Horton Hears a Who (Blu-ray) (2008)

"The look of the story is an undeniable treat, and the message it weaves is both funny and sweet.  Claudia Puig, USA Today
"Warm, playful and inventive...with a respectful doffing of the cap to Geisel's exuberantly wacky visual style.  Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
"A delight, brimming with colorful, elastic characters and bountiful wit.  Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
"...a whimsical, witty, feature-length version of Dr. Seuss that's neither overblown nor smutty nor emotionally hollow.  Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
"...a feature-length reparation for the appalling live-action versions of Seuss' books we've endured over the last few years.  Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon.com
"Stays true to the spirit and characters of the book while embellishing it to overflowing.  Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
"...a loving and attentive take on a charming classic.  Travis Nichols, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Editor's Note Based on the 1954 children's book by Dr. Seuss, HORTON HEARS A WHO! is a 2008 computer-animated Hollywood update of the beloved illustrated tale. Horton (voiced by Jim Carrey), a thoughtful elephant living in the jungle of Nool, discovers that an entire society, Whoville, rests inside a speck. He gently rests it on a clover flower, and searches for a place where it will be safe from the perils of the larger world. Establishing contact with Whoville's befuddled mayor (Steve Carell), Horton faces disbelief from his animal friends, including his blue mouse pal, Morton (Seth Rogen), and unwittingly incurs the wrath of an uptight kangaroo (Carol Burnett), setting the playful pachyderm on a journey to the most remote parts of Nool, with malicious vultures and monkeys not far behind. Executive produced by Chris Wedge, the creator of ICE AGE, and directed by Steve Martino and Jimmy Hayward, this CGI take on Seuss (aka Theodore Geisel) is the first 21st-century adaptation to hew closely to the artist's true spirit and visual style. While Carrey, Carell, Burnett, and the rest of the vocal talent (also including Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, and Jonah Hill) contribute lively performances, the animation is the real focus of the film, displaying a stunning array of colorful characters and landscapes that capture Seuss's wonderfully whimsical aesthetic. Though Seuss loyalists might be dismayed by some liberties taken (particularly a Japanese anime-style interlude and a brief musical number set to a REO Speedwagon hit), the movie's heart is in the right place, resulting in a topnotch family feature.

	Jim Carrey - Voice
	Laura Ortiz - Voice
	Jesse McCartney - Voice
	Dane Cook - Voice
	Carol Burnett - Voice
	Jonah Hill - Voice
	Jon Vitti - Screenwriter
	Ken Daurio - Screenwriter
	Bob Gordon - Producer
	Christopher Meledandri - Executive Producer
	Josh Flitter - Voice
	Isla Fisher - Voice
	Cinco Paul - Screenwriter
	Will Arnett - Voice
	Amy Poehler - Voice
	Dr. Seuss - Source Writer
	Jaime Pressly - Voice
	Seth Rogen - Voice
	Mike Reiss - Screenwriter
	John Powell - Composer
	Audrey Geisel - Executive Producer
	Steven Carell - Voice
	Dan Fogler - Voice
	Jimmy Hayward - Director
	Steve Martino - Director

USA Today
"The look of the story is an undeniable treat, and the message it weaves is both funny and sweet....Razzle-dazzling and artful..." 03/13/2008

Los Angeles Times
"[T]he movie retains much of the gentleness and sincerity of the book..." 03/14/2008

Entertainment Weekly
"[T]rue to the Seuss vision, with a contemporary integrity that makes full use of CG power without sacrificing the delicacy of the author's springy, zingy illustrations." 03/21/2008 p.42

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "Carrey and Carrell are nicely understated....Genuinely amusing....This WHO is easily as good as the sum of its parts." 05/01/2008 p.62

San Francisco Chronicle 7 of 10
"Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" succeeds to a point in putting the Hollywood spin on Theodor S. Geisel's beloved children's book about an elephant defending a microscopic civilization...Very young children will find plenty to giggle over in the manic slapstick of this latest computer-animated adventure from Blue Sky Studios, the outfit behind the "Ice Age" flicks. And Blue Sky's creations are a solid transmutation of Seuss' odd storybook world into digital images...The result is more amiable than the live-action "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring Jim Carrey, who returns to Who-Ville this time as the voice of Horton the elephant. And "Horton" is a huge leap beyond the atrocious live-action "The Cat in the Hat" with Mike Myers...All three Seuss renderings share a common problem: The padding needed to take them to the big screen diminish the story, leaving more to gawk at but less to savor...There was barely material enough for the 1970 half-hour TV version of "Horton Hears a Who!" so imagine the stretching and stuffing that went into this. Everything Horton does drags on rather tediously...Still, the animation itself is vibrant, occasionally dazzling, loaded with detail that helps bring the whimsy of Seuss' world to life. And there's Seuss' moral - that a "person's a person no matter how small." - David Germain

ReelViews 8 of 10
Admittedly, it's been about 35 years since I was reader of Dr. Seuss, but my memories of his books are that they're short and economical with words. Neither of those descriptions applies to this theatrical version of Horton Hears a Who!, which has found a way to take a thin, pithy book and stretch it out to feature length - despite the fact that a completely acceptable and much shorter version already exists. This is not the first time the good doctor's material has undergone such stretching. The live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas survived the experience but The Cat in the Hat suffered fate worse than eating green eggs and ham. Horton Hears a Who! doesn't enter the live-action realm, which is probably a good thing, but the lengthened result has its own charm and is enjoyable in a family-friendly sort of way, even if it feels a little like Dr. Seuss by way of Ice Age...Fundamentally, Horton Hears a Who! is a kids' movie but, as is often the case with today's animated features, care is taken to include material that works on two levels. This enables adults who accompany their offspring to stave off boredom. While I would not place Horton Hears a Who! on the same level as some of the best animated films, it's acceptable family fare...Few kids who seek out Horton will regret doing so - a view perhaps shared by those who ferry them fro. - James Berardinelli