Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Horton Hears a Who! (2008)--2/5

“Horton Hears a Who!” is about belief of some sort. Perhaps problematically, it could be supported in equal measure by religious and atheist viewers.

Horton is the gentle god of Whoville. As he journeys to bring Whoville to safety, his every footstep is felt as a tremor in the speck that is their world.* The shrill non-believer Sour Kangaroo gathers a mob of Jungle of Nool creatures to encage Horton and destroy the speck.

On the other hand, the film can be read as anti-religious. Sour Kangaroo’s fears of Horton’s blind faith have a practical answer. Whoville is just a world of little-known creatures living contemporaneously with everyone else. They can be heard. And presumably, they can be seen under magnification.

Regardless, “Horton Hears a Who!” is a too-simple journey of anthropomorphic creatures punctuated by embarrassing pop-culture references. Watch almost any animated film from the past ten years to see the same damn thing.

Dr. Seuss’s art is 3D-ified with decent returns. (Except for the evil monkeys, who all resemble the magician Teller.) Horton himself has an adorable pudginess and bounding gait. By embodying Horton's caring spirit, Jim Carrey almost atones for "The Grinch." Time after time, right when everything seems to be coming together, the script undercuts the mood. Case in point: during the denouement, the cast sings REO Speedwagon.

As with all recent Dr. Seuss films, “Horton Hears a Who” should have remained on the shelf. As a book. Because books are stored on shelves.


*Rather, every footstep should be felt; the film is selective in what actually affects Whoville.



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