Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Horton Enormously Entertaining

Seuss' elephant tale succeeds where others have failed

By Marcia Greenwood, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 14, 2008 7:56 AM CDT

(Newser) – The big-screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! succeeds in large part because the film's actors are not seen. "Unlike those behind the recent live-action grotesqueries The Grinch and Cat in the Hat," observes Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the makers of the CG-animated Horton succeed by calling on "the great, good medic of metrical writing."

James Berardinelli of ReelViews agrees. "Horton Hears a Who! doesn't enter the live-action realm, which is a good thing," making the movie "enjoyable in a family-friendly sort of way." Diva Velez of MightyGanesha.com goes a step further, writing that the film, about an elephant who perceives a plea for help from a speck of dust, "offers a welcome and wonderful respite to those convinced we might never see a worthy feature adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book."

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

Jim Carrey lends his voice to Horton the elephant in "Horton Hears a Who!" (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, Blue Sky Studios)

Actor Steve Carell, Jim Carrey's "Horton" co-star, attends the film's world premiere in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

"Horton Hears A Who!" official trailer. (libbyhb123 (YouTube))

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Despicable Me Good, But It's No Toy Story 3

Animated feature is strong, if generic, hyper: critics

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that French studio Illumination Entertainment has made a strong first entry into feature animation with Despicable Me, featuring Steve Carrell voicing a cartoon baddy who adopts three little girls. But it has the misfortune to premiere within weeks of Pixar's beloved Toy Story 3.

Despicable Me "cannot be faulted for lack of trying," AO Scott writes in the New York Times . "If anything, it tries much too hard, stuffing great gobs of second-rate action, secondhand humor and warmed-over sentiment into every nook and cranny of its relentlessly busy 3-D frames. It tries so hard to be likable that you may hate yourself for hating it."

Crazy, Stupid, Love Actually Quite Smart

Steve Carell, Julianne Moore star in winning romantic comedy

(NEWSER) - Critics largely enjoyed Crazy, Stupid, Love—and some have fallen head over heels for the romantic comedy with an all-star cast.

In the Los Angeles Times , Betsy Sharkey gushes that the film “may well restore your faith in the very possibility of love, to say nothing of romantic comedies.” The “grand romantic gesture about grand romantic gestures conjures up the bittersweet magic of first loves, lasting loves, lost loves and all the loves in between.”
"It’s the mild exception that makes, if not for a great movie, then at least for a pleasant surprise," writes Rick Groen in the Globe and Mail .

Carrey at His Manic Best (or Worst) in Phillip Morris

True story of gay con-man highly divisive

(NEWSER) - Some critics are head-over-heels for I Love You Phillip Morris; others feel quite the opposite about the film, in which Jim Carrey plays a gay conman. (It's currently favored by 76% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes, though audiences give it a lesser 55%.)

At the New York Times , Stephen Holden loves the picture: “With his manic glare, ferociously eager smile, hyperkinetic body language and talent for instant self-transformation, Mr. Carrey has rarely been more charismatic on the screen.”

Dinner for Schmucks Not Quite a Gut-Buster

Steve Carell's schmuck praised in remake of French farce

(NEWSER) - Dinner for Schmucks has a great premise and two top comic stars in Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, say critics, though opinions split widely on whether it's actually funny.

The remake of a French farce in which heartless execs compete to bring the biggest loser to dinner "is lumbering, inconsistent, and about 20 minutes too long, but it's funny," decides Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle . "It's funny from the beginning, and it stays funny, even as it beats scenes to death and overstays its welcome."

Toy Story 3 'an Instant Classic'

Pixar brings series to 'dazzling, emotional' finale

(NEWSER) - Toy Story 3 is a heartwarming masterpiece that easily ranks among Pixar's best, say critics in unanimously positive reviews (as of this writing, it has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes ). Andy's headed to college in this one, but instead of being stored in the attic or put out with the trash, the toys end up in a day-care center—and at the mercy of manic toddlers.

The return of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the gang "is everything a movie should be: hilarious, touching, exciting and clever," writes Claudia Puig of USA Today.

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Horton Enormously Entertaining