"HORTON HEARS A WHO".....One Mom's Review

I decided to take a chance and take my 3 year old daughter and 16 month old son to the opening day release of Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hears a Who". Yes, I know I'm crazy for even considering taken to toddlers to a full length movie. Luckily we made it through with out any major drama. My daughter has been potty training for awhile and this was a reward for her "successful" training so far this week. But that's another hub for another time.

Personally I hate it when movie critics give away to much in their reviews, so I'll keep it simple and not too "revealing". I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect going into this movie. I have seen both "The Cat in the Hat" and "How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and had mixed feelings about seeing this Dr. Seuss movie. Personally I thought “The Cat in the Hat” was a HORRIBLE movie. Mike Meyers is known for his lewd comedy, as witnessed in his “Austen Powers” movies, but this tipped the scales. If I watch a movie that is based off of a famous “children’s” book, one would only think that they would keep it clean and designed for family viewing. Instead I witnessed one vulgarity after another, amidst a plethora of sexual innuendos. “How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas” was an improvement, and I did find Jim Carreys take on the Grinch to be as close to the character in the book as I could possible imagine. I thought he hit it right on the head. It did have sexual innuendos in it, but at least they would go over most kids heads I believe. In a nutshell I thought it was worth watching.

Because Jim Carreys performance was done so well in “The Grinch” I had high hopes for this Dr. Seuss film as well. Overall from beginning to end, I was for the most part intrigued by this movie.

The story begins with a speck floating aimlessly around and Horton, with his enormous ears and therefore incredible hearing, could hear the screams of the Who’s in Whoville. There are a lot of hidden philosophical aspects to the movie. One of which alludes to whether there is a God, by the parallel conversation as given by the Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) who adamantly states that “if you can't touch it, see it or hear it, it doesn't exist.” Which is interesting in that many people have a hard time believing in God because of what they feel is a lack of “tangible evidence”. If you’re concerned that the movie get’s preachy on you, no need to worry. It’s only touched upon very lightly, just enough to get folks like me thinking.

Carol Burnett’s performance was not exactly strong but it got the point across none the less. Her character has a slight resemblance to that of Mrs. Hannigan in the movie "Annie". I LOVED her character in that movie. She made you love to hate her I thought. (Funny enough as we were on our way to the movie, my daughter said "Mommy I want to go see the stars". She was referring to the song in Annie "Let's go to the movies, lets go see the stars" And oddly enough Carol Burnett was in the very movie I was taking her too. Just a side note)

I was especially intrigued by the amazing things that the animators had Horton do with his ears. It was downright hilarious at times. There was definitely a lot of creative thinking put into this movie. Jim Carreys character "Horton" was actually “toned down” for him. An unexpected display, since typically in an animated character, you would expect his usual “crazy side” to be revealed. Don’t get me wrong, he was still side splitting funny at the right times. There was one scene where he went into a tangent imagining himself as a Japenese-style animation character. Not being a fan of Japenese animation that was the ONLY part that I lost interest in. My husband however loves Japanese animation and would have thought that was the best part I'm sure!

Steve Carell played the Mayor of Whoville and I thought he did an excellent job. Not his strongest role, but he fit it very well. He has 96 daughters and 1 son who, like most Dad’s, tried sooo hard to connect with his son in the hopes that he too would someday follow in his “Mayoral” footsteps. The animated depiction of his son was all too perfect of what you would expect of a teenage son who lives in his own world and could care less what his parents thought. On closer inspection of “Whoville”, which is the civilization that resides on the speck Norton discovers, it was wonderfully picturesque and uniquely designed in every sense of the word. I thought it was interesting to note that the members of “Whoville” were so closed minded in that they had no idea what it was like to have actual problems, until there world was turned topsy-turvy. Towards the end was where the main climax got really involved and that's when it really pulled me in and made me feel for the characters. The bringing together of two entirely different worlds taught the message of tolerance and kindness towards others.

All in all, I would recommend this movie to any parent who wanted to give their kids a little insight into the world of Dr. Seuss. I think it’s a good way to encourage reading and there are some sweet, tender moments to be enjoyed by all. This movie can definitely be enjoyed by parents as well as their children bar none. Happy movie watching!