Horton Hears a Who! 2008

A.O. Scott, New York Times: What distinguishes Horton Hears a Who! from the other recent Dr. Seuss film adaptations is that it is not one of the worst movies ever made. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: The tolerance and loopy poetry of the beloved book by Dr. Seuss have been nicely captured in this CGI adaptation. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: When Horton sticks to the sweet, funny spirit of its source, though, all's right with the worlds, big and little. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: This Horton Hears a Who! never loses sight of the simple but perennially powerful theme at the heart of Seuss' tale: 'a person's a person, no matter how small.' Read more

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Just because the live-action Seusses have dialed down expectations doesn't mean that Horton shouldn't aspire to more than time-wasting mediocrity. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Horton Hears a Who! represents a fresh, and mostly refreshing, approach in Hollywood's pillaging of the good doctor's oeuvre. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: The sad thing is that this Horton doesn't stick by its central message -- that every voice counts -- the way Horton sticks to the Whos. It pretends to, but the sincerity is just too scary to commit to fully. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Your enjoyment of this G-rated enterprise will have everything to do with how much you're willing to overlook: how much story padding, how many references to Henry Kissinger or Apocalypse Now or MySpace. Does Seuss need any of this? Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: On the 14th of March, from the Land of L.A., comes a film based on Seuss that I'm happy to say, isn't overblown junk like The Cat in The Hat -- a movie that messed with the book and fell flat. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It's so funny and good-natured that I can't imagine anybody not smiling through it. Not even a Grinch. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: It's a relief then that writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio have fun with the belief that all humor doesn't have to be of the wink-nudge variety to appeal to adults in the 'plex. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Horton Hears a Who! brings a masterwork into the here and now with both respect and wide-eyed enthusiasm. So smart, so stimulating, so much fun. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: If I ran the circus, the gang that made the sturdy, witty, inventively animated Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! would get first dibs on any future movie productions of the Theodor Seuss Geisel canon. Read more

Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: Directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino direct with a keen eye for bringing Dr. Seuss' whimsical drawings and humanistic message to CG life. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Warm, playful and inventive. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! is the first feature-length Seuss movie adaptation to adequately evoke the warmhearted eccentricity of Theodore Geisel's classic children's books. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: And a motto moguls should take some time learning, if they'd like their movies to finally be earning, for it's not the cash that makes a prize of the art, but the warmth of the tale, and the size of the heart. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The team behind Ice Age capture the Seussian visuals without squishing emotions or squelching the sing-songy language. Listen closely: It's the sound of a million Who fans cheering. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Frequently charming, beautifully drawn and far more faithful in spirit to the source material than those dreadful Ron Howard-Brian Grazer productions. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Who among us can resist an animated elephant, or even a lethargic one? Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: This new Horton 'toon may be state of the art. But it's great virtue isn't the 3-D animation. It's the good Doctor, whose writing about Whos never goes out of style. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Seuss lovers may now heave a sigh of relief. Unlike those behind the recent live-action grotesqueries The Grinch and Cat in the Hat, the makers of the Horton Hears a Who! do well by the great, good medic of metrical writing. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Horton Hears a Who! doesn't enter the live-action realm, which is a good thing, but the lengthened result has its own charm and is enjoyable in a family-friendly sort of way, even if it feels a little like Dr. Seuss by way of Ice Age. Read more

Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon.com: Doesn't have the brisk economy of the original book, but the animated Horton feels nevertheless close to the sweet, quirky heart of Dr. Seuss. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Earlier big-screen adaptations have smothered the good doctor's unpretentious whimsy under layers of production bloat. Horton feels as blithe and confident of its unpretentious virtues as its long-nosed hero. Read more

Laura Emerick, Chicago Sun-Times: If you're willing to ignore the Hollywood gloss and enjoy the cinematic experience, you'll find a Horton that's faithful, if not 100 percent, to the spirit of the beloved children's classic. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Compared with those mega-budget predecessors, the adaptation sticks pretty close to the text and tone of the book, faithful enough to earn its just reward. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: This is animation most animate, a kid-pic so rare, that even adults will fall off their chairs! Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: The movie proves a funny, elevating ride that should beguile the young and keep their parents or grandparents enthralled too. For once, the G rating stands for Glorious. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Yes, Horton Hears a Who! has been dragged into the modern age, nowhere near as hyperactively as the Shrek movies, but not without damage. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Horton Hears a Who! is razzle-dazzling and artful, and it builds on Seuss' words by the clever cart-full. Read more

John Anderson, Variety: No elevating moments, but a few of pure mirth: "In my world," says one of the film's furry woodland creatures, "everybody's a pony, they eat rainbows and poop butterflies ... " Now that would be something to see. Read more

Ed Gonzalez, Village Voice: Respect is what Horton's preaching, and that's a message to be foisted on children guilt-free. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: A computer-animated feature that strikes an amiable balance between honoring the text and the dictates of contemporary animation, the film is as good as one could hope for in this era of post-literate impatience. Read more