|
Friendly and ordinary as animal lovers like to think, Horton is a harmless elephant who lives in a friendly, ordinary jungle. One day, he hears a teeny-weeney voice supposedly coming from a speck of dust which has settled on a delicate but inconsequential flower that the jungle has billions of. Following his ears, he investigates the sounds he picks up, leading to his discovery that on that speck of dust is a whole world populated by “Whos” who, incidentally, have facilities to communicate with Horton, too. Horton befriends these furry little creatures he hears but can not see, and takes it upon himself to protect at all costs the little flower the speck of dust clings to. Then trouble comes in: the other jungle creatures see Horton talking to a speck of dust and think that he has gone crazy. Of course, nobody else in the jungle has ears as huge as the elephant’s, so how could they hear what Horton hears? So they all gang up on him, determined to get rid of the speck of dust and lock the crazy elephant up in a cage.
By the squealing and giggling of the audience (half of whom are children) you’d know how delightful Horton hears a Who is. A Dr. Seuss tale, Horton hears a Who is not only entertaining to watch; it is also engaging, as Horton the elephant comes across as almost human with a kind heart, completely believing in what he hears and knows to be true, and laying his life on the line to save the people concerned. That’s the main attraction of the movie—the story itself, backed by effective “characterization” and imagery so winning it can appeal to even adults who are children at heart.
Horton hears a Who is a good balance of cartoon and character: a solid message delivered with a lollipop flavor. If the suspicious jungle creatures in this movie are that determined to destroy the speck of dust, Horton is even more determined to save it, after all, he believes, persons live on that dust speck, and “A person is a person, no matter how small.” Besides this solid lesson in tolerance and charity, the movie offers “bonuses” for people who have ears, so to speak. The importance of listening is highlighted here—and are we followers of Jesus not taught that faith begins from listening? Hearing the Word of God and listening for His message, and being courageous in standing for what we believe in? Horton hears a Who also offers a lesson in humility as it subtly reminds us of our smallness—when we gaze at the dark starlit skies we realize our planet is but a speck of dust (if not smaller) in the vastness of creation, yet our faith teaches us that the Holy Spirit dwells within our person.
(Date Reviewed: 27 March 2008)
|
