Horton Hears a Who Early Review
Twentieth Century Fox Movie Comes to Theatres March 14th
An early review for Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky's Horton Hears a Who slams the flick. Movie comes to theatres March 14th.
Trying to maintain some semblance of enthusiasm for Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky Animation's production of Horton Hears a Who has been tough, thanks to the lame posters and sad trailers. But the final straw just hit and this camel's back snapped.
So what happened? A spy for AICN, with the unusual handle of 'Ouendaaaaaaaaaaan!', recently caught the flick and he's regretfully giving it the big thumbs-down.
"It's not much fun laying into one of these films," he says, mainly because he sees that the animators at Blue Sky are so visibly enthused about their work and the visuals they create.
However, Fox/Blue Sky succumbed to a common problem among animated films based on classic stories: the studio decided to get cute with the pop-culture references. And for the reviewer, that was gilding (and killing) the lily.
Pop-Culture Humour Kills Classic Dr. Seuss Tale
You're adapting a book that's loved, by a writer loved even more," he rants at Fox/Blue Sky. "Just adapt the ******* thing, keep the voiceover, and drop the (pop culture) references . . . which didn't even exist when Dr. Seuss died. Or if you have to drag the thing kicking and screaming into the modern era, do it with some ingenuity, wit and originality."
And that's where Horton Hears a Who failed. Gags about Whospace.com, references to Apocalypse Now and off-kilter English overdubs in 1970's kung fu movies are "jokes that'll go over the heads of a young audience and bore the **** out of the parents.
"It's simply not good enough to make a reference to something without a genuinely good joke to back it up," 'Ouendaaaaaaaaaaan!' says.
He liked Fox/Blue Sky's first flick, saying, "Ice Age was a pretty decent start," but with Horton Hears a Who, the studio has gone from being a "Pixar-wannabe to DreamWorks-style also-ran.
"It starts nicely, with some genuinely impressive visuals," he says. "And then the rot . . . starts . . . Here comes Jim Carrey doing his wacky thing . . . Now we'll introduce a few cute, happy-meal-destined sidekicks." And down goes the movie.
What Are the Positives?
So what did “Ouendaaaaaaaaaaan!” like about Horton Hears a Who?
"The finale works pretty well, and would have been a lot more effective on the end of a better film. The angry mob who try to seize Horton's speck are slightly sinister and the way Whoville reacts is worth seeing on a big screen. But that's certainly not a recommendation for this genuinely lackluster effort."
The final analysis? "Ouch." You can read the entire review over here. Horton Hears a Who hits theatres on March 14th.
