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Film Title: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who!

 Best for ages: 6 and up.

Movie Website: Click Here

Year Released: 2008

Rated: G (US)

SYNOPSIS

    Based on the popular Dr. Seuss book of the same title; Horton Hears A Who is about an elephant named Horton who one day hears a voice coming from a speak of dust that he comes across in the jungle.  Horton captures the speck on a flower and begins to examine the speck, knowing that he has heard a scream coming from it. He soon realizes that it's not just his imagination and that there is a microscopic town of Who-ville living within this speak of dust. Though a drainpipe Horton is able to communicate with the mayor of Who-ville  Though their conversations Horton realizes that even the smallest bump or fall cause disaster in Who-ville.  So Horton goes on a quest to find the perfect place in the jungle to place the speck of dust so that the Who's can live in peace. However some of the jungle animals think Horton is crazy and they seek out to destroy the flower and the speak of dust to stop Horton from telling his story to the rest of the jungle and the young animals who look up to Horton.

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VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language

  There is a great deal of things that might be of concern to parents in this film. While all the violence and graphic content are animated and done with the silliest of concerns. There are a few things in this film that did upset my daughter, whom my wife and I figured would be able to handle some of it. We were wrong. But the stuff that made he upset was mainly Horton falling and jumping around and landing in odd positions while trying to keep the speck of dust still. There is one such scene where Horton walks across a rope bridge and the planks of wood supporting the bridge fall out from underneath him as he moves across. There are plenty of close calls where the speak of dust is almost destroyed which in turn would destroy the tiny town of Who-ville. It is also kidnapped by the angry Kangaroo mother who is Horton's enemy in this movie along with a vulture named Vlad and a group of moneys. Speaking of these rival characters they all look and act very malicious. Vlad talks about ripping the flesh off his victims and makes very threatening statements, but rarely acts upon them in the movie. Vlad does help imprison Horton whom is trapped and put into a cage and poked with a stick and is forced to watch the attempted demise of the speak.

   In the microscopic town of Who-ville, many odd and somewhat disturbing things happen.  The Mayor is called out by the council of Who-ville and is incased in a glass bubble with them while they scream and yell at him for wanting to cancel a Who-ville traditional event. One even refers to a picture of a donkey in reference to the mayor. The Mayor while at a visit to the dentist is about to have his teeth numbed by a needle but due to Horton fumbling around the needle ends up in the mayors arm and numbs his whole arm right down to his hand. The mayor also throws a stapler at the wall which bounces back at him and staples him in the head. This happens on more than one occasion.  There are also a few other little things of concern here and there, but nothing that stood out enough to be of a major concern. The film is full of little things that might irk parents, but after awhile you just have to take it for what it is.

   There is some mild language, but nothing that will make you take your children away from the television curing the film. Words such as "jerk",   "boob," "moron" and "idiot." are thrown around by the Who-ville council members referring to the mayor, and there is a reference to the mayor and his wife as being busy because they have ninety-six children.  

OVERALL VIEWS

   I was a big fan of Dr. Seuss books as a child, my grandparents had all of his books at their home and being that I spent many summer nights at their house as a kid reading a Dr. Seuss book before bedtime was always a big thing. Horton Hears A Who was one of those many books my sisters and I used to read.  It's neat seeing a how screenwriters take a small children's story and add so much detail to it to make it into a coherent film for children and adults to enjoy while keeping to the true theme and sprit of the story. That's what you get with this film, a movie that sticks to the story but also develops it into some more.

   There was a big cast behind this film with comedian Jim Carrey as the voice of Horton as well as comedian Steve Carell as the mayor of Who-ville.  Carol Burnett is the voice of the evil Kangaroo and the cast also includes Will Arnett and Seth Rogan to round out the voice talent. The overall production value of the movie is fabulous.  The animation at times looks very real and I can't praise it enough. It's impressive and I'm even willing to bet that Horton Hears A Who get a nod. for an Oscar in the best Animated film category this year and gives Wall-E a run for it's money. The animation is very impressive.

   The two disc special edition DVD is packed with a lot of special features. All of them are on the first disc along with the movie and the second disc holds the digital copy of the film for your portable media players. The features included on the first disc include Audio Commentary with Director Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, a all new Ice-Age short film titled "Surviving Sid". A sneak peak at Ice Age 3, Deleted Footage and Animation Screen Tests, Eight Featureettes all about the making of the film and behind the scenes of the production. "We Are Home" game and a DVD-ROM Activity Create Your Own Animation.

   Overall, Horton Hears A Who I would say is a film that is really up to the parents to decide if their children are old enough to view it. It is rated G but it does push the mark a bit. It's probably best for kids over the age of six to watch, even though there are a few things to be concerned about, younger kids probably won't take to it so well and it's for the better. It's a fun movie, with a very creative story that does have it's fare share of positive elements that far out weight it's negative ones, but it's the negative elements that do stand out more than they would in a lot of other films aimed at young children.

BUY THIS MOVIE.