Horton Hears a Who!

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

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.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Stays true to the spirit and characters of the book while embellishing it to overflowing.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

I don't wish to give offense here, but it certainly doesn't hurt that Mary Lou is voiced by that famously small bundle of energy Isla Fisher. (She's 5-foot-2.)

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Finally! For the first time, Hollywood has made a whimsical, witty, feature-length version of Dr. Seuss that's neither overblown nor smutty nor emotionally hollow.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The look of the story is an undeniable treat, and the message it weaves is both funny and sweet. Horton Hears a Who! is razzle-dazzling and artful, and it builds on Seuss' words by the clever cart-full.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Travis Nichols

It's a loving and attentive take on a charming classic.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Warm, playful and inventive, this tale of an elephant with a spirit as generous as his waistline comes juiced with the genially goofy animation of the folks who brought us "Ice Age" (and, less memorably, "Robots") coupled with a respectful doffing of the cap to Geisel’s exuberantly wacky visual style.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A delight, brimming with colorful, elastic characters and bountiful wit.

Salon.com Mary Elizabeth Williams

It's a feature-length reparation for the appalling live-action versions of Seuss' books we've endured over the last few years.

Time Richard Corliss

You may leave the movie with Seussian anapests dancing in your happy head. Here's mine: A treat for the eye, an epic event/ This film is delightful, one hundred percent.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Horton Hears a Who wisely preserves most of Seuss' verse in voiceover narration, but the main dialogue, while it doesn't rhyme, preserves the author's humanistic humor and whimsy.

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

Listen closely: It's the sound of a million Who fans cheering.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

For its intended audience, Horton's agenda is overt: Listen, be a friend, and most important - have fun!

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

After the terrifying grotesques that were the live-action "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "The Cat in the Hat," it was easy to dread a feature-length Horton Hears a Who!. But -- surprise -- the computer-animated "Horton" is largely funny and faithful to the spirit of the Dr. Seuss book.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

I meant what I said And I said what I meant A flick pretty faithful 'Bout 80 per cent.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Frequently charming, beautifully drawn and far more faithful in spirit to the source material than those dreadful Ron Howard-Brian Grazer productions.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Jim Carrey re-invents Horton much as Robin Williams did with the Genie of the Lamp in Disney's animated "Aladdin."

TV Guide Ken Fox

It's rendered in shiny, state-of-the-art CG animation, not the charming pen-and-ink drawings with which Seuss illustrated his own books or the hand-drawn artistry Chuck Jones brought to the 1970 Horton Hears a Who! short. But considering the messes that came before, that's a minor quibble.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

The tolerance and loopy poetry of the beloved book by Dr. Seuss have been nicely captured.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

It does honor the book's flavor and spirit with a bright, funny treatment. Voice performers Jim Carrey (as Horton) and Steve Carell (the Mayor) play their roles just right, without making the movie about them.

Variety John Anderson

The real stars of the movie are the animators, who imbue even the overgrowth in Horton's jungle with a certain floppy Seuss-ishness.

Village Voice Ed Gonzalez

Horton Hears a Who! has blessedly been conceived and executed in reverence to Seuss's story, padding out the original narrative with some meaningful new ideas and casting a mercifully muzzled Jim Carrey as the titular beast.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Unlike so many computer-animated movies, "Horton" doesn't have that garish, sealed-in-plastic effect that can be so claustrophobic.

Film Threat Matthew Sorrento

Even if Horton's world can't shine like Whoville, this movie's visuals keeps things vivid, while digital animation is so often crisp, precise, and cold.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

In the mold of their previous films "Ice Age" and "Robots": a nice blend of rudimentary and inventive touches.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Someday, if we’re all good little boys and girls, the world will hand us a Dr. Seuss film half as wonderful as one of the books. Meantime we have the competent, clinical computer animation and relative inoffensiveness of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! to pass the time.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

It's a tough balancing act and probably a futile one. As greedily as Hollywood looks upon these books as a franchise to strip-mine, the hard fact remains that what's good about them - Ted Geisel's untrendy gentleness, humor, and intelligence - resists translation to the big screen.

Empire Staff (Not credited)

Charming, funny and great turns from a cast with no finger-wagging. But if you don’t like psychosis-inducing imagery, steer clear.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Endearing, though sometimes belabored.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

There are aspects of “Horton,”... that are fresh and enjoyable, and bits that will gratify even a dogmatic and orthodox Seussian.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Just because the live-action Seusses have dialed down expectations doesn't mean that Horton shouldn't aspire to more than time-wasting mediocrity. There are precious childhoods at stake here.