Horton Hears a Who (2008)

"Dr. Suess' Horton Hears a Who" is a joyful, fully realized version of the wonderful book by Theodore Geisel. It excels where other big-screen film adaptations failed. Its computer animated, but softly so, and catches the spirit, color and free flow of Suess' drawings (a 2-D, hand drawn segment even goes even further and exactly mimics Suess' free-flow drawings.) The plot is as simple as the book it came from: An elephant, Horton, finds himself taking care of a spec of dust. He's not crazy. For on that spec of dust is an entire world, Whoville. And hardly anyone in his jungle believes him. Save only a few misplaced pop culture jokes (spoofs on "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning" are long past ancient), there's not a single moment of the cynicism or belittling humor that ruined the later "Shrek" films. The voice cast here is excellent throughout. Jim Carrey, except for a moment, clamps down his outsize performance. Take the pro-life politics, if you will, or believe it to be pro Civil Rights, nothing is hammered home. It's wondrous, and joyful, fun, mysterious, and cute, and dangerous, just like childhood. A-