Film Reviews

Horton Hears a Who!

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Isla Fisher
• Details: US / 90mins (G).

After The Cat In The Hat, Hollywood return to Dr. Seuss for more material - but this time, they opt for animation instead of live action, and what a great decision it is. While going about his business in the jungle, Horton the elephant (Carrey) hears a voice coming from a speck on a clover. Deep inside the speck is the miniscule universe of Whoville, which is overseen by the goofy mayor (Carell). Horton vows to protect the speck, despite his friends' objections: "If you can't see, hear or feel something, it doesn't exist." Horton believes though: "A person is a person, no matter how small." Likewise, the mayor tries to convince Whoville that there's a massive invisible elephant in the sky. Horton Hears A Who has a noble message for the young 'uns: we're not alone in the universe, and there's a benevolent force guiding the light at the end of the tunnel. It mightn't be a God as such (it could be a big dumb elephant), but it's of a decent sort. By the end, however, the message ties itself up in knots. The stop/start nature of the flick kills any momentum it tries to build, and the usual celeb voices (Will Arnett, Jonah Hill, Dan Fogler, Seth Rogen, Jaime Pressly) - although I had no idea who were involved until I checked - pitch in. This, again, brings up the point: if we can't tell who's who, and the kids can't tell who's who, then what's the point in having them? Give the cash to actors who need a break. These critiques, however, are moot points as the kids will get a kick out of the rhyming narration and all the shenanigans that go on.

Review by Gavin Burke