Dr. Seuss has entertained kids and adults for generations. This summer 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios teamed-up to bring one of his classics – “Horton Hears a Who!” to the big screen and it’s now out on DVD.
Jim Carrey plays Horton, who lives in the jungle of Newl with all of his animal friends. One day a speck floats by Horton and he thinks he hears people on it talking. And it turns out that he’s right. So Horton saves the speck and all the people of Whoville from disaster and decides it’s his job to protect them.
Horton tries talking to the Whos, and eventually makes contact with the mayor, who’s voiced by Steve Carell. At first the mayor doesn’t believe what Horton is telling him – that they all live on a tiny speck that is stuck on a clover – but after he notices strange things happening to Whoville he realizes that Horton is right. But the rest of the Whos think the mayor is a nut.
In the meantime, a mean kangaroo (played by Carol Burnett) doesn’t believe Horton and thinks he should stop protecting the speck. She convinces all the animals that Horton is a nut. So it’s up to both of the heroes to prove to everyone that they are right.
The voice work in “Horton Hears a Who!” is very good. I’m glad Jim Carrey used his real voice and didn’t do some stuffy elephant voice like others have done in the past for Horton. The animation is great. The Blue Sky animators are some of the best in the business.
The story is familiar to most people, but the producers have made a few changes to make it interesting. There aren’t a lot of big laughs in the movie, but that’s o.k. “Horton Hears a Who!”, like most Dr. Seuss stories, is about the message, and it’s delivered in a sweet and touching way.
As you would expect “Horton” is rated G. It’s safe for all ages. The DVD extras include an all new “Ice Age” short: Surviving Sid, which is very funny.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who” gets a B+.
Dr. Seuss’ wife had to approve the making of the film and the final result. I’m sure she and Dr. Seuss himself are very proud.
Lights Camera Jackson (a.k.a. Jackson Murphy) began his career as a film critic/entertainment reporter in 2006 at the age of 7. Jackson has written nearly 1,000 reviews of new releases. All together he has seen more than 1,500 films. In 2010, Jackson became the youngest person to win a NY Emmy Award, for his on-air movie reviews on Time Warner TV station, Capital News 9.
LCJ appears every Friday morning on WGNA-FM . His movie reviews are also posted on his website, his YouTube channel and the popular website Cultjer.com. He is also a contributing writer for Jerry Beck’s AnimationScoop.com. Jackson hosts the weekly internet pop culture news show “LCJ LIVE” (every Sunday at Noon ET). And “The LCJ Q&A Podcast” features interviews with celebrities and filmmakers. Among those who have joined LCJ on the show are comedy legend Gilbert Gottfried, “Wallace & Gromit” creator Nick Park, Emmy-winning game show host Todd Newton and Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Lights Camera Jackson has been co-starring in photographs with his favorite celebrities since he was 6 years old. “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest appeared in the first. Seacrest was a VIP guest at a local telethon. Jackson, a big fan of “Idol”, approached Seacrest during a break and asked for an autograph. The “Idol” star eagerly obliged. Jackson and Ryan then posed for this photo.
Since then Jackson’s collection of photos with stars from film, TV, stage and sports has grown to over 400. Every one represents a special moment in the life/career of Lights Camera Jackson and includes its own unique backstory.