Mon, March 3, 2008
Horton Hears a "Who Cares?!"—4:04 PM
Have you seen the ads for Horton Hears A Who? I love Dr. Seuss, and they made a great cartoon out of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, despite less-than-stellar results in other adaptations since. Somehow I'm still wary.
Why Jim Carrey for Horton? Has his voice ever been his selling point? I like him a lot, but it seems like getting Buster Keaton or Fred Astaire to do your animated voices – you're playing more on the physicality the name reminds you of and less on the voice itself.
When you listen to the ads, it doesn't seem like you're getting much "Jim Carrey" out of Jim Carrey, either – and Steve Carell and Seth Rogen seem miscast. I like all these guys, I love having them in movies, but this seems like casting for the value of the name and not for the suitability of the voice. Especially in Rogen's case; any number of lesser-known guys can do what he does, but Seth is "of the moment." If you're going to blindly copy another animation studio, don't let it be DreamWorks, and for God's sake don't copy the second-worst thing they do.
(Just to show how fair I can be, I thought it was stupid to have people like Richard Petty and Mario Andretti doing voice work in Cars, too. But at least those were tiny, tiny cameos.)
Brandon — Thu, 3/13/08 12:35pm
I'm glad to see that the latest TV spot confirms that the producers have preserved the crucial REO Speedwagon "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" sing-along scene from the book.
I've read that Audrey Geisel was unhappy with the Mike Myers adaptation of Cat in the Hat, and basically put the kibosh on any more live-action adaptations, but if this Horton business is her idea of preserving her husband's literary legacy, she might as well just arrange a pay-per-view event where a large, well-fed horse shits upon a stack of Seuss books. The production costs would be considerably lower, the payday would be there, and artistically, I suspect it'd be a wash.
Bee Boy — Thu, 3/13/08 2:53pm
So sad. I had forgotten about the Horton story (it's been years since I read it), but seeing the commercials I'm reminded of its brilliance, which makes it all the more frustrating that it's being watered down with dumb gags (and REO Speedwagon – cripes).
The concept of a world below (or, for the Whos, a world above) is tantalizing, and reminds me of my favorite "Treehouse of Terror" segment ever: when Lisa's tooth becomes the foundation for a whole tiny civilization. Echoed again in my favorite Futurama episode: "Godfellas," when an accidentally jettisoned Bender becomes a planet for a short while.