Horton the elephant introduced me to science-fiction. Or, more accurately, Dr. Seuss did. The idea that an entire civilization might be located on a speck, and that speck is located on a clover, and that clover is held in the trunk of an elephant? Then what if WE are. . .  yep, introduced me to sci-fi – and to philosphy, come to think of it.

It taught goodness: “A person is a person no matter how small!” and “An elephant’s faithful, 100%”! And it taught me a lot about intolerance too. That kangaroo is a dead ringer for the kind of anti-video game moralist all too familiar to people like me.

So I took the children and my wife to the matinee today with a little fear in my heart. I didn’t like the Grinch remake and I hated the Cat in the Hat movie with a passion that still burns. Would I also hate this one? How could they expand it to movie length? Why does the trailer have so much slapstick crotch humor?

Good news. While not perfect, Horton Hears a Who is an admirable adaptation and the performances are wonderful. Stand-outs include Carol Burnett as the kangaroo, Will Arnett as Vlad the Buzzard, and Carell as the hapless “boob” of a mayor. The movie doesn’t rhyme, Horton is adorable but Jim Carrey’s voice isn’t ideal for such a sweet character, and surprisingly the padding, new characters, and the ending, really work and feel like Seuss was involved. Maybe he caught a screening of Cat in the Hat and had a hand in this one.

The MPAA has rated Horton “G- General Audiences” and that’s just about right. There is some annoying crotch humor, in fact most of the humor comes from pain, but the movie itself is sweet and does justice to the classic story. Whether you like it or not doesn’t matter – it’s nice to take the kids to a sweet and safe movie that’s also exciting, thoughful, and the CGI is gorgeous.

Or to put it another way, if you don’t take your kids – the kangaroo might win!

Tags: Misc