Horton Hears a Who! (film)

Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who!
Promotional poster
Directed by	Jimmy Hayward Steve Martino (co-director)
Written by	Dr. Seuss (book and story) Ken Daurio (screenplay) Cinco Paul (screenplay)
Produced by	Bob Gordon Audrey Geisel (executive producer) Christopher Meledandri (executive producer) Chris Wedge (executive producer)
Starring	Jim Carrey Steve Carell Carol Burnett Dan Fogler Will Arnett Amy Poehler Jaime Pressly Seth Rogen Jonah Hill Isla Fisher
Narrated by	Charles Osgood
Music by	John Powell
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	March 14, 2008
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$85 million (according to Box Office Mojo)

Horton Hears a Who! (also known as Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!) is a 2008 American computer-generated imagery (CGI) movie, based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name and the fourth feature film from Blue Sky Studios. It is the first Dr. Seuss adaptation fully animated using CGI technology. The film is rated "G" by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The film was directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, based on a screenplay written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul. The film was produced by Bob Gordon, Audrey Geisel, Christopher Meledandri and Chris Wedge. Christian Kaplan was the casting director and music was provided by John Powell. This is the second film to feature both Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, who provide the voices of Horton and the Mayor of Whoville, respectively. This also marks the second Dr. Seuss adaptation to feature Jim Carrey, the first being The Grinch.

Plot

On the fifteenth of May, a chestnut fell off of a tree, and then it landed right smack dab on a daisy. Then a small dust speck was picked up by a breeze, into the Jungle of Nool through the bushes and trees. Elsewhere that day, in the Jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool, he was splashing. Enjoying the jungle’s great joys. When Horton the Elephant heard a small noise. So Horton stopped splashing he looked towards the sound. “That’s funny,” thought Horton, “there’s no one around.”

Soon after, Horton's students came down by the pool, and he taught them about the creatures of the Jungle of Nool. Then heard it again! Just a very faint yelp as if some tiny person were calling for help. He looked and he looked. He could see nothing there but that small speck of dust floating past through the air. Most highly peculiar, he never heard tell of a small speck of dust that was able to yell. So you know what he thought, he thought that there must have been someone on top of that small speck of dust. Some poor little person for all that we know, with a family and children just starting to grow. He just had to save them because after all, a person's a person, no matter how small. So Horton chased after the dust speck with care, trying to catch it as it drifted through the air. Until finally, at last, he carried it over by placing it down safe on a very soft clover.

Horton’s belief was big lie to a Sour Kangaroo (the type who’s convinced she knows better than you). She made every law and enforced every rule as self-proclaimed Head of the Jungle of Nool. She said for the children, he should not say a peep or his troubles in the Jungle would go very steep.

Now there are some people, I think I know who, may probably agree with that Sour Kangaroo. But through thorough investigations he’d soon find with delight that there were people on that speck. Yes, Horton was right. He said a “HELLO!” that traveled all the way down to the speck into the clouds until it found a small town. A small town called Who-ville, the home of the Whos living safe happy lives for they heard only good news. They had no idea they were on a speck on a clover, and that their new troubles were far, far from over.

The Mayor of Whoville, a man named Ned, was a kind loyal person, but a bit odd in the head. The Mayor and his wife, Sally, they had children to spare. Ninety-six daughters, some here, and some there. Ninety-six girls to love. Ninety-six girls to teach. But the Mayor had only twelve seconds for each. In Who-ville’s division, unlike yours or mine, the Mayor’s oldest is next in the mayoral line. And who was the oldest to lead and stand tall? It was Jojo, his only son, the smallest Who of all. As you would find out it was obviously clear that Jojo didn’t want his father’s career. But the Mayor always pressed forward, completely deluded. And Jojo always just stood there in silence and brooded. Why didn’t he speak? It’s obvious the lad didn’t want to say anything that would upset his dad.

The Mayor was on his daily route and I must say, he noted that unusual things were happening that day. Though he tried to postpone the Who Centennial, the Council had a strong belief that nothing in Who-ville had and will ever go wrong.

The Mayor soon finds he was right. He makes contact with Horton and learns with great fright the world that the Whos lived in was a small speck of dust. So the Mayor and Horton had to find a safe place for it. They should. And they must. Soon after, Horton saw at the top of Mt. Nool a small cave that looked peaceful and quiet and cool where a sunflower grew proud and tall from the ground. There Horton knew every Who would be safe, would be sound.

In the meantime, Horton's enthusiastic students have adopted the beliefs that there are other worlds beyond their jungle habitat, and have now "found" worlds of their own. This news re-attracts Kangaroo's attention, and this time she angrily orders Horton to hand over the clover, to which he refuses on account of her stubborn will to destroy it. From here, Horton and Kangaroo part as enemies.

