Title: "Horton Hears A Who!"
Director: Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino
Producer: B. Gordon and B. Anderson
Editing: Tim Nordquist
Composer: John Powell
Starring:
- Jim Carrey as the voice of Horton the Elephant
- Steve Carell as the voice of Ned McDodd, the Mayor of Whoville
- Carol Burnett as the voice of Sour Kangaroo
- Jesse McCartney as the voice of JoJo McDodd
- Will Arnett as the voice of Vlad Vladikoff
Plot and Critical Review: On the fifteenth of May in the Jungle of Nool , a caring, imaginative elephant named Horton, the jungle's nature teacher, takes a dip in the pool. A dust speck floats past him and he hears a tiny yelp coming from it. Believing that an entire family of microscopic creatures are living on that speck, he places it on top of a pink, fuzzy clover that he holds in his trunk. He discovers that the speck harbors the city of Who-ville and all its inhabitants, led by Mayor Ned McDodd. The Mayor has a loving wife, Sally, 96 daughters who all have names that start with the letter H, and one teenage son named JoJo, who, by Who custom, is next in line for the mayoral position. But JoJo doesn't want to become Mayor, which leads him to become sullen and almost never speak even though Ned gives him extra attention.
The Mayor finds out from Dr. LaRue that Who-ville will be destroyed if Horton does not find a "safer more stable home" for the speck. So Horton resolves to place the speck atop Mt. Nool, the safest place in the jungle. The mission earns Horton nothing but ridicule from the inhabitants of Nool, especially from the strict Sour Kangaroo who tries to get Horton to give up the speck so as not to put supposedly ridiculous ideas into the heads of the children. Horton refuses. Also trying to stop Horton are the Wickersham brothers, a group of bullying monkeys.
All the small incidents that Horton experiences on his trek across the jungle have a catastrophic effect on Who-ville. He almost falls off a rickety bridge over a gaping chasm which causes a dentist's needle to accidentally slip into the Mayor's arm while getting a root canal. When Horton left the clover outside overnight, it frosted over, creating winter-conditions in the summer time in Who-ville. As the other Whos become suspicious the Mayor finally reveals the truth, but the Whos do not believe him any more due to the Chairman than the animals believe Horton.
In the meantime, the Kangaroo has enlisted a nefarious buzzard named Vlad Vladikoff to get rid of the speck by force. Vlad manages to steal the clover with the speck on it, flee from a chasing Horton and drop it into a valley full of nearly identical clovers, (the one holding the speck has a striped stem). The impact nearly demolishes Who-ville like an earthquake. Horton painstakingly picks 2,999,999 clovers through the field and finally finds it "on the 3 millionth flower." The earthquake, combined with hearing Horton's voice through the drain pipe, is enough to convince the rest of the Whos that the mayor is not crazy, and they all tell Horton they believe in him. Mrs. Quilligan finds Horton holding with the clover and warns the Kangaroo.
The Kangaroo's patience has completely run out. She reminds Horton that he is poisoning the minds of the children in his class. She also says that the speck must be destroyed and that she won't let him take the clover to Mt. Nool. In the next scene Morton runs to warn Horton that Kangaroo is after him but Horton won't listen. Morton is trampled by a stampede and the animals plan to rope and cage Horton. They chant "Rope him!" and "Cage him!" but the Kangaroo turns this into a chance for attention and offers Horton an ultimatum: give up the speck and "admit" he was wrong and that she was right, or pay the price for his disobedience. Despite a heartfelt speech from Horton, Kangaroo commands the animals to "rope him, cage him and burn that speck on the pot of boiling beezlenut oil" in order to "teachnot to make up stories of people on specks."
The Mayor enlists all of his people to make noise by shouting "We are here" so the animals can hear them. JoJo runs off to Who-ville's abandoned Star-Studying Tower and Ned takes off after him. Inside, JoJo reveals his ingenious invention: the Symphony-Phone, a giant machine that serves as an orchestra, and proceeds to add it to the mix of sounds. Still, the sound isn't loud enough. The clouds are starting to break off. The animals do not hear anything and the Kangaroo, who has had Horton caged, takes the clover, holds it over the oil and releases it. At the last moment JoJo grabs the horn used to project Horton's voice, runs up the highest tower and yells "Yopp!" As the speck is falling into the oil, a sound wave emerges and ripples up to the clouds and collides with them, causing the clouds to break and the sound to come through.
