The live Jungle….

Dr Seuss takes us back to the jungle life with his comic animated movie ‘Horton Hears a Who’. I think 20th Century Fox has done a great job by adhering to original story (thank God !). After the horrible adaptation of ‘The Cat in the Hat’, they seem to have realized that it is best to stick to the original script.

The story starts on a hot day (15th May) in the jungle of Noor. Horton, the elephant (Jim Carrey), is swaying to the chirping sound of the birds. He does a triple summersault and jumps into the pond. I consider the splash in the movie is comparatively small, coz when a humongous elephant like Horton plops into a pool there would be no water left in the pool; I guess that’s an error, but then , even Fox is allowed some mistakes. As Horton practices backstroke he hears a call for help. Unable to figure out who called he continues swimming.

A little later, while teaching the young ones about leaf bugs (they resemble leaf), Horton hears the voice again. Eureka! Animated movie like this one can be used as teaching aid. Yaar…will someone please suggest this to the university guys - paisa bhi bachega. So, where were we? Yes, Horton is teaching the kids when we hears the voice again, but this time he realizes that the call is emanating from a dust particle.

Convinced he is hearing voices from the tiny speck, he tries to establish contact with the other life form. And we discover a whole new world of Whoville, a world of happy go lucky people, who laugh at the drop of the hat. (I think laughter therapy works as very one at Whoville is slim and tall. Wish I too could be a Whoville). The Mayor (Steve Carell) of the town has 98 daughters and one son, Wow! I wonder if they are amphibs, reptiles or mammals. As Horton tirelessly pursues to contact the unknown world, our villain Mrs. Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) overhears him. Mrs. Villain is a woman with power and a complete snob. She wants everyone to follow the conventional way of life, sounds like the catholic church of the ‘dark age’. Anyway, Mrs. Kangaroo advices Horton to keep his mouth shut. But our good guy wants to fall in trouble and spills his discovery to his students. And the news spreads like a wild fire.

Meanwhile Horton manages to communicate with the Mayor. Mayor trembles with fear to hear that his happy go lucky world of Whoville is at the mercy of an elephant. But as “an elephant is 100% loyal” (Is he a Rajput?) Horton sets to find a safe place for Whoville and thus begins Horton’s adventure…

And for the rest, go watch the movie. If I do all the work what will you guys do?

This movie is a complete family entertainer. Although people are under the impression that it's a kid's movie. But there are enough jokes that fly over little heads to keep adults entertained as well. And yes don’t worry about the end - everything is happy-happy and yes our Mrs. Villain turns into Mrs. Goody.

Star rating: ***