Poll: An Excessively Visual Review: "Horton Hears A Who"

[Hat of Controversy]

HORTON HEARS A WHO​

[small]A Movie Review by - Kyle "Tootmania" Sorrell[/small]​

Horton Hears A Who (Directed by Jimmy Hayward, and also created by the same team behind the popular Ice Age franchise) is the first fully CGI-animated film based on one of the many children's stories created by Dr. Seuss. It follows the story of an eccentric, yet lovable elephant named Horton (voiced by Jim Carrey), who, whilst going about his usual business in the jungle of Nool, comes across a speck on a clover, from which he hears the cries and musings of a microscopic city known as Who-ville.

Horton, by chance, discovers a way to communicate with the mayor of Who-ville (Ned McDodd - voiced by Steve Carell), where in they learn that if they do not find a safe, stable location for the clover in which the Who's inhabit, their world will collapse. Horton, being the sharp-eyed mammal that he is, notices the perfect spot up top of Mount Nool, and sets out to relocate Who-ville in it's rightful place.

Here's a picture that basically summarizes what kind of vibe or experience one can expect from this film:

Spoiler: Visual Summary of Horton Hears A Who

Horton Hears A Who, more or less, runs like a long, expensive episode of Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny or Looney Tunes. Not that it's a bad thing. Perhaps the single greatest aspect of this film is how bright and energetic and "zany" everything is. Not a moment goes by without someone zipping across the screen as a colorful motion blur, or some law of physics being broken, or Horton being, well, Horton.

There are many, perhaps too many, movies out now based around talking CGI-animals, but so few ever take as full advantage of the medium as this film does. Sure, you could criticize the fact that the architecture in Who-ville is technically impossible, or that an elephant inflating his trunk like a balloon help him float over a tight rope is downright mad, but there in lies the fun! There in lies the purpose, the entire point of using computer generated graphics to begin with - to make the impossible, possible. Well, at least in products of the entertainment industry.

As you may have guessed, Horton Hears A Who is a visually magnificent film. Dr. Seuss' whimsical flair and deceptively simple, loopy, and imaginative designs stay true. And the excellent,, over-the-top voice acting and animation only make it seem all the greater. Though it is not perfect. In fact, it is far from it.

One of the biggest issues holding it back from being a classic is that the whole package feels "light". Not on the visual side of things, perhaps, but more specifically the writing, and the plot. There are quite a few moments that feel like "filler". For instance, there's a scene where Horton just out of the blue, feels like dancing. And does he dance. Good eye-candy for the kids, but it still feels like a waste of time, no less. There is even an entire segment complete with Japanese-inspired animation, which, while well done (Thanks to the excellent work of Michel Gagne [http://www.gagneint.com/Final%20site/Whatsnew/archive/2008/04_apr/index.html]), again does almost nothing but stall for time.

Spoiler: Scene from the Anime sequence

Another problem, though perhaps more of a personal criticism, would be some of the support characters, and even the other main character, the Mayor.

While Horton establishes himself as the lovable eccentric right off the bat, the Mayor of Who-ville basically plays alongside him, almost as if trying to upstage him in the wackiness department. Though his antics tend to come across as somewhat flat and illegitimate in comparison.

There are also a fair amount of, for the most part, under-used/ineffectual support characters as well. Most of which add nothing of value or substance to the film. Some may also not like how "overactive" the characters are animated. Most everything here as a very bouncy, sporadic feel to its movement. Again, some may find it aesthetically displeasing.

At its core, though, Horton Hears A Who is definitely a fun, fresh movie that will most assuredly please the little ones, and may even have the parents feeling gleeful as well. It's at the very least worth a rental, just so you can experience the whimsical mayhem of Dr. Seuss in full 3D.

 

[Hat of Controversy]

To this day I've not seen this movie, which is odd, normally I'd be all over something like this. I suppose I'll have to get around to it one of these days.

Not a bad review, I do say. Perhaps a bit more meat for the next one, to be sure, but I do like all the pictures. Some people like myself write walls of text, some write a lighter sort, which is perfectly fine. A few grammatical tics here and there (and may even have the parents in feeling gleeful as well) but you'll work those out.

And I quite like the visual representation, be sure to keep those, you could create some right wonky ones depending on the movie.

Also the anime picture doesn't load for me, perhaps just me but it might be on your end.

Huh, that's weird, the Anime-sequence thing loads fine for me. I'll re-check the BBCode.

 

[Drundy]

It looks like a very cute movie.....if you have 5 years old!heheh heh....I kinda want to see it now

 

[kawaiiamethist]

The anime scene doesn't work for me either.

Good review. I haven't seen the film yet, but then I hadn't heard of the book prior to release, so I wasn't in a rush to seek it out.

 

[Hat of Controversy]

Now the anime scene is showing u--..... THAT's in the movie?

Well hell, I have to see this now, if only to see how they could possibly fit that in.

It kind of doesn't, honestly. But it IS fun to watch, none the less!

 

[AvsJoe]

I enjoyed the movie. It was good plain fun and Jim Carrey is a hoot as Horton. I only wish I had seen this movie as a kid growing up; it would be in my all-time favourites.