. The news that Whoville exists on the mote, and that Horton is a giant elephant existing out-side the only reality the Mayor has ever known, rocks both characters' worlds momentarily. But realizing that Whoville can't stay suspended on a flower so open to all the dangers of the jungle(such as animals and ants foraging for food), Horton decides to take the flower on a long trek to a secluded cave on top of a mountain, where no one will ever be able to get to it.
While one can never go wrong with Dr. Seuss, there are some flaws in the tale which might hurt it slightly for both kids and adults. First of all, the pacing is off just a hair. The visuals hold the viewer's attention continuously, but at times the flick feels much longer than its hour-and-a-half run time. There is an amusing yet somewhat incongruous segment where the animation briefly turns into Japanese style anime, which might be jarring and confusing to some kids. While more people of all ages are getting into anime, some of the Pokemon references might be lost, as that style is somewhat passe. Also, from a storytelling standpoint, it makes no sense that while Horton is baffled by the Mayor's mention of bath-rooms, and is confused by what they could ever be, why is it that when the Mayor mentions to his people that Horton is an elephant, everyone understands exactly what that is? One can argue that in order to not bog the story down with details or more exponential dialogue, it was necessary that the citizens of Whoville simply know what an elephant is, and so that can be let go.
Overall however, the film(rated G) is a solid afternoon diversion for the kids--or for any adults who simply want to take their children somewhere they can find a moment of peace and silence while the little ones stare up at the screen, enraptured. It also delivers a good life lesson for the kids, in the form of Horton's motto, which he recites while doing his best to protect the flower upon which the speck containing Whoville is placed: "A person's a person, no matter how small". It is a sincere declaration of Horton's desire to look out for his tiny friends, and a sociological metaphor for how the stronger in a society should always look out for the weaker.
And in the world we now live in, where our youth act before thinking when dealing with the feelings of others, it's a life lesson that should be ingrained in the smallest and most innocent of minds, and which those children will hopefully carry with them for a long time to come.
Official Archives of LanceReviews...
Classic Zaniness
New adaptation of a Seuss classic isn't the greatest...but it gets the formula right for the kiddies
Now "hear" this: A kids' classic is told in a narrative fairly faithful to the original material.
Horton the elephant: a euphemism for the duty of the strong to protect the weaker in society.
Steve Carell plays the Mayor of Whoville; a Who who cares deeply about his people. And that says a Who-le lot. {Ugh. Even I'm groaning at that one!}
Legendary comedienne Carol Burnett plays the voice of Hor-ton's adversarial Kangaroo, who doesn't believe in the exist-ence of Whos.