Meanwhile, on the clover, the Mayor is witnessing the natural oddities that are happening, and realizes that things are becoming even more unstable. Kangaroo, now mad with power, enlists the services of eagle hit man Vlad Vladikoff, though she only does this by pretending to go to the Wickershams, a similarly gangish group of simians led by their hot-tempered boss Yummo. As Horton endeavors to stop Vlad from attacking the speck, the Mayor decides now is the time to inform the Whos of Horton's existence. Though this is a failed attempt at first, the Whos are finally convinced when a huge earthquake hits as a result of Vlad dropping the clover somewhere inside, of a great patch of clover one hundred miles wide. Though it is a very distressingly painstaking effort, Horton finds the speck at last. When initially there is no response upon his discovery of the right clover, Horton tearfully fears the inhabitants have died, but thankfully, this is proven otherwise. Now Horton's resolve for the city's safety strengthens even more, though future trouble is on the horizon.

Just as Vlad informs Kangaroo of his terrible deed, Mrs. Quilligan, a jungle citizen, informs Kangaroo that Horton still has the clover. Kangaroo is now enraged, and falsely testifies to the people that Horton is the cause of a chaos that has swept their jungle, and "for the children", they must destroy his speck. The quaint people quickly evolve into an angry mob, who chase down Horton, trapping him. Kangaroo mockingly offers Horton an ultimatum: admit he was wrong and be spared, or refuse and be caged, treated like a slave. Horton boldly refuses, and explains to the people that Whoville does indeed exist. Though his speech is indeed powerful, Kangaroo orders his arrest. She orders the clover to be dropped in a boiling pot of beezelnut oil. What then results is a full-fledged effort by Whoville, by way of loud instruments and by their own powerful voices, to prove their existence. Unfortunately, the noises prove too weak to be heard outside of their small world. Fortunately, the Mayor finds Jojo, and learns of his incredible music talent and that he was creating an enormous music machine in the observatory. They return to Whoville, but the additional noise by Jojo's machine is still not enough. So at the Mayor's office, Jojo takes the sounding horn his father was using to communicate with Horton, rushes to the roof and sounds off with it. Just before Kangaroo's dropping of the clover meets the stew, Rudy, Kangaroo's son, saves it, having heard the Jojo's sound as the final contribution necessary to allow the Who's to be heard. At that event, Rudy firmly supports Horton's assertion about the existence of the Who's with this evidence. Kangaroo tries to rally the jungle folk into taking the speck after Rudy refuses to return it to her, but the truth is now revealed and everyone reproaches her for the atrocity she almost made them do.

Rudy hands the clover to Horton. Horton and the Mayor share a moment of happiness along with the rest of the jungle folk, which is emphasized by the arrival of the "bunny" Vlad, who hands Horton a cookie. Kangaroo is visibly humiliated and shameful, but Horton shows his forgiveness by handing her his cookie. In return, a grateful and humbled Kangaroo holds up an umbrella to shelter the speck for the journey, and after everyone, including Jojo, sings a rendition of "Can't Fight This Feeling", the crowd, led by Horton, Kangaroo, and Rudy, head towards Mt. Nool to place the speck where it belongs. The camera then pans out to show that the jungle of Nool is, like Whoville, floating among many other worlds out in space.

Characters

• Horton the Elephant, voiced by Jim Carrey. Horton is a kind, sweet-natured, imaginative elephant who cares about others. When a voice from a dust speck emanates in the air, he decides to save it, catching the speck of dust on a clover flower which he then carries about in his trunk. Once he finds out the speck harbors the tiny city of Whoville and all its inhabitants, Horton is determined to protect the Whos from danger. Over the movie, he faces danger and disrespect from his newfound enemies who endeavor to destroy the clover flower, but he stands strong to his beliefs, all while being a good friend and hero.

• Ned O' Malley, The Mayor of Who-ville, voiced by Steve Carell. Ned O'Malley is the mayor of a microscopic world, and father of ninety-six daughters and a son named Jo-Jo. He is very proud and formal, and cares very much for his city and its people, but when he starts hearing the voice of Horton, whom he cannot see, things begin to unravel for the Mayor.

• Sour Kangaroo, voiced by Carol Burnett. Sour Kangaroo is a busybody who is skeptical about the existence of the Whos and Whoville on a dust speck. However, as Horton's claims begin to drive her towards darkness, she believes that once other people start listening to Horton, they'll start to come to her for questions she won't be able to answer. In order to be rid of it she begins making deals with evil monkeys and the eagle hitman Vlad Vladikoff. As the movie progresses, her aims start to shift towards crushing Horton's spirit and building up her own reputation. Sour Kangaroo is too dismissive of the products of imagination and creativity even to the point she keeps her son Rudy jammed inside her pouch, leaving her with back problems and him with emotional ones. She believes that outside the "comfort" her ideas provide him, non-conformity and anarchy are minutes away from turning their ordered life into chaos.Yet, in the end, all it takes is a simple act of friendship from Horton to cause a change of heart.

• Jojo O'Malley, voiced by Jesse McCartney. Jojo the Mayor's teenage son and the oldest of the mayor's children. Like other teenage boys, he has a glum, sarcastic disposition. Being the oldest of 97 kids, Jojo is next in line to become the Mayor of Whoville, though he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps. In order to keep from disappointing his dad, he finds it best not to talk at all. However, he is able to hear rhythmic patterns in just about anything. His undiscovered voice is a vital asset for the Whos' survival, and he can be pretty loud. He also shows a surprising talent for inventions. He is also the only boy out of all the 97 children.