Hearing the Whos' cries, Rudy, Kangaroo's son (who has been in his mother's pouch throughout the film despite being old enough to be out and on his own), grabs the clover before it hits the oil and returns it to Horton. The animals finally realize the atrocity they almost committed. Horton sees that Kangaroo is miserable and ashamed because of her behavior, but Horton forgives her and offers his friendship which the Kangaroo accepts.
"Horton..." is a well-produced and excellently-animated film that helps to open up Dr. Seuss' world of wonder and myth to new generations of readers and moviegoers alike. While some artistic liberties are taken (when aren't they?), the heart of the story is in tact and clearly communicated. Even the most passionate Seuss followers ought to be pleased with this project.
My Rating: 6.5/10
Content to Caution:
V-1 - Vlad isn't very nice to Horton, nor is Kangaroo and the animals who cage him and make him watch as Kangaroo attempts to destroy the speck.
L-1 - Some very very mild abusive language.
DU-0 - No comment.
RT-? – Some of the species in the jungle think poorly of other species, and there's tension between the animals in the jungle and the occupants of Who-ville.
H/S-1 - Things are a bit tense in some spots which involve the endangering of the speck.
CH-0 – No comment.
S/N-0 – No comment.
The "Reel Revelation": "A person is a person..."
"A person is a person, no matter how small."
While this phrase makes no specific mention of abortion, pro-life supporters have turned to it for many years in defense of the pro-life argument. While there are many spiritual topics that deserve our attention and consideration, we must also turn our eyes to issues of justice and social concern. Chief among the many topics in that category is the issue of abortion.
I'm not going to pretend to offer answers to solve the pro-life/pro-choice dilemma. Nor am I going to try and convince you to take one side or the other. But it is important that we ask questions of ourselves, the Scriptures, and our God as we try to deal with the issue of abortion as Americans and Christians. In responding to both of those identities (which are difficult to fit together in the same sentence, it seems), I appreciate what Pope John Paul II said in his visit to American in 1999:
"America first proclaimed its independence on the basis of self-evident moral truths. America will remain a beacon of freedom for the world as long as it stands by those moral truths which are the very heart of its historical experience. And so America: If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life."
No surprise to hear a pro-life statement from the Pope, but how do you feel about his words? How do you feel about his admonition to Christians in American to "defend life" in order to achieve justice? I believe he offers a good challenge. So, how are we (as Americans) doing in "defending life"? Here's what the Little Rock Family Planning Services posted on their website during the Hurricane Katrina crisis:
"FREE ABORTIONS for Hurricane Katrina Survivors - At LRFPS [Little Rock Family Planning Services] we are offering abortions at no charge to victims of Hurricane Katrina. In order to receive this service you MUST have a government issued picture ID showing your home address in the following counties/parishes: Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock - Mississippi. Orleans, Kenner, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Jefferson, Charles, Terrabone, and St. James - Louisiana."
Is this how we seek after justice?
I could go on and on with quotes, links to news stories, and statistics from both sides of the argument, but I suspect you know how both parties feel about the issue at hand. Indeed, the details of this argument can easily overwhelm as we're made to consider the nature of life itself in attempting to determine whether a fetus is or is not alive at a certain point after conception. That seems to be enough to consider on its own, then we're thrust into a gauntlet of issues ranging from freedom for women to birth control. Does it end? And how do we get a grip on our own convictions when both sides are raging so vehemently to prove their point of view? That's why I love what Dr. Seuss wrote; it's so simple you can't possibly misinterpret, misquote, misrepresent, or misuse his words:
"A person is a person, no matter how small."
