Horton hears a who

Introduction

Ah yes, I remember Dr. Seuss and I remember it well. A story about an elephant in the jungle of Nool who we find one day splashing in a pool. He finds a spec of dust that holds a tiny world. Dr. Seuss's stories were truly excellent. I didn't know it then, but they taught me so much and this movie reminded me I need to by my little nephew some of his books. We need to brainwash him as soon as possible!

The Narrative

This movie is based on either the children's book or the animated movie of the same name. And the director, for the most part, seemed to try and capture what the book and the movie relayed. Dr. Seuss is known for his interesting rhymes by making up words and his messages. This particular story's message was about accepting people for who they are. On the surface the narrative is about Horton, an elephant, interacting with people that are too small, "the Who's", for anyone to hear, but none of the other animals believe they exist. The tiny people, ironically, don't believe that there is anything beyond their world. Horton's stand point is a "person is a person no matter how small."

In the big scheme of things, the story says that difference shouldn't be a reason to believe an individual isn't a person. People are people no matter what; is what I take from the story. This, of course, is open to other interpretation.


The critique

The movie was good overall. I enjoyed it because it rhymed in some parts, it maintained the some of political elements of the story, and it had some new things that made it funny. For instance, the narrator adds a line that the "nosy kangaroo thinks she knows better than you", how they do a Japanese Anime action sequence with Horton, or with Steve Carell as one of the voice actors you can't go wrong! And if you like Jim Carrey, then you'll love Horton! Some of the political element it maintained were the people being worried that Horton's ways were going to somehow "ruin" their society. The Wickerson brothers even talk about moving away from the forest of Nool to protect their children from Horton.

The first bad thing is I don't like Jim Carrey that much and so he ruins Horton for me. The story added way too many characters for me and that distracted from what I thought Dr. Seuss would have liked. The movie also didn't rhyme as much as the book or the animated movie, but I think that was because the director may have thought people wouldn't have liked that. Jr. Kangaroo didn't incessantly agree with his mother and her meddling like the original story and I feel this takes away from the point that children will sometimes follow their parents no matter how wrong the parent is.

The Wickerson brother's also weren't that scary, and the forest animals didn't gossip enough about Horton and show how bad people can get when they get together. While I was disappointed with the lack of music, the main thing for me was the change from Dr. Hoovey to the Mayor and the change of JoJo to a more major character. I felt the Who's not listening to the Dr. that warned them was supposed to symbolize how people ignore education. (A mayor doesn't scream the importance of education in my book). And JoJo in this movie had a bigger role, a distracting role. I watched a Youtube video of Horton Hears a Who and people were more concerned about how cute JoJo was than the message of how the words of children can save you if you just listen.

The conclusion

I'm afraid, however, that people may not remember what, I feel, Dr. Seuss wanted to convey. He was a political writer and yes some of his messages lead to some unhealthy options. In reference to the old Horton story, the people turn to Dr. Hoovey and say they'll do whatever he ask: never a good idea just to follow blindly. I, however, Dr. Seuss's point was that people will do this when they are in trouble but it's still not good.

Overall, I think the movie was enjoyable and I recommend seeing it. It is entertaining overall and you may not want a political statement when you go to the movies. If you love Dr. Seuss, then you'll enjoy this variation on one of his classics.



side note: I know I said I was going to try to be short but this movie is really important to me. I'm sorry. :(