Horton Hears a Who - A Movie Review

But first, a plug
Check out the new collaboration from Christopher Morris and Malach the Merciless, Meet The Heroes the webcomic.

Horton Hears a Who
So, Malach took the kiddos to see Horton Hears a Who this weekend. We were very excited to see the film, done by Blue Sky Studios who had brought you the Ice Age Movies, and Robots; both films I found thoroughly enjoyable.

Horton Hears a Who is about am an imaginative and naive elephant named Horton (Jim Carey), who while wading in a pool, hears a yelp from a speck of dust that flies by. Thinking there is family microscopic life on the speck, he places it on a clover to keep it safe. Little did he know, an entire city of beings lives on the speck in a city called Whoville (never clear if this is the same Whoville in the Grinch).

Horton comes into contact with with the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carrell) and they decide that they need to keep Whoville safe. Every little thing in Nool, seems to effect Whoville (where most of the comedy comes from). Horton would move the speck to a small sheltered cave on the Mountains of Nool. Horton, is the only creature on in Nool who can hear the mayor (big elephant ears) and he is ridiculed by the other creatures of Nool, most especially the Sour Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) as crazy. Kangaroo attempts to embarrass Horton, and his crazy antics by taking the clover from him and crushing it.

The movie was cute, but that is really about it. Surprisingly, with both Blue Sky doing it, and cast members like Jim Carey, Steve Carrell, and Carol Burnett, the film was missing much of the comedy that previous Blue Sky outings had. Don't get me wrong, there was some comedy in it, but overall, the film seemed to focus much more on the cutesy and morality, than entertaining. The film really focused on believing in things you can't experience with your senses, and that everyone matters (Bah!). Even my kids, who normally sit through a movie pretty enraptured, got up a few times to get a snack during the showing.

The movie of course is based on the Dr. Suess classic, and they actually do a pretty good job of character development based on that short children's story. It is CGI created, and the animation is excellent; the film is definitely Suessian, from the characters, to the setting, only on steroids.

Don't get me wrong, the movie isn't all bad, or boring, it is just not something that I would be excited to see again. I got several chuckles out of it, and there were some interesting more adult oriented jokes (Whoville's version of MySpace, WhoSpace, was fun), I guess I just expected something on the lines of Ice Age, or Robots which were both better than this movie.

So, wait for it to come out on DVD.

A bonus review short - Justice League: The New Frontier
Now this was good. My son and I purchased it last weekend, and watched it. First, this animation is rated PG13, it features cartoon violence, and blood, and some adult themes. The film is an adaptation of the of the comic DC: The New Frontier.

Excellent film. It is set in the 1950's. You have all the 1950's versions of your DC Justice League favorites. In this setting of Anti-Superhero McCarthyism, the Korean War, and the Nuclear Age we are dropped. Superheroes are either working for the government or wanted vigilantes.

In this setting a supernatural threat to the world develops and Supers and humans have to work together to repel it forming the first Justice League.

The animation is extremely good, and stylized like the comic. The acting is exceptional. It is worth a rental of the DVD, especially if you are a fan of DC, and Bruce Timm's animated DC universe.

I am Malach and I killed Roger Ebert

New Storyline: Meet the Heroes

If you like stories, read this.

If you're too cool to click without knowing, it's the beginning of an epic tale about five superheroes who aren't very super to begin with.

This is a 'to be continued' so if you don't like that sort of stuff, click on it anyways. I have no clue...