NOW IN THEATERS

HORTON HEARS A WHO!
Rated G
Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Isla Fisher

Brian’s Rating       

I think that parents are going to have a much better time with Horton Hears a Who! than their young children will.

Kids will see an impressive menagerie of mostly jovial jungle creatures and a sufficient serving of pratfalls and funny voices to keep them happy. But to parents, the unmistakable look of Dr. Seuss' visual style and the metered pace of his rhyming narrative will mean something entirely different.

To kids, Horton is a heroic elephant with some colorful friends. To their parents, he is an icon of their own childhoods, a pen-and- ink blast from the past, blown up onto the big screen to remind them of simpler, happier times. I introduced my nephews at a young age to Dr. Seuss, but I'm not sure that they will ever have the same level of enthusiasm for these books as my generation did. 

But as cinematic entertainment goes, Horton Hears a Who! is a winner, and a whole lot better than Seuss-based predecessors like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat.