Horton Hears a Who! (film)

Horton Hears a Who! also known as Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, is a 2008 American CGI animated movie based on the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss.
 * ''Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino. Written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio.

One elephant. One world. One story.

Horton

 * A person's a person, no matter how small.
 * [in Henry Kissinger's voice] I feel the diplomatic process is beginning to break down.
 * I meant what I said, and I said what I meant and an elephant's faithful 100%! That's my code, my motto.
 * Come on guys, we're all mammals!
 * Hold on, Mr. Mayor. I may have to put up a fight! A frightened elephant can be very dangerous! All right, you've called down the thunder, buddy! Are you hungry for trouble? I'm an all-you-can-eat salad bar, take a bite!
 * All right, I gotta get this speck up to the top of Mount Nool ASAP, whatever that means. Probably "act swiftly awesome pachyderm"! I mean, how hard can that be? [sees a loose rope bridge over a deadly chasm] It's a sheer plummet to certain death.
 * I love the smell of bananas in the morning!
 * Oh, hi Vlad. [Everyone gasps at this, assuming it to be Vlad Vladikoff the vulture, but it's actually the cute "bunny" one who bakes cookies]
 * [Watching the clover about to go into the pot of boiling beezelnut oil] NO!
 * And most of all, I'd like to thank the Mayor of Whoville, who believed in me from the beginning.

Sour Kangaroo

 * If you can't see, hear or feel something, it doesn't exist. And believing in "tiny, imaginary people" is just not something we do... [takes her son's clover he was examining after hearing Horton] ...Or tolerate here in the Jungle of Nool.
 * [Horton suggested that he'd be able to get someone to believe him] You will do nothing of the sort. You will not breathe a word of this lie to anyone else, especially the children. I do not want you poisoning their minds with this nonsense. Our community has standards, Horton. If you want to remain a part of it, I recommend you follow them. Oh, and have a nice day.
 * That Horton is a menace. He has those kids using their imagination. It's sick!

Ned McDodd, the Mayor

 * Horton is a giant elephant in the sky! [everyone looks up] Don't bother looking. He's invisible. And he's the one risking his life to get Whoville, which by the way is a speck on a clover, TO SAFETY!
 * [Speaking to JoJo in the Hall of Mayors] You know what's awesome? This is awesome. Just look at the men and women hanging on these walls. You, my boy, are part of a family legacy that spans centuries. You know what? Your grandfather was Mayor of Whoville, mm-hmm, and your great-grandmother, that's right, all the way down to your... [cut to various paintings of his male ancestors, including one in a ballerina outfit, which he calls "not-so-great", with the last one depicting a cave Who] ...Great-great-great-great...not-so-great...great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-greeeaat...grandfather. Someday, I hope to join them, and be one of the greats.
 * [after being called a "boob" by the Chairman] He has the nerve to call somebody a boob? I would never call somebody a boob. He's a boob. Look at you. Yuck! Look at your face...and I bet you don't look so good with a stapler in your head! [throws a stapler at a painting of the Chairman, which bounces off and hits him in the face, leaving a staple implanted on his forehead, causing him to scream in pain]

Dialogue

 * Horton: There's a tiny person on that speck that needs my help!
 * Kangaroo: Absurd! There aren't people that small.
 * Horton: Well, maybe they aren't small, maybe we're big.
 * Kangaroo: Horton…
 * Horton: No, really. Think about it. What if there were someone way out there, looking down on our world right now, and to them, we're the specks?


 * Chairman: Who wants the joy and glory and festivity of the Who Cenntenial to proceed as planned?
 * Whoville Citizens: YEAH!!
 * Chairman: And who like the Mayor thinks it would be better to spend the Who Cenntenial in an underground storage area?
 * Obnoxious Who: YEAH!!!


 * One of Ned's daughters: Can I please have a Who-phone, Dad? Everyone else in my class has one!
 * Ned: Oh, really? Everyone? [The girl shows Ned her class picture, which shows all her classmates sans her talking on a Who-phone] Oh… I'll think about it.


