I'm very skeptical about this movie. On the one hand, it's produced by the folks behind "Ice Age," one of my favorite animated films (I actually saw it three times in the theater -- and I rarely go to the theater that many times in a whole year).
On the other hand, it's very clear from the clips and previews that in translation, Horton has lost his most important qualities - his sheer, dense innocence, his simplicity.
The little exchange between Horton and a mouse featured in the TV ads points this up very clearly - Horton as Seuss imagined him would not cynically berate a little fellow for having a positive self-image. In Seuss's story, Horton is the underdog. The other characters think he's deluded to think that there's life on that little speck of dust.
I'm afraid this is going to be yet another Seuss adaptation that takes a short, perfect, sweet little story and stretches it to an hour and a half by inserting 70 minutes of clever quips, pop culture references, useless subplots, and just enough stunning visuals to keep you from demanding your money back.
My best guess: about as good as the Grinch movie (not that that's saying much), better than Cat in the Hat (not that _that's_ saying much. I'd rather have a root canal without anesthesia and a molten pig-iron enema while a rabid shih-tzu gnaws on my testicles than sit through 5 more minutes of Mike Myers as The Cat).
no subject
On the other hand, it's very clear from the clips and previews that in translation, Horton has lost his most important qualities - his sheer, dense innocence, his simplicity.
The little exchange between Horton and a mouse featured in the TV ads points this up very clearly - Horton as Seuss imagined him would not cynically berate a little fellow for having a positive self-image. In Seuss's story, Horton is the underdog. The other characters think he's deluded to think that there's life on that little speck of dust.
I'm afraid this is going to be yet another Seuss adaptation that takes a short, perfect, sweet little story and stretches it to an hour and a half by inserting 70 minutes of clever quips, pop culture references, useless subplots, and just enough stunning visuals to keep you from demanding your money back.
My best guess: about as good as the Grinch movie (not that that's saying much), better than Cat in the Hat (not that _that's_ saying much. I'd rather have a root canal without anesthesia and a molten pig-iron enema while a rabid shih-tzu gnaws on my testicles than sit through 5 more minutes of Mike Myers as The Cat).