Dan's Papers - March 21, 2008 - Flick Picks with Ian Stark

After the dreary Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and the dreadful Cat In The Hat, it started to seem that the singular style of Seuss could not ever be efficiently and properly adapted for big-screen purposes. Of course, the ultimate injustice in both those duds was replacing the otherworldly drawings of the children's books with frantic, soul-free, live action attempts. But this time around, the gesticulating goofballs smothered in face paint have been replaced with 21st Century CGI, which may be the main reason this latest attempt at over-extending a perfect childhood classic doesn't offend, but reasonably delights.

...Or could it be the G rating? Those who recall enduring Jim Carrey as the Grinch were generally puzzled by the out-of-leftfield reference humor that he mistakenly added to the nasty green holiday hater, or worse yet the Mike Myers' Cat who smacked of vulgarity. Luckily, Horton Hears a Who is completely child-friendly and adult-digestible, so while your little ones rollick with the action, you'll get a good amount of laughs yourself, all-the-while drinking in the rich and sumptuous animation. It's the tale of Horton (this time ably presented with a lighter touch from Carrey), an elephant who manages to single out a sound from one fluffy speck among all the wonder of his vast jungle home of Nool. Upon closer inspection, he discovers his tiny find holds the entire city of Whoville, even making friends with its mini-mayor, voiced by very hot comedy-commodity Steve Carrell. He soon decides to become protector of the microscopic metropolis, especially with the Sour Kangaroo (welcome back Carol Burnett!) ready to undo the Who populace simply because she's unable to see or hear the little people herself.

It's a well-crafted concoction this "Horton" is, a draw of black-hole type proportions. Of course it works for the kids - all they need is a flashy commercial and they're hooked. But the choice of cast is a blatant attempt to grab any adults out there who are still gaga about the languishing movie-in-a-theater experience. In addition to the great human cartoon Carrey and megastar Carrell, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, the brazen stars of sex comedies Knocked Up and Superbad are also in the vocal mix. And Rogen and Hill offer up a cast of actors who make up a significant section of Hollywood's right-now drawing power. But unlike the films where these gentlemen are, well, hardly that, here they work clean, sober and, dare it be said - cute - but still very funny. The language never gets offensive, yet the smart-guy attitude maintains, adding a very pleasant yet completely-hidden-to-kids modern adult sensibility. And of course, the older moviegoers get that lovely dose of Burnett, who at 70+ is still loaded with her trademark zip.

Now be prepared Seuss-fans: there is a ton of back-story you haven't seen before - an attribute that often frustrates the dedicated. But then again, you could read the original book out loud in about five minutes, so there had to be some stretching and fleshing, and screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul do a suitable job by giving us lots more to chew concerning both Nool and the little burg that floats on a blossom. Actually, it's a bit more than the toddlers jumping out of their seats will need, but more than enough to move this simple story along.

But regardless of voiceover star power, storyline or laughs; it's the animation that's the true star. Just like other adventures of late, such as Toy Story and Ratatouille, everything is illustrated in cartoon fashion, yet flawlessly 3-D and completely alive. The fur on the heads of the Whos, the fields of pink flowers, the tinges of a character's irritated eye... simply breathtaking. Better yet, it incorporates the signature Seuss look and brings it to life, ironically more so than the previous live-action attempts that flopped miserably. So, besides the good author/ Doctor's stated moral, "A person is a person no matter how small," it looks like we find one more: "Leave the art to the artists."

Ian Stark is a frequent TV and radio commentator on the film industry, and consults with private organizations on their collections. He is widely published on film and other arts/culture topics.