'Horton Hears A Who!' fails to impress

During a relaxing swim, loveable elephant Horton is startled to hear voices emanating from a speck of dust lodged on a clover. He soon discovers that the speck is actually the microscopic world of Who-ville, presided over by the Mayor.

Realising the fate of Who-ville rests in his trunk, Horton embarks on a quest to finding a safe resting place for the clover.

Unfortunately, officious Roo learns of Horton’s strange odyssey and sends bird of prey Vlad Vladikoff to destroy the flower. Promoting a valuable message of equality (“a person’s a person, no matter how small”), 'Horton Hears A Who!' bursts with colourful visuals and fluffy critters, but lacks well-sketched characters, genuine emotion or a constant stream of laughs.

The big set-pieces — such as Horton traversing a rickety rope bridge and escaping Vlad’s airborne attacks — fail to set pulses racing. Only with the grand finale, uniting the whole of Who-ville in a desperate attempt to make their voices heard, does the film spark to life. Jim Carrey is surprisingly restrained with his vocal performance as the eponymous pachyderm.

Funny accents and ad-libs are kept to a minimum, giving supporting performances a chance to emerge from the undergrowth and steal a mediocre film.

Family/Comedy

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