Horton Hears a Who! (1970) (TV)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Directors:

Chuck Jones
Ben Washam (co-director)

Writer:

Dr. Seuss (teleplay)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Short

Plot:

Horton The Elephant struggles to protect a microscopic community from his neighbours who refuse to believe it exists.

Plot Keywords:

Elephant | Miniature People | Based On Children's Book | Character Name In Title

Cast

Hans Conried	...	Narrator / Horton / Dr. H. Hoovey (voice)
June Foray	...	Jane Kangaroo / Mother Who / Baby Who / Cindy Lou Who (voice)
Chuck Jones	...	Junior Kangaroo / Various Whos / Quizmo McKwoff / JoJo (voice)

Runtime:

26 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Germany:o.Al.

Company:

The Cat in the Hat Productions

Trivia:

The Grinch makes a brief cameo appearance as one of the Who's in Whoville.

Quotes:

Jane Kangaroo: Hmph!
Narrator: It was Jane Kangaroo, and the small kangaroo in her pouch said:
Junior Kangaroo: Hmph, too!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Pod People (#4.3)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Mrs. Toucanella Told Me

Whoville discovers it is not the center of creation.

This short animated adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book is on the back end of a video which contains The Grinch who stole Christmas as the feature. It is actually a better story than the Grinch. In fact the storyline deals with such complex metaphysical questions that it is probably a little above the average child. As a childs movie it is about an elephant named Horton who hears a tiny voice one day. After searching for quite a while he determines the voice he heard actually came from the head of a tiny dandelion. Horton discovers the voice is that of a tiny scientist who lives in the village of Whoville. Whoville is located on that dandelion, and is perpetually surrounded by clouds,preventing any contact between Whoville and the outside world.

The scientist has long believed that there was live outside of Whoville. Another words they were not alone. This of course is hearesy to the residents of Whoville, and the scientist has been deemed a quack. But now he has his proof, his conversation with Horton. This will prove once and for all that there is life beyond tiny Whoville. Meanwhile Horton has also been deemed a quack. The residents of his world similarly cannot believe that a whole world could exist on the head of a dandelion. The dandelion, and its contents, face peril after peril. Ironically the citizens of Whoville are totally unaware of there immenent doom. After all they are the sole occupants of creation and in there little world everything is just fine. Horton must save them. Not only for the pure goodness of saving all creatures no matter how small, but because it will exonerate him on his world and the scientist in Whoville. The solution: the two worlds just have to speak with each other. Proof to each other that the other exists. Herin lies the beauty of this movie. It works on so many levals. Many more for adults than children. It deals with the intrinsic dangers behind a society thinking that there way of live, there religion, there race, there way of live is the chosen one. Ironically that society,the Whos were a tiny microscopic dot that would have been destroyed had they not been saved by an outsider. It deals with free speach issues in that both Horton and the scientist are attacked for there radical believes. It deals with the strong helping the weak in that the largest land animal, the elephant, struggles mightily to save Whoville, for no other reason than it is the right thing to do. And finally, subtily, it points us to the best solution to all of life's problems and conflicts. Talk to each other!!! Come to think of it maybe this is a children's movie afterall. And since it works so well in teaching us a lesson I give it an EIGHT.