Wonderful character development!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Second animated adaptation of a Dr. Seuss story is narrated by Hans Conried (Boris Karloff having sadly passed away) and is about an elephant named Horton who discovers a microscopic community living on a plant that he desperately tries to convince his community exists, but they stubbornly refuse, both ridiculing Horton and trying to destroy the plant! Horton has a big heart though, and decides that this intelligent tiny civilization is worth preserving... Well-intentioned special has a good message but decidedly mediocre songs, and is mostly forgettable, though the joke at the end about what the tiny community really is (we've seen it before...) is amusing, but that's all.

Dr Seuss was one of my childhood favourites and I still have a big soft spot for him now. Of the animated adaptations of his work, almost all are absolute gems and show an utmost respect for it. And Horton Hears a Who is no exception. The animation is bright and colourful with beautifully rendered character designs(they are also true to the illustrations in the book), and the songs deliciously catchy. The writing and rhymes are relatively simple(in a good way) as well as witty and very easy to get in your head. The story is zippily paced, upbeat and charming with a nice message, which is exactly what Dr Seuss should be like, and it doesn't suffer from too much padding or useless scenes. The ending is also very heartfelt. The characters are timeless and always engage you, and the voice acting especially from Hans Conreid is terrific. Overall, a treasure, every bit as good as the book and deserves its place among the other animated Dr Seuss adaptation classics. The Jim Carrey animated film I also found entertaining and easily the best of the feature length adaptations, but I'll always prefer this. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Horton Hears a Who teaches us one of the most important lessons of democracy. We all have to speak up--even the smallest voice--in order to prevent injustice. Every voice, like every vote, counts. This should be required viewing (and reading) for children of all ages learning about the responsibilities of free speech and democracy.

This short animated adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book is on the back end of a video which contains The Grinch who stole Christmas as the feature. It is actually a better story than the Grinch. In fact the storyline deals with such complex metaphysical questions that it is probably a little above the average child. As a childs movie it is about an elephant named Horton who hears a tiny voice one day. After searching for quite a while he determines the voice he heard actually came from the head of a tiny dandelion. Horton discovers the voice is that of a tiny scientist who lives in the village of Whoville. Whoville is located on that dandelion, and is perpetually surrounded by clouds,preventing any contact between Whoville and the outside world.The scientist has long believed that there was live outside of Whoville. Another words they were not alone. This of course is hearesy to the residents of Whoville, and the scientist has been deemed a quack. But now he has his proof, his conversation with Horton. This will prove once and for all that there is life beyond tiny Whoville. Meanwhile Horton has also been deemed a quack. The residents of his world similarly cannot believe that a whole world could exist on the head of a dandelion. The dandelion, and its contents, face peril after peril. Ironically the citizens of Whoville are totally unaware of there immenent doom. After all they are the sole occupants of creation and in there little world everything is just fine. Horton must save them. Not only for the pure goodness of saving all creatures no matter how small, but because it will exonerate him on his world and the scientist in Whoville. The solution: the two worlds just have to speak with each other. Proof to each other that the other exists. Herin lies the beauty of this movie. It works on so many levals. Many more for adults than children. It deals with the intrinsic dangers behind a society thinking that there way of live, there religion, there race, there way of live is the chosen one. Ironically that society,the Whos were a tiny microscopic dot that would have been destroyed had they not been saved by an outsider. It deals with free speach issues in that both Horton and the scientist are attacked for there radical believes. It deals with the strong helping the weak in that the largest land animal, the elephant, struggles mightily to save Whoville, for no other reason than it is the right thing to do. And finally, subtily, it points us to the best solution to all of life's problems and conflicts. Talk to each other!!! Come to think of it maybe this is a children's movie afterall. And since it works so well in teaching us a lesson I give it an EIGHT.