What about the Bible? Where does the Bible stand on the issue? The Scriptures are both dazzlingly clear and frustratingly unclear, depending upon your interpretation. And that is what is frustrates the issue even further, that people (Christians included) use the Bible against the opposing party. Is this how we seek after justice, by turning the strength of our own faith against one another? I'll leave you with David's reflection, a prayer of praise to God for the miracle that took place when he was conceived:
"For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them." (Psalm 139: 13-16)
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Director: Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino
Producer: B. Gordon and B. Anderson
Editing: Tim Nordquist
Composer: John Powell
Starring:
- Jim Carrey as the voice of Horton the Elephant
- Steve Carell as the voice of Ned McDodd, the Mayor of Whoville
- Carol Burnett as the voice of Sour Kangaroo
- Jesse McCartney as the voice of JoJo McDodd
- Will Arnett as the voice of Vlad Vladikoff
Plot and Critical Review: On the fifteenth of May in the Jungle of Nool , a caring, imaginative elephant named Horton, the jungle's nature teacher, takes a dip in the pool. A dust speck floats past him and he hears a tiny yelp coming from it. Believing that an entire family of microscopic creatures are living on that speck, he places it on top of a pink, fuzzy clover that he holds in his trunk. He discovers that the speck harbors the city of Who-ville and all its inhabitants, led by Mayor Ned McDodd. The Mayor has a loving wife, Sally, 96 daughters who all have names that start with the letter H, and one teenage son named JoJo, who, by Who custom, is next in line for the mayoral position. But JoJo doesn't want to become Mayor, which leads him to become sullen and almost never speak even though Ned gives him extra attention.
The Mayor finds out from Dr. LaRue that Who-ville will be destroyed if Horton does not find a "safer more stable home" for the speck. So Horton resolves to place the speck atop Mt. Nool, the safest place in the jungle. The mission earns Horton nothing but ridicule from the inhabitants of Nool, especially from the strict Sour Kangaroo who tries to get Horton to give up the speck so as not to put supposedly ridiculous ideas into the heads of the children. Horton refuses. Also trying to stop Horton are the Wickersham brothers, a group of bullying monkeys.
All the small incidents that Horton experiences on his trek across the jungle have a catastrophic effect on Who-ville. He almost falls off a rickety bridge over a gaping chasm which causes a dentist's needle to accidentally slip into the Mayor's arm while getting a root canal. When Horton left the clover outside overnight, it frosted over, creating winter-conditions in the summer time in Who-ville. As the other Whos become suspicious the Mayor finally reveals the truth, but the Whos do not believe him any more due to the Chairman than the animals believe Horton.
In the meantime, the Kangaroo has enlisted a nefarious buzzard named Vlad Vladikoff to get rid of the speck by force. Vlad manages to steal the clover with the speck on it, flee from a chasing Horton and drop it into a valley full of nearly identical clovers, (the one holding the speck has a striped stem). The impact nearly demolishes Who-ville like an earthquake. Horton painstakingly picks 2,999,999 clovers through the field and finally finds it "on the 3 millionth flower." The earthquake, combined with hearing Horton's voice through the drain pipe, is enough to convince the rest of the Whos that the mayor is not crazy, and they all tell Horton they believe in him. Mrs. Quilligan finds Horton holding with the clover and warns the Kangaroo.
The Kangaroo's patience has completely run out. She reminds Horton that he is poisoning the minds of the children in his class. She also says that the speck must be destroyed and that she won't let him take the clover to Mt. Nool. In the next scene Morton runs to warn Horton that Kangaroo is after him but Horton won't listen. Morton is trampled by a stampede and the animals plan to rope and cage Horton. They chant "Rope him!" and "Cage him!" but the Kangaroo turns this into a chance for attention and offers Horton an ultimatum: give up the speck and "admit" he was wrong and that she was right, or pay the price for his disobedience. Despite a heartfelt speech from Horton, Kangaroo commands the animals to "rope him, cage him and burn that speck on the pot of boiling beezlenut oil" in order to "teach
The Mayor enlists all of his people to make noise by shouting "We are here" so the animals can hear them. JoJo runs off to Who-ville's abandoned Star-Studying Tower and Ned takes off after him. Inside, JoJo reveals his ingenious invention: the Symphony-Phone, a giant machine that serves as an orchestra, and proceeds to add it to the mix of sounds. Still, the sound isn't loud enough. The clouds are starting to break off. The animals do not hear anything and the Kangaroo, who has had Horton caged, takes the clover, holds it over the oil and releases it. At the last moment JoJo grabs the horn used to project Horton's voice, runs up the highest tower and yells "Yopp!" As the speck is falling into the oil, a sound wave emerges and ripples up to the clouds and collides with them, causing the clouds to break and the sound to come through.
