Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
The story of the loveable elephant named Horton (voiced by Jim Carrey), who finds a speck on a clover and discovers that there is a community of Whos living on it. His troubles start when he tries to protect them from a busybody kangaroo (voiced by Carol Burnett), which does not believe him and thinks that the speck should be boiled in oil. Also with the voices of Steve Carell, Dan Fogler, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Isla Fisher, Amy Poehler, Jaime Pressly, Jonah Hil, Laura Ortiz and Selena Gomez. Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino. [1:28]
SEX/NUDITY 0 - We see a Who in a tub with bubbles (bare shoulders). People talk about a person having 96 children.
the review continues below...
VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - An elephant is roped and dragged into a cage while a clover is held over a pot of boiling oil; the cage door closes, and the elephant pleads for the clover to be spared. ► We see Whoville in rubble and without Whos; the elephant fears the worst when no who speaks to it. ► A vulture swoops down toward an elephant, its claws gets stuck to a tree, and the Whos and their belongings on a speck on a clover are shown being tossed around (one man is struck in the crotch by a fish bowl, and one is squished by a refrigerator and stapled in the forehead, but they are OK). ► Many animals charge an elephant and chase it and they talk about whipping, roping and caging it. Four animals drop onto the back of an elephant from a tree limb (the elephant is unharmed). ► A vulture grabs a clover away from an elephant, it flies away, the elephant chases it, climbing a sheer rock wall, trudges through snow, jumps a crevasse to the edge of a ledge and the clover is dropped into an enormous clover field. ► We see a fish frozen in water in a bowl (it is revived later). ► An elephant walks across a rope bridge and the slats begin to fall out; it clings to the ropes, pulls itself up by grabbing over the top of the ledge and pulls itself to safety. ► A stapler strikes a Who in the head, we hear him scream and see a staple in his forehead. ► A kangaroo pokes an elephant in the face a couple of times and behaves in a threatening manner in a few scenes. An elephant fights with a tree (we see a red welt on the elephant's buttock). A mouse pulls back the eyelids of an elephant and its eyes are wide open. ► A machine attaches itself to a Who's face and holds it in a smile while another machine follows him, kicking him in the pants. Many children run out of a house and trample a Who (he's OK). ► A vulture with sharp teeth talks about devouring a speck and practices on a bone (it chokes, and then coughs the bone back up); also it talks about eating a speck, then regurgitating it and eating it again. A mouse describes something with razor sharp claws "ripping your skin off." Two Whos argue while enclosed in a glass dome, so that other people in the room are unable to hear them (their body language is animated). A Who talks about their world being destroyed. ► A monkey places bananas under its armpits, squeezes and shoots them at an elephant that's running through the jungle. An elephant is frightened and panics when it realizes a bug has gotten into its nose (it rolls around on the ground and cries for help); the bug pops out covered in slime and another animal snaps it into its mouth with a long tongue (it later lets the bug out unharmed). A monkey stuffs many bananas in its mouth (it seems like a contest) and one pops out through its nose. An elephant blows water and fish out of its ear. ► An elephant is worried when it sees many large bugs and watches them eating (it's afraid that the bugs will eat a speck). An elephant imagines a person living on a speck and that they need help or they will be killed. ► Whos feel a rumble and hear a couple of loud thumps. A seedpod rolls along the ground and crashes into a clover that loosens a speck, which floats through the air, nearly dipping into water until it lands on a clover. Children cry when snow melts.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Community, distrust, jealousy, doing the right thing, standing up for what you believe in, defiance, anarchy, making sacrifices, trust, friendship, family, having a sense of purpose, dreams, aspirations, expectations, responsibility
MESSAGE - Amazing things can be accomplished when you work together. A person is a person, no matter how small.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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