Over the past few years, adaptations of Dr. Seuss books to the silver screen have been less than successful. The less said about the live adaptations of How The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat and The Hat the better. However the losing streak is over with the CGI adaptation of Horton Hears A Who!
Horton Hears A Who! stars Jim Carrey as the titular elephant Horton, who hears a tiny yelp coming from a dust speck floating past him in the air. He believes that entire families of microscopic creatures are living on that speck. Horton then learns that the speck contains the city of Whoville and all its inhabitants who are led by Mayor Ned McDodd (Steve Carell).
Horton needs to find a stable home for Whoville or it will be destroyed, and Horton has to overcome many obstacles including defending himself and the speck from the narrow-mindedness of Kangaroo (Carol Burnett). She thinks thinks Horton is making it all up and wants to stop his antics because it’s disrupting the order she likes to maintain.
The movie is a lot of fun and re-teams Jim Carrey and Steve Carell for the first time since Bruce Almighty. Whoever thought Carrey and Carell would be perfect for voice-over work was correct. If you’ve seen Carrey’s earlier work like The Mask, you know he’s a living cartoon; the duo is funny without being too over the top, and Carrey’s antics as Horton are a perfect fit while Carell’s timing and delivery are perfect for his portrayal of the mayor.
Horton Hears A Who! is loaded with extras, much more than you would think a children’s DVD would have. It could be the producers realize that adults will be watching with their kids and wanted them to have something to watch as well.
Starting things off is a commentary with co-directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino. The duo includes details about concepts and the design of the film and what went into making the film and how it was to work with Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. Speaking of that duo, there’s supposed to be a commentary by them on the disc’s second side. However Fox only sent a screener that had one side, so if this is true, you’ll have to get the finished product to find out!
Article comments