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The casting for
the most part is rather brilliant. Though having Carol Burnett as the
Kangaroo is an odd bit of a role, she’s rather good as the resident
antagonist who is so centered on her elitism and status quo that she
can’t quite appreciate Horton’s purpose as a hero and protector. She’s
an insistent shrew who wants normalcy from Horton, but he persists and
endures the scrutiny of his friends. Steve Carrell as the mayor of
Whoville is rather fantastic regardless of the change to the original
character. Adding the personality of the everyman, Carrell excels as
this man who also faces severe scrutiny when he discovers Horton above
him and doesn’t know how to handle it.
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The mishaps
he has in a dentist office to his battles with his wife who
watches him grasp the concept of this elephant all make for
rather amusing sequences and Carrell takes to the
performance with his usual skill and comic timing. The
animation team provides a bang up job here making the world
of Horton and the Who’s awfully appealing to the eye.
Horton’s look is very faithful to the original book with a
very expressive personality and extra touch of delusion
added to him that makes him charmingly goofy to watch during
his adventure. |
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“Horton” makes the right decision of using animation this time
around and pumps the screen with skilled comedians and it pays off
to a certain extent as the adventures end up rather amusing. Jonah
Hill, Isla Fischer, and Seth Rogen are for the most part difficult
to make out amidst the rest of the cast, but they make due with
their roles, while Amy Poehler is entertaining as his put upon
doting wife. The constant tonal shift in animated styles also adds a
sense if creativity, particularly when Horton envisions himself as
an anime hero. “Horton” is much more above par than junk like
“College Road Trip” and will thankfully instill in your children a
sense of heroism that Seuss’s original book did, even if it deviates
from the source material greatly.
Many people will
reason for “Horton” that it’s a good movie because, it’s much better
than the previous attempts. And frankly, I’m not buying it. Is “Horton”
as bad as the previous live action attempts? No way in bloody hell. But
is it good enough to be a classic? No way in bloody hell. As an animated
effort, it has the right idea, it just doesn’t know how to compose Seuss
without turning itself into another “Shrek,” and I prayed this movie
would have sense enough to not aspire to appeal to that audience and yet
it did. I hate to be one of those people, but when you start chugging
MySpace jokes and musical numbers involving a cheesy eighties song, you
have to realize that it has no place in a Dr. Seuss story. In all
honesty, this isn’t really a Dr. Seuss story, just like those awful live
action films weren’t. It’s really just “Madagascar” inspired by Dr.
Seuss themes, while also attempting to pass off some theological
overtones that are simply too much to enjoy most times. Paired with the
insufferable pop culture reference, Carrey is much too over the top as a
character who is supposed to be humble and soft spoken; it feels like
the roles should be reversed when the film was done. Carrell is much
better with humility and innocence, while Carrey would better fit the
mayor as this zany eccentric politician forced with the prospect of his
world under the mercy of a heroic elephant. “Horton” has every
opportunity to be absolutely fantastic and instead just wants to settle
on mediocre. While I’d love to say, at least it’s not “Cat in the Hat,”
I won’t settle for average. Because Dr. Seuss is not average.
I guess that
there are much worse family alternatives than “Horton Hears a Who,” when
all is said and done. It’s not entirely the best adaptation of Seuss, as
it constantly proves to be nothing more than mediocre, but I’ll tell you
what: It’s better than live action “Cat in the Hat,” and “The Grinch,”
even if that’s not saying much.
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