DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO (1970)

By: Iggy Michniacki on 11.23.2009

The Movie Itself:
Rarely would I ever praise a remake for being superior to the original. I guess to defend myself I could state that Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who, not the CGI Horton Hears A Who, is not the original but the Dr. Seuss book is. Anyway you put it, last year Horton Hears A Who hit theaters everywhere with an extended, slightly different story and amazing three-dimensional animation somewhat stumping the original, made for television release.

One day, while bathing in the river, Horton the elephant heard a small voice from a speck floating by. Interested in what is happening, Horton rescues the speck and soon learns there is an entire community living on the speck. When Jane the Kangaroo finds Horton talking to a speck she soon goes out of her way to try and rid her jungle community of this so-called problem. Racing to get the speck to a safe place, Horton encounters other jungle animals under the command of Jane the Kangaroo and must do whatever he can to avoid them. When the short animated feature comes to its finale, the Whos of the speck must make their case for life and prove to the world they are here.

Now, it’s hard to compare the classic Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who to the new Horton Hears A Who, but it is only fair as that is what the vast majority of audiences will do. The new theatrical release surpasses the original in many ways, with the two most notable being the length of the movie as well as the thirty plus years in advanced animation style. And no matter how far the newest version flies into big budget, theatrical release style, this animated original, brought to Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers, has plenty to brag about as well.

The animated style stays in like fashion of the children’s book, mimicking the look of the characters as well as the colors and styles of the environment and backgrounds. The story is short, but follows along the likeness of the book. The characters are the way they are in the book, with the scientist being the one who first talks to Horton. The rhyming is still present, and that is one Dr. Seuss’ longest trends even making up words to make books rhyme.

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who should also be praised for the complexity of the story, especially compared to other Dr. Seuss titles. Arguments can be made for a few different ‘deep’ arguments based on what the story portrays. “A person is a person, no matter how small.” Jane the Kangaroo, with her ‘butch’ hair cut and forceful ways, seems to put an unfair amount of pressure on Horton to rid himself of a person, even if it doesn’t affect her; ringing very closely to the pro-choice chants of the irresponsible youth trying to hard to push their views on others. Other deep meanings could be reached as well, with the Who community believing they are the only ones ‘out there’ or even more so, believing they are the only ones of real importance.

In the end, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who is a children’s story that has become a children’s animated feature that tells the moral story of fighting for what you believe for. It keeps the attention of children, and even after nearly forty years still is as fun and original as it was back then.
Rating: 6/10

The Presentation:
As mentioned in the Movie Itself portion, it is hard not to compare this to the new CGI release of Horton Hears A Who. The differences in the presentation are wordly different which should be obvious with almost four decades of difference in the release. We could also talk about the production budgets, the fact the original was set for television and maybe a mound of other factors but either way the differences are huge.

However, the video, presented in 1080p via a VC-1 codec is simply outstanding. For a straight to television animated feature that was originally broadcasted in 1970, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who looks fantastic. Starting with the negatives, there is some banding and the animation looks a bit rough through the entire feature. But other than that, this is a solid transfer. Colors are bright and vibrant, shining through nicely. Detail in the image is rather nice, as markings on the drawn objects give the background more dimension than I’ve ever seen this title have before. It is a two-dimensional animated feature, but there is some pop to the image and this should be praised for looking this good after this many years.

On a more somber note, the audio isn’t that grand. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track is, well a lossy stereo track that sounds bland. The audio sounds more like a mono track with every sound and voice coming in one level swoosh. The subwoofer isn’t active, obviously from the fact it’s not part of the audio, but the speakers did decent enough to make up for it. Everything can be heard, as in dialogue isn’t drowned out but all around the audio isn’t impressive. The best way to explain how or why this audio is flat is by a comparison. Skip over to the special features and listen to the audio on the animated feature Daisy-Head Mayzie then listen to Horton's audio track and you'll get the idea.
Rating: 6/10 (video 7/10, audio 4/10)

The Extras:
Although it seems the list is small for the extras on this release of Horton Hears a Who, it is still quite valuable. The extra features include two other animated features, a lengthy story of Dr. Seuss’ life, and a digital copy of the release.

• Dr. Seuss Butter Battle Book (SD): Based off of the Dr. Seuss book, the two communities from different sides of the wall fight over which side to butter their bread.
• Daisy-Head Mayzie by Dr. Seuss (SD): Also based off of a Dr. Seuss book, Mayzie comes to terms with her head sprouting a daisy.
• Trailers (HD): Featuring trailers for other classic animated features that are being released on Blu-ray such as Peanuts and The Grinch.
• In Search of Dr. Seuss (SD): Hosted by Kathy Najimy, this featurette tells the story of Dr. Seuss’ life via skits, music and animation.
• You Can Hear Horton, Horton Can Hear You! (SD): Sing-a-long music video.
• Digital Copy

Overall:
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who is a nice, short animated feature that will capture children of today and bring many adults memories of their childhoods. The animated feature isn’t perfect on Blu-ray, but it is dazzling for a 1970 release and comes with some Seuss-like extras. The price might be a bit high for what it is, but if found on sale don’t hesitate to grab it.
Rating: 6/10