HORTON HEARS A WHO!

"All right, I gotta get this speck up to the top of Mount Nool A.S.A.P, whatever that means, probably 'act swiftly, awesome pachyderm'! I mean, how hard can that be?"

~ Horton

When an easygoing elephant named Horton hears a tiny spec call out, he is certain that there are people living on that spec. Turns out he's right! He has made contact with the Mayor of Who-Ville, who has 96 daughters and 1 son named JoJo who all share a bathroom! The Mayor is shocked to find his world is a spec, and Horton swears to make sure no harm befalls them. The problem is, none of the other citizens of Who-Ville believe the mayor when he shares his concerns about the land where nothing ever goes wrong. Little does he know, Horton is having the same problems with a fierce Kangaroo and her mean henchmen. Can the Whos come together and prove to an angry mob that they exist?

HORTON HEARS A WHO! is a funny movie based off of Dr. Seuss's book with great voices and great animation! Unfortunately, it's not above some of the usual transgressions. The funny-ness sometimes spills over into the land of stupidity and sometimes it hangs around on the border between the two. But don't get me wrong - there's plenty of funny. But kids will be a lot more into this one than the adults will, which brings me to my next concerns.

JoJo is a sulky kid who is misunderstood by his dad and doesn't say a word till the end (something I've noticed that is getting more and more fashionable in cartoons). The mean Kangaroo's son disobeys her in the end and gives the spec back to Horton, and it's good that he did, but there is still the disobeying part. Vlad, the vulture that is hired to get rid of the spec is supposed to be funny, but he still might scare certain kids. The Mayor is called a "boob" which is funny until your 3-year-old says it, and the part where Horton is tied and the spec is held over a boiling pot of doom could get a little scary as well.

Now for the good stuff: IT'S FUNNY! Horton is 100% devoted to the well-being of the spec, even when he is encouraged to "go 99% just once". The Kangaroo repeatedly says something to the effect of, "If you can't see it, hear it, or feel it, it doesn't exist!" bringing a little spiritual thought into the whole thing (though probably not intentionally). JoJo comes through for everyone in the end, and makes up with the mayor. Everybody turns nice in the end, "and so, all ended well for both Horton and Who's, and for all in the jungle, even kangaroos. So let that be a lesson to one and to all; a person is a person, no matter how small."

This is a good one - but not a winner in my book. Enjoyable, but not for more than probably three times:)

Directed by: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino ~ Produced by: Bob Gordon, Chris Wedge ~ Written by: Dr. Seuss (book and story) Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul ~ Narrated by: Charles Osgood ~ Starring: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Dan Fogler, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jaime Pressly, Seth Rogen, Jesse McCartney, Isla Fisher, Jonah Hill, Selena Gomez ~ Distributed by: 20th Century Fox, Blue Sky Studios