Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

"Horton Hatches the Egg" is a short film from 1942, so this one has its 75th anniversary this year. It is a co-production between Schlesinger Studios and Warner Bros. and unusually long for a cartoon from that time. Usually they ran for 7 minutes, but this one here stands at almost 10. So yeah, this is another one from the Golden Age of Animation and this of course means that visually, it is an absolute delight taking into account when this was made. There are not any of the Warner Bros. standard cartoon characters in here (Bugs, Daffy), but the focus here is on an elephant, who gets an A+ for dedication in the story here and a nice little reward at the very end that was pretty sweet, almost touching. Sadly, most of the action before that is not really too memorable, so the plot could have been better and even gets a bit repetitive. The three antagonists, if you can call them like that (Mother Bird also has something going for her), look as if they are taken right out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon though, also a bit on the incompetent side, but luckily the elephant is not as resilient as Bugs. Oh yeah, final note, this one here is actually based on a work by Dr. Seuss and he had many more adaptations to come in the following decades. It may not be as good as Elmer The Elephant, but it is still worth watching, mostly thanks to the revelation at the very end.

I watched this on 'The Best of Dr. Seuss' DVD, which also includes 'Daisy-Head Mayzie' and 'The Butter Battle Book.' The first time I watched this I gave it a 7/10 but after a second viewing, I gave it an 8/10 due to enjoying it more, which is why it gave me the same feelings as 'Igor' due to initially given it a 7 but an 8 the second time I saw it due to enjoying it a lot more.The animation is smooth but typically matches the style of other Looney Tunes cartoons rather than Dr. Seuss' illustrations, which is unusual, but the backgrounds were beautifully coloured with intricate detail. Horton looked most like a Dr. Seuss character and I like his saying, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100%." The flying elephant that hatches from the egg Is cute while Masie the bird was strict and overprotective. I liked the musical score with a touch of nostalgia as well as Horton's walking matching some of the notes. The rhyming narrative was as exquisite as always.Overall this is my second favourite short on 'The Best of Dr. Seuss' and it is nearly on par with the 2008 CGI film adaptation of 'Horton Hears A Who!'

Directed by Robert "Bob" Clampett, "Horton Hatches the Egg" is a wonderful Warner Bros. cartoon based on the Dr. Seuss fable. Full of bright colors and catchy rhymes, this story is one that I truly find heartwarming, particularly when I see poor Horton suffering through his unwavering faithfulness. Thankfully, his suffering is only temporary.My favorite scenes? Horton is delightful as he prances and sings "Hut-Sut Rawlson on the Rillerah", but it gets even better when he is joined by his offspring at the end. "A rifle was aiming right straight at his heart," but it actually wasn't! And who could neglect the Peter Lorre fish? I am impressed and amazed at the strong moral character of our dear friend Horton. If only everybody in this world had that same kind of integrity.

Bob Clampett's version of Dr. Seuss's "Horton Hatches the Egg" was the first cinematic adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book. And a good one at that. While it does change a few small things, it mostly stays faithful (like Horton is 100%). Oh, and just in case you operate under the assumption that this is just cute stuff for children: Michael Maltese, in his screenplay, also threw in a some things that moviegoers in 1942 would have understood but 21st century tykes probably won't get (including a brief instance of mild sexuality on the bird's part; look what she does to attract Horton's attention!).I definitely recommend this cartoon. Clampett doesn't make quite as much use of contortion as he does in some of his more famous cartoons, but he still pulls off some fine work. The combination of talent from Seuss and Clampett should identify that you're in for something neat.This was one of the many Warner Bros. cartoons released before 1948 that lost its opening credits in the Blue Ribbon reissue.