Horton Hears a Who

This is the first ever adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book fully animated with digital technology. This probably is the Seuss adaptation that comes closest to what the author's intention was. At least visually.

Blue Sky Studios has improved from their Ice Age-days, where the only thing they got perfect back then was computer-generated hair. In Horton, the polygons have all disappeared, giving the characters a rounder, more stream-lined look. But still, Blue Sky is no match for Pixar. But that's another story.

Jim Carrey is funny as Horton, while I personally find Steve Carell's wisecracks a bit corny. And honestly, I am a bit tired with the Hollywood practice of getting big names to do voices for animated films. What happened to geniuses like Mel Blanc, who did all the voices for Looney Tunes? Cartoon voicing is an art, and most of the Hollywood actors right now don't have that talent. It's kind of sickening to see an animated character open his mouth with a voice you recognize. They don't even try to change their inflection.

Anyway, that is just my take on the animated film industry in general. But this specific film called Horton Hears a Who is a great work, and it has done justice to the great author, whose other works have been cannibalized by the previous big screen adaptations.


Rating: Four stars.

Trivia: The first animated film to use an all-star voice cast was, believe it or not, Transformers: The Movie, released way back in 1986. This was way, way before Robin Williams lent his voice as the Genie in Disney's Aladdin.