 * Ned: (after Horton asked if there was someone else there) Well, that's my wife and kids.
 * Horton: You have a family. (in amazement, and maybe a little envy)
 * Ned : I do indeed. (opens his wallet to show all his family) A beautiful wife, 96 daughters... (tons of photos unfurl, ending on the ground in JoJo's picture) ...And 1 son. (he sounds a little down when he says "And 1 son")
 * Horton: (laughing) Busy guy.


 * Morton: (informs Horton about bad news, but is not facing towards him) Horton! D'oh! (turns around) There you are! We got trouble! Wait. (stutters) Do you hear that? No, I'm here. Okay, listen. No! Go! Kangaroo has gone nuts, bananas! She's telling everyone that you should be kicked out of Nool.
 * Horton: She said that? I thought we were friends.
 * Morton: Word is, she's gone to Vlad!
 * Horton: Vlad? Vlad. I know 2 Vlads. Is it the bad Vlad or the bunny Vlad that makes the cookies?
 * Morton: (sarcastic) Yeah, Horton. She's sending you a bunny with cookies. I think we can assume it's the bad Vlad!
 * Horton: Yeah, that's a good call.


 * Vlad: (chased Horton to the edge of a tree) Chess mate. Time to take clover and crush all the little people on it. (Meanwhile, everything on Whoville is shifting in the direction of Horton)
 * Horton: (realizes he's a few feet from the ground) Sorry, this is where we get off. (lets go of the tree, sending it smack into Vlad, who is sent flying)
 * Vlad: (Hits a cliff) OW! Right in the beak! (falls down)
 * Horton: (Recomposed) Cool line. Usually I can't think of those things until later.


 * Kangaroo: (emerges into a clearing where several animals are milling around, including Horton's students) What is happening to the Jungle of Nool!? There once was a time when people were people and specks were specks. (A giraffe-like animal nods agreement) Well, I say if you can't see it, hear it or feel it, it doesn't exist! Our way of life is under attack and who's leading that attack!? HORTON!! (Everyone gasps)
 * Morton: (runs into the clearing) Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. This is Horton we're talking about, you all know him. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Except for that fly city he sat on, but he didn't do that on purpose. (For a moment, it seems the animals have reconsidered)
 * Kangaroo: (With an angry glare) Shut up, mouse.
 * Morton: (laughs uneasily) That's weird. My, uh... brownies are burning, I gotta go. (Realizes he cannot stand up to Jane, and so rushes off to warn Horton)
 * Kangaroo: Are we going to let troublemakers like Horton poison the minds of our children!? (holds up Rudy and shakes him)
 * Yummo: Not the children! (Then all the Wickershams enter the clearing which is now filled with animals)
 * Kangaroo: When Horton tells the children about worlds beyond the jungle, he makes them question authority, which leads to defiance, which leads to ANARCHY!!
 * Yummo: Yeah! Horton must pay!
 * Glummox Mom: It's that speck!
 * Willie Bear: Oh, we have to do something!
 * Mrs. Quilligan: For the children!
 * Yummo: For the children!
 * Kangaroo: (Has everyone on a roll, while one of Horton's students hides from view, not liking what she hears at all, but is too scared and powerless to stop it) Are we going to let him get away with this!?
 * Animals: NOOOOO!! (They then rush off in the direction Horton is)


 * Horton: (right below Mount Nool, with only a wide valley separating him from it and the end of his journey. Suddenly, he hears rumbling, then sees Morton running towards him, over the lip of the chasm.) Morton, I told you "100%"!
 * Morton: Horton!
 * Horton: Morton, pick up your feet! Jeez!
 * Morton: (running as fast as he can) It's not me!
 * Horton: (Then Horton sees the animals of the jungle of Nool come over the lip.) Oh, I see. It's an angry mob. Sorry, Morton. I thought it was you, it's making all the.. but it's... Oh, darn! (realizes what he's saying)
 * Morton: Run, Horton! (He then gets run over by the mob)


