The Tempest

Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: MCT Campus The Sour Kangaroo tries to appeal to Horton's cynicism, unsuccessfully. The movie deals with skepticism, empathy, and hits the moral home with the signature line, "A person's a person, no matter how small."

Moviegoers would be right to be wary of any post "Cat in the Hat" silver screen adaptations of Dr. Seuss' wonderfully inventive tales of rhyme. Nevertheless, in the latest, the quick pacing of "Horton Hears A Who" has been restructured in a way that respects the original while injecting a fun, frivolously Seuss-like atmosphere that reasonably deviates to stretch the classic tale into something that can entertain its demographic audience for a full ninety minutes.

"Horton" features an all star voiceover cast, starring Jim Carrey as Horton and Steve Carrell as Ned O' Malley, The Mayor of Who-ville. Others include Carol Burnett as Horton's adversary, the Sour Kangaroo, and Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Amy Poehler all make appearances.

Upon Horton's discovery of Who-ville on a tiny speck, Horton makes every effort to protect the tiny civilization from numerous outside threats. Horton's desire to protect the Who world conflicts with the small-mindedness he encounters from the inhabitants of the forest of Nool. A plot to crush Horton's spirit (and the speck on the pink dandelion) develops, and Horton and the Mayor must exhaust every effort to save Who-ville from destruction.

What's important in a movie like this are the details, the small touches of creativity that drive the humor. I'm happy to say that the team behind "Horton" have the kind of attention to detail that will please audiences of all ages. Though Carrey's performance is at times grating, Carrel picks up the slack in what amounts to a wacky, humorous, thoughtful but ultimately forgettable adventure.

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