Here’s the sitch - I have three kids ranging from 2 – 14 years of age, so you could say I have seen my fair share of cartoon/kids/family movies. I love movies and have an average collection of the movies I like on DVD, but my kids have a collection of DVD’s that puts mine to shame. Needless to say, I have seen animals of all shapes and sizes, animated or otherwise, speak and go on way out adventures. So when the kids suggested we watch Horton Hears a Who you can bet I was thrilled – Not!

Horton Hears a Who is the latest cartoon blockbuster offering on DVD from 20th Century Fox. The story revolves around an elephant named Horton who one day hears a cry of help coming from a speck of dust on a clover. Even though he can’t see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home, but this gives him nothing but torment from his neighbors, who refuse to believe that anything could survive on the speck. Still, Horton stands by the motto that, “After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.”

I began watching this movie thinking that it was probably going to be the same as the thousand or so kids movies I have had to endure as a parent. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story moves along at a nice pace, the animation was faultless and looked amazing, and the underlying theme of faith was remarkable. That, and it kept kept the kids quiet for an hour and half.

I must admit, I enjoyed the movie, but after the final credit rolled I didn’t really give it another thought. That was until my daughter, who’s 14, came to me the next day and told me that she saw the movie like the Christian life – That the elephant, Horton, was the Christian, who put his faith in the speck, even though no-one else saw or heard it. She had also caught that he was victimized and persecuted by the community at large who didn’t want to accept that Horton could in fact hear, and even communicate, with the speck.

Thinking back to the movie I think it really is a movie about faith. Horton hears the Who and decides to go and find a safe place for the speck, fearing it might get damaged or destroyed if left where it was. No-one else can hear the Who’s, as Horton’s ears are very sensitive. And so, Horton sets out on a quest , even though there are those who come against him and demand that he deny the fact that he hears voices from the speck.

Horton isn’t the only one who has faith – The mayor of Whoville shows remarkable faith when he puts his faith in Horton (who he can’t see) and places his life, and the lives of his family, friends, and community, in Horton’s hands and trusts him to do the right thing.

There are some great launching points in this movie for family discussion time afterward. The idea that everyone is someone and deserving of respect plays prominently throughout the movie. The issue of faithfulness is raised when Horton says in response to the naysayers, “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful, one hundred percent!” Community and family coming together is a prominent part of the story, as is faith, in that Horton puts his faith in the voice and the Who’s put their faith in him. Then there’s the whole issue of persecution for having faith and the resulting forgiveness on Horton’s part.

I have been accused in the past of reading too much into movies and finding stuff that’s just not there. That may be so for some movies, but the messages in Horton Hears a Who come through loud and clear, enough so that even the most cynical person should at least catch one of them.

Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
March, 2009

PS: Thanks Leah for the inspiration to write this review, couldn’t have done it without your remarkable insight.

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