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Film Review
Sanctity of life in ‘Who-ville’
‘Horton’ highlights human dignity
Although there have been many attempts to bring the magical world of Dr. Seuss to the big screen, none so far have been as successful as the funny and sweet “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” (20th Century Fox).
The use of computer animation couples perfectly with the sublime setting of the Jungle of Nool and Who-ville — the dual settings of the tale of epic or miniature proportions, depending on one’s perspective.
In the age of children’s films geared toward entertaining children and adults, “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” is unabashedly focused on entertaining the younger audience. The plot is not complicated; the jokes do not go over the heads of 5-year-olds, and there is no innuendo of any kind. All that, and there is a strong moral message reinforcing the value of human life in every form and size.
Horton is an elephant, voiced by Jim Carey, who lives in the Jungle of Nool under the rule of an overpowering and narrow-minded Kangaroo, voiced by Carol Burnett. One day he hears someone call for help as a dust speck floats by his ear. He discovers that an entire town full of people live on that speck.
The people, called Whos, are completely unaware that they live on a dust speck in a large elephant’s world. Then the Mayor of Who-ville, voiced by Steve Carell, makes contact with Horton, charging him with finding a safe place for the Who civilization.
Horton finds resistance from his fellow jungle companions as he makes known the existence of Who-ville. The jungle animals try to destroy the speck to prove that Horton is crazy.
The plot moves at an appropriate pace for a children’s film and the genuine nature of all the characters — from Horton, the overly friendly elephant, to the Mayor of Who-ville, stretched by the weight of responsibility — rings true throughout the movie.
The film is animated, but the characters really shine as individuals who add a great deal of substance to the story.
Horton’s mantra throughout the film — “A person’s a person no matter how small” — sounds like pro-life rhetoric and the themes of the film validate that classification. The film highlights the value of human life and especially the importance of respecting people who are different or “other.”
Yet, “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” is not heavy-handed or overly philosophical. It views as friendly, easy-to-digest child fare with a message of great value for people living anywhere and in any time — from Who-ville to our modern world.
In Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II notes the importance of love in the world.
“We are asked to love and honor the life of every man and woman and to work with perseverance and courage so that our time, marked by all too many signs of death, may at last witness the establishment of a new culture of life, the fruit of the culture of truth and love,” he wrote in the 1995 encyclical.
Horton embodies this message in his way. His defense of truth is that an elephant never lies, but the moral message is clearly meant for all. His life would be easier if he just lied about his beliefs, but that would not be building up the culture of life for which Horton becomes a crusader.
Perseverance and courage are Horton’s defining characteristics as he fights off the members of his jungle culture, which wants to destroy the world of his small friends and the notion of the possibility of life outside this culture’s narrowly defined conception of a person.
“Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” is an entertaining film made for children that has enough character and heart to engage adults. Families should not miss this imaginative, funny and ultimately life-promoting film.
Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.
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