• Movie Preview •

Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Carol Burnett. Kids/Family Animated. Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio. Directed by Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino.

FILM SYNOPSIS: The imaginative elephant Horton hears a cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Suspecting there may be life on that speck and despite a surrounding community that thinks he has lost his mind, Horton is determined to help.

PREVIEW REVIEW: It has a great look, and certainly it is family friendly, but the whimsy of Dr. Seuss is missing in this version of the Doctor’s classic. Far better than the previous two live-action Dr. Seuss stolen classics (How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat), these filmmakers wisely chose to do an animated version and Mr. Carrey gives us a gentler, less manic side of his persona as Horton, but the metaphoric tale has been stretched just a little beyond its welcome. New dialogue has been added, the rhyming removed (mostly), and the melodious narration of Hans Conried in the 1970 TV cartoon is nowhere to be found. Updated to include references to global warming in order to satisfy those who believe Manhattan will soon be drenched in melted glaciers, the CG heavy feature becomes a hypnotic eco message – a long one.

Kids may enjoy the movement, the color and the manic humor, but I suspect some will get nearly as fidgety by the third act as accompanying adults. My choice would be to buy the recently released animated TV version (make your own popcorn). The remastered DVD came out March 4 and contains three bonus episodes from the best of Dr. Seuss, including Butter Battle Book, Daisy-Head Mayzie and Horton Hatches the Egg! Also included: a kid-friendly sing-a-long music video and an Emmy nominated 90-minute documentary hosted by actress Kathy Najimy. The documentary tells the story of Dr. Seuss’ life through celebrity skits, music and animated clips from his best-loved stories.

Distributor: 20th Century Fox