Horton Hears a Who!

After two failed attempts to bring Dr. Seuss' world to the big screen in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat, Hollywood has finally produced a film the doctor would be proud of. Provided by the creators of Ice Age, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who! is a computer-animated film based on the book with the same name.

The film begins with the story of Horton (Jim Carrey), an over-zealous, over-sized elephant who hears a cry from a small speck. It turns out the speck is actually a tiny world containing a tiny city called Who-ville. The microscopic city on the microscopic speck is inhabited by microscopic inhabitants known as Whos, including the mayor of Who-ville, Ned O'Malley (Steve Carell). The mayor of Who-ville asks Horton, even though he cannot see him is able to hear him quite well, to protect the Whos from harm. Horton happily complies to his request, resulting in much ridicule from his fellow creatures in the Jungle of Null. His chief tormentor is Kangaroo (Carol Burnett), who wants to retain her superiority over the jungle by destroying the speck, evening hiring a vulture hitman,Vlad Vladikoff (Will Arnett) to carry out her dirty work.

Since being adapted from a children's book, some additional aspects had to be added to the story to fill-in for a full-length motion picture resulting in some slow spots. Blue Sky Studios did a wonderful job on the animation capturing Dr. Seuss' crazy world perfectly with bright and exuberant colors that are full of life. I especially enjoyed the scene where the film goes into an anime montage mocking the bad lip-syncing flaw that many Japanese dubs perfect.

The film is full of star-studded actors providing their voices for the characters of the jungle and the city of Who-ville. Less-outlandish than normal performances are provided by Jim Carrey and Steve Carell for the voices of the lead characters. This is the second film Jim Carrey and Steve Carell have appeared in together since the 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty. This also marks the second Dr. Seuss adaptation in which Jim Carrey has appeared, the other being the Ron Howard directed How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

The film contains many messages that I believe are important to the development of today's youth. The film conveys the messages of never giving up on what you believe in, and always finishing what you start no matter how difficult the outcome. Horton proclaims throughout the film that "a person's a person, no matter how small." The film not only provides great entertainment for children, it also teaches them valuable lessons in the process. Couldn't ask for more from a perfect film.

With a rating of G, the film is a perfect family film for all ages. The film may not provide the laughs for adults like the Shrek trilogy, but it is an exceptional film for children none the less. This film would have made Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel proud.