Hearing the Whos' cries, Rudy, Kangaroo's son (who has been in his mother's pouch throughout the film despite being old enough to be out and on his own), grabs the clover before it hits the oil and returns it to Horton. The animals finally realize the atrocity they almost committed. Horton sees that Kangaroo is miserable and ashamed because of her behavior, but Horton forgives her and offers his friendship which the Kangaroo accepts.
"Horton..." is a well-produced and excellently-animated film that helps to open up Dr. Seuss' world of wonder and myth to new generations of readers and moviegoers alike. While some artistic liberties are taken (when aren't they?), the heart of the story is in tact and clearly communicated. Even the most passionate Seuss followers ought to be pleased with this project.
My Rating:
Content to Caution:
V-1 - Vlad isn't very nice to Horton, nor is Kangaroo and the animals who cage him and make him watch as Kangaroo attempts to destroy the speck.
L-1 - Some very very mild abusive language.
DU-0 - No comment.
RT-? – Some of the species in the jungle think poorly of other species, and there's tension between the animals in the jungle and the occupants of Who-ville.
H/S-1 - Things are a bit tense in some spots which involve the endangering of the speck.
CH-0 – No comment.
S/N-0 – No comment.
The "Reel Revelation": "A person is a person..."
"A person is a person, no matter how small."
While this phrase makes no specific mention of abortion, pro-life supporters have turned to it for many years in defense of the pro-life argument. While there are many spiritual topics that deserve our attention and consideration, we must also turn our eyes to issues of justice and social concern. Chief among the many topics in that category is the issue of abortion.
I'm not going to pretend to offer answers to solve the pro-life/pro-choice dilemma. Nor am I going to try and convince you to take one side or the other. But it is important that we ask questions of ourselves, the Scriptures, and our God as we try to deal with the issue of abortion as Americans and Christians. In responding to both of those identities (which are difficult to fit together in the same sentence, it seems), I appreciate what Pope John Paul II said in his visit to American in 1999:
"America first proclaimed its independence on the basis of self-evident moral truths. America will remain a beacon of freedom for the world as long as it stands by those moral truths which are the very heart of its historical experience. And so America: If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life."
No surprise to hear a pro-life statement from the Pope, but how do you feel about his words? How do you feel about his admonition to Christians in American to "defend life" in order to achieve justice? I believe he offers a good challenge. So, how are we (as Americans) doing in "defending life"? Here's what the Little Rock Family Planning Services posted on their website during the Hurricane Katrina crisis:
"FREE ABORTIONS for Hurricane Katrina Survivors - At LRFPS [Little Rock Family Planning Services] we are offering abortions at no charge to victims of Hurricane Katrina. In order to receive this service you MUST have a government issued picture ID showing your home address in the following counties/parishes: Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock - Mississippi. Orleans, Kenner, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Jefferson, Charles, Terrabone, and St. James - Louisiana."
Is this how we seek after justice?
I could go on and on with quotes, links to news stories, and statistics from both sides of the argument, but I suspect you know how both parties feel about the issue at hand. Indeed, the details of this argument can easily overwhelm as we're made to consider the nature of life itself in attempting to determine whether a fetus is or is not alive at a certain point after conception. That seems to be enough to consider on its own, then we're thrust into a gauntlet of issues ranging from freedom for women to birth control. Does it end? And how do we get a grip on our own convictions when both sides are raging so vehemently to prove their point of view? That's why I love what Dr. Seuss wrote; it's so simple you can't possibly misinterpret, misquote, misrepresent, or misuse his words:
"A person is a person, no matter how small."
What about the Bible? Where does the Bible stand on the issue? The Scriptures are both dazzlingly clear and frustratingly unclear, depending upon your interpretation. And that is what is frustrates the issue even further, that people (Christians included) use the Bible against the opposing party. Is this how we seek after justice, by turning the strength of our own faith against one another? I'll leave you with David's reflection, a prayer of praise to God for the miracle that took place when he was conceived:
"For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them." (Psalm 139: 13-16)
See you tomorrow - E.T.
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