What I loved most: Touching storyline
What I really hated: Too 'hestitated' ending
Adapted from www.sgmediaratings.com:
The classic story written by Dr. Seuss comes to the big screen in a new CG animated feature motion picture from 20th Century Fox Animation. The story begins as an imaginative elephant named Horton hears a faint cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Horton suspects there may be life on that speck and despite a surrounding community which thinks he has lost his mind; he is still determined to save the tiny particle. The first scene begins as he chases for the speck, and finally gotten to rest the speck onto a pinkish flower.
Jim Carrey once again steps into the world of Dr Seuss as he lends his vocal to the lead character of Horton the elephant. He is almost unrecognizable in that gentle voiceover.
Joining Carrey is an ensemble cast including Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill and Dan Fogler. Almost all of them have their fair share appearing in comedies.
As I watched the movie, I thought it is a challenge to engage the audience with rich content and surprises after surprises. Horton, being the lead cast in the film, it plays a significant role in the film. Whatever he does, how he speaks, determines the way how people rate this movie.
Though it might be rather ridiculous to enable and engage a conversation between the elephant and the “small-ties” of the Hoo Vale just with a loudspeaker, I thought the message behind is rather meaningful as the movie is trying to convey a message that no matter how small a life can look like, or appear to be, you must never overlook its existence. Every life has its rights to live on.
The ending can be a bit more thrilling or unexpected, instead of having to show how the audience wants or thinks the ending might be. The kangaroo could have shown a nasty or an evil grin at the end of the movie to tell its audience that the story is not yet to an end, there’s still more behind what’s being seen in the movie.
But I thought the scene when Horton makes his stand that no matter what circumstances he has to bear, he will never give up in saving the little speck of dust. It touches and engages its audience to continue watching it. It also serves as a learning point for the young ones watching it to be responsible for their actions and to their promises.
Horton also brings out the fact that everyone should give in their full effort to ensure that their promises are kept and met, and not give in just a bit for what it may cost something important in your life.
The movie shows a reality of the humans taking things for granted. We are overlooking lots of things, who knows that the speck of dust really supports life, and who knows above us, there might be some who just sees the Earth as a speck of dust, and so the cycle goes on and on.
The good and bad characters also show great and clear comparison among them. Horton and the mother kangaroo show the extreme selflessness and selfishness for oneself. The supporting characters show how contracting people or animals can be, and Jojo the son of the Mayor shows the typical teenagers not knowing how to express their feelings to their parents, and the Mayor reflects how modern parents are treating their kids, with their selfless care and concern, never giving up on them.
However, the 2D comic strip animation in between the clips seem to have “brought down” the ratings for the movie, as it seem so unreal and it seem to the audience that the crew is trying to save time by doing a 2D animation instead of a 3D one for the actions.
But on the whole, it’s worth the money and it’s worth your watch at the cinema!