• Vlad Vladikoff, voiced by Will Arnett. Vlad is a black bottomed eagle who wants to be an evil villain. His greasy feathers, badly butchered English, and hermit lifestyle are all part of his carefully self-manicured bad guy persona. He lives in a hidden cave where he's free to practice his tactics of terror and hone his theatrical flair, hoping someday to be called upon to be a supervillain. He gets his chance when hired by Sour Kangaroo to get rid of the clover that the dust speck is sitting on. His first attempt is unsuccessful, but on the second try, he manages to carry out his job of hiding the clover. Curiously, his voice actor Will Arnett plays the eagle hitman hired by Sour Kangaroo, while in Ice Age: The Meltdown, Arnett played the cynical vulture known as the Lone Gunslinger who warned the characters about the flood. This marks the second Blue Sky Studios film in which Will Arnett is cast as a bird.

• Morton, voiced by Seth Rogen. Morton is Horton's best friend, and is the only animal in the Jungle of Nool who supports him. Even if he doesn't believe Horton, which he may or may not, he seems to be the only character trying to keep the elephant focused.

• Sally O'Malley, voiced by Amy Poehler. Sally the Mayor's wife and mother of ninety six daughters and one son named Jojo. With all of these children, Sally's responsibilities dwarf even those of her husband. Still, she's able to juggle them with the grace of a first lady and the humor of a late-night talk show host. The last thing she needs is another problem child with an overactive imagination, but when her husband starts hearing voices, that's exactly what she gets. It's a situation even her sharp wit and pointed sarcasm can't defuse.

• Rudy, voiced by Josh Flitter. Rudy is Sour Kangaroo's young joey. Since his birth, he's been trapped in his mother's pouch, in which he now spends all his time in his mom's pouch. Over the course of the movie, he starts to question his mother's ethics as she continually tries to demolish the clover on which Horton has caught the Whos' speck of dust. Years after he should have been on his own two feet, his giant legs are crammed next to his head in an unnatural (and uncomfortable) position. But his stifling environment can't contain his freethinking spirit, and Rudy is ready to take the next step, even if it's his first.

• Yummo, voiced by Dan Fogler. Yummo is the tyrannical leader of the Wickersham brothers who endlessly berates Horton throughout the film for his imagination and theories of life other than that on Earth. He's hot-tempered, power-hungry, and just plain hungry. His constant greed for food rapidly increases his size and bulk.

• Doctor Larue, voiced by Isla Fisher. Dr. Larue is an eccentric Whoville scientist who can be a bit scatterbrained at times. However, being fresh out of Who University, she is willing to help the Mayor find out how they can preserve the peace that holds their town together. She even decides to put her self-peeling potato research aside to help the Mayor save Whoville.

• Tommy, voiced by Jonah Hill.

Marketing

On February 18, 2008, Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Carol Burnett all appeared on the The Oprah Winfrey Show promoting the movie. Between February 29, 2008 and March 2, 2008, ABC Family showed a "first look" of the film during their Harry Potter weekend. IHOP has also presented a promotional menu, featuring "Who Cakes" (odd colored pancakes), "Beezlenut Splash" (a soda containing Jello cubes), and "Green Eggs and Ham". On March 13, 2008, Steve Carell appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where a short clip of the movie was shown. Jim Carrey appeared on American Idol dressed in a Horton costume.

Trailer

The first teaser trailer for the movie was shown alongside The Simpsons Movie. It features The Mayor of Whoville discovering that the world on which he lives is just a tiny speck. Horton the Elephant informs him of this astonishing fact. The theatrical trailer was released alongside Alvin and the Chipmunks on December 14 2007.

Critical reception

The film has received generally positive reviews from both critics and audiences. As of March 14, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 82% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 87 reviews, and it also has an 87% rating from the top critics on the site based on 30 reviews and a 78% user rating. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 71 out of 100, based on 29 reviews and a 9.2 out of 10 from users on the site.

Controversy

During the Los Angeles premiere of the film, pro-life demonstrators yelled immediately following one of Horton's lines, "A person's a person, no matter how small." Pro-life organizations believe the Horton quote affirms their belief that human life begins at conception. Karl ZoBell has represented the interests of Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel) and his widow, Audrey Geisel, for 40 years. According to ZoBell, Audrey "doesn't like people to hijack Dr. Seuss characters or material to front their own points of view."

Box office performance

In its opening weekend, the film grossed an estimate $45.1 million in 3,954 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office. The film had the 4th largest opening weekend in March, behind 300, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Ice Age.

External links

• Official site
• Horton Hears a Who! at IMDb
• Horton Hears a Who! at Rotten Tomatoes
• Horton Hears a Who! at Metacritic
• Horton Hears a Who! at Box Office Mojo
• Horton Hears a Who! at AllMovie
• Trailer at Apple.com
• Trailer at THX.com