 * Kangaroo: (has Horton surrounded) Sto-o-o-p! (everyone stops)
 * Horton: (trying to lighten his situation) Hey fellas. Good to see you, all at once. You look really great, as a horde.
 * Kangaroo: Horton, Horton, Horton. Look at the mess you've created for yourself. All this hullabaloo over a silly little flower.
 * Horton: (defensively) It's a speck.
 * Kangaroo: Right. I mean, it's silly, really... all this talk of roping you and caging you... (in a dark tone) ...And well, we won't need to get into the details. The point is this angry mob-All the trouble you're in, it can all go away. (everyone looks confused at this)
 * Horton: (Surprised) Really?
 * Kangaroo: Of course! All you have to do is admit, to everyone that THERE ARE NO LITTLE PEOPLE LIVING ON THAT SPECK! (points accusingly) That you were wrong and I was right. You do that and things can go right back to the way they were, but if you don't, you're going to have to pay the price. (The Wickershams then bring up a huge cage, which Horton winces at)
 * Horton: So, I just have to say it isn't true. (Kangaroo smiles darkly. Horton pauses for a moment, then a look of determination comes over him) Go ahead! Rope me! Cage me! Do whatever you want, but there are people on this speck and they have a mayor, who has 96 daughters and 1 son named JoJo, who all share a bathroom, whatever that is. And even though you can't hear or see them at all, a person's a person, no matter how small. (Raises the clover, while the animals stop their angry bickering, and have looks of happiness, and hope now in their eyes. One Wickersham even stops himself from eating a bug he just picked up)
 * Kangaroo: (For a moment, she looks touched) That was beautiful, Horton. (The anger springs back to her eyes) ROPE HIM! CAGE HIM! AND BURN THAT SPECK IN A POT OF BOILING BEEZLENUT OIL! (The Wickersham then shrugs, and eats the bug)


 * (while the people of WhoVille make noise to be heard)
 * Ned: Can they hear us now?
 * Horton: (while being roped and put in a cage) Listen, please! It's the most beautiful thing ever!
 * Yummo: I don't hear nothin'!
 * Horton: I don't think so, but keep trying! I'll never give in! (begins to strain against the ropes, and it take several seconds for the Wickershams to continue their pulling) Are you sure, that every who down in Whoville is tring?


 * Mayor: Hey, Joe. Don't work too hard.
 * Joe: Ah, these luxury condos, they don't build themselves. (a huge bump flips the town, though the condo is now completed with Joe on a beach bench) Hey, look at that! I guess they do build themselves!


 * Glummox Mom: My, that Horton certainly is eccentric.
 * Mrs. Quilligan: And the children are learning so much from him.
 * Kangaroo: Learning to be a bunch of hair-brained half-wits! And that's why my Rudy is pouch-schooled.


 * Sour Kangaroo: (snatches Rudy's orange clover) Rudy!
 * Rudy: Mom, be careful! My best friend, Thidwick, lives on that!
 * Kangaroo: Rudy, no one lives on this. It's not possible. (crushes the clover)
 * Rudy: (as his mother angrily marches towards Horton) M-Mom, please, you're so weird, don't do this to me.
 * Kangaroo: Honey, go to your room. (pushes Rudy into her pouch) Horton!


 * Ned: Hey, hon? Did you ever get the feeling that you were being watched?
 * Sally: Um, yeah. Sure. I suppose.
 * Ned: And then you get the feeling that that person watching you is, uh… a giant elephant?
 * Sally: Uh—
 * Ned: And then… you know how you get the sort of feeling that your world is a speck, that the elephant that I talked about earlier is carrying it around on a flower, and you realize that if you told anybody they’d think you were crazy, but you still feel the responsibility to keep everyone safe! You know that feeling?
 * Sally: Um… (pause) You know, I’m gonna have to say "no". Do you know that feeling?
 * Mayor: Pfft... Ha-ha-ha! NO.


