Powerful

Just perfect...

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This is a great and well-made cartoon for children.

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 the Elephant (amiably voiced by Hans Conried) discovers a microscopic community called Whoville living in a speck of dust. Alas, Horton can't convince the other skeptical animals in the jungle that Whoville really exists. The second TV special team-up by master animator Chuck Jones and renowned children's book author Dr. Seuss (the first was the terrific yuletide classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"), this program offers a great deal of infectiously offbeat and imaginative fun for the whole family. The catchy rhymes, the bright, colorful animation, Eugene Poddany's jaunty, merry score, the charming songs, the engagingly quirky characters, the constant zippy pace, the warm, upbeat tone, the heartening conclusion, a strong moral about the power of free speech and democracy, and the nice central message about how there's much more to life than just the obvious and what you already know all make this tale an absolute joy to watch. Moreover, Conried makes for a pleasingly folksy narrator, June Foray does double duty as the haughty Jane Kangaroo and the adorable Cindy Lou Who, and Thurl Ravenscroft lends his great rumbling deep voice as one of the evil singing gorilla Wickersham Brothers. A real treat.

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.