Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who! DVD review

DVD box cover for Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who
DVD box cover for Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who
Fox has released Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who on DVD, from Blue Sky Studios, the same studio that created the Ice Age movies. Dr. Seuss’ ability to figure out the complexities of the world in a way that both children and their parents can enjoy is again on display in Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who! Added to the mix are funny-men Jim Carrey (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Bruce Almighty) and Steve Carrell (TV’s The Office, 40 Year Old Virgin, Get Smart).

Carrey is in familiar territory as Horton, an elephant whose peaceful world is shaken up when he discovers a microscopic civilization called Who-ville, nestled on a pink clover. Their cry for help turns Horton into a social activist, as he affectionately tries to help them, which winds up being part assistance, part bumbling intervention. Along the way he incurs the wrath of jungle matriarch Kangeroo (voiced by Carol Burnett), who targets Horton for his antics.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Who-ville (voiced by Steve Carell), who has his hands full with 96 daughters and one son, insists there’s a parallel jungle universe in the great beyond. This while Horton is denounced as a menace for encouraging children to grow their imaginations.

Horton Hears A Who! gets lost at times, in it’s crusade to school us on effects of conservative governing and child-rearing, while attempting at the same time to attend to its core audience of kids, by throwing in conventional cartoon goofiness. However, with a solid focus on issues children understand, Horton Hears A Who! is genuine Dr. Seuss, and well worth a gander for kids of all ages.

DVD Specs
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who! DVD is presented in a flipper disc featuring both full screen (1.31:1 aspect ratio) and widescreen versions (1.85:1 aspect ratio) with English 5.1 Dolby Surround, Spanish/French Dolby Surround with English and Spanish subtitles.

Bonus Features

Single Disc Flipper – Widescreen and Pan & Scan Version

  • Directors’ Audio Commentary w/ Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino
  • Ice Age short Surviving Sid
    – All-new animated short focusing on the Ice Age characters Sid and Scrat.

Two-Disc Special Edition Including Digital Copy

  • Includes all above single-disc content with the following extra material featured on the second disc:
  • Deleted Footage and Animation Screen Tests (w/ Introductions and optional audio commentaries by the directors)
  • That’s One Big Elephant: Animating Horton
    – In an animation-focused featurette, learn how Blue Sky brought Horton to life.
  • Bringing the Characters to Life
    – Watch the animators’ hilarious initial performances recorded as a reference to assist in animating the film.
  • Meet Katie
    – Discover how the character “Katie” was developed by Blue Sky
  • Elephant Fun: The Facts
    – Fun and informative featurette about elephants.
  • Our Speck: Where Do We Fit In?
    – Using interviews with everyday kids, we’ll learn how even small actions can help make the world a better place.
  • A Person Is a Person: A Universal Message
  • Featuring interviews w/ cast and crew, we will take a closer look at the characters, the story and interpret the meanings of Horton Hears a Who!
  • Bringing Seuss to Screen
    – Learn how Hayward and Martino maintained the authentic look and feel of Dr. Seuss’ world.
  • The Elephant in the Room: Jim Carrey
    – Profile on Jim Carrey voicing Horton
  • We Are Here! Game
    – Memory game in which you have to repeat the correct pattern of Who-noises.

Movie Rating

Bonus Content Rating