 * Rudy: Can I come out now, Mom?
 * Kangaroo: No, Rudy. Stay in your room. (pushes Rudy into her pouch)
 * Rudy: But, Mom…
 * Kangaroo: Stay inside. (pushes Rudy into her pouch again)


 * JoJo: (Climbing out window, hears glasses, turns) Hmmm?
 * Ned: (carrying glasses stacked on trays, balencing them) Hey, JoJo. (lotta liquid, lotta liquid) Just the person I wanted to see. You know, I realize we have not been seeing eye to eye lately and most of it is my fault. It's true. You know what I have been trying to do? I have been trying to impose my vision of your future on you. (Sticks his foot right in JoJo's face, JoJo draws back, groaning.) Let me make this perfectly clear. JoJo, you can be WHATEVER kind of mayor you wanna be... hands-on, strong and silent, outspoken. It's up to you. (Camera through water glasses, JoJo appears to be smiling, camera lowers, he's really not, he looks rather mystified actually) Well, good. I feel so much better.
 * JoJo: Uh... (mayor takes no notice)
 * Ned: I'm expecting big things from you, young man. Big things! (gives JoJo a glass of water) All right, good night. Good stuff, good talk! (leaves the room)
 * JoJo: (silently) "Good stuff".

About

 * On the design of the movie, I really felt that Dr. Seuss was our production designer. I got to travel to Audrey Geisel’s (Dr. Seuss’s [Theodor Seuss Geisel] wife) home where Dr. Seuss penned many of his later works. She gave us a wonderful tour and I saw a lot of his artwork on the walls. I saw a couple of sculptures he had done from characters he had drawn. They almost looked like mounted trophies on the wall.


 * Steve Martino, "Directing "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who": Steve Martino", Christian Cinema, December 1, 2008.

Main voice cast

 * Jim Carrey as Horton the Elephant
 * Steve Carell as Mayor Ned McDodd
 * Carol Burnett as jane Kangaroo
 * Will Arnett as Vlad Vladikoff
 * Jesse McCartney as JoJo McDodd
 * Seth Rogen as Morton the Mouse
 * Dan Fogler as Yummo Wickersham and the Councilman
 * Michael Pena as Who 1
 * Ken Jeong as Who 2
 * Ben Schwartz as Who 3
 * Josh Gad As Who 4
 * Isla Fisher as Doctor Mary Lou LaRue
 * Jonah Hill as Tommy tiger
 * Amy Poehler as Sally O'Malley
 * Jaime Pressly as Mrs. Quilligan
 * Niecy Nash as Miss Yelp

Other voice cast

 * Shelby Adamowsky as Hedy and Hooly McDodd
 * Jack Angel as an Old Time Who
 * Caitlin Rose Anderson as Helen McDodd
 * Emily Anderson as Heather
 * Jan Rabson as the Town Cryer
 * John Cygan as Who
 * Jess Harnell as Another Who
 * Debi Derryberry as a Who Mom
 * Samantha Droke as Hildy and Holly McDodd
 * Karen Disher as a Who child
 * Marshall Efron as a Wickersham guard
 * Bill Farmer as Willie Bear
 * Jason Fricchione as Joe the Construction Worker
 * Heather Goldenhersh as a Who girl
 * Selena Gomez as Helga McDodd
 * Jimmy Haward as Obnoxious Who
 * Joey King as Katie yak
 * Christina Martino as Hildy and Holly McDodd
 * Ellie Martino as baby Hanna McDodd
 * Laraine Newman as a Glummox mother
 * Tim Nordquist as a Wickersham guard
 * Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Angela deer
 * Laura Ortiz as Jessica Quilligan bird
 * Joe Pasquale as the Dentist
 * Connor Anderson as a Who child