Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)

Waste of time

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"Horton Hatches the Egg" is a short film from 1942, so this one has its 75th anniversary this year. It is a co-production between Schlesinger Studios and Warner Bros. and unusually long for a cartoon from that time. Usually they ran for 7 minutes, but this one here stands at almost 10. So yeah, this is another one from the Golden Age of Animation and this of course means that visually, it is an absolute delight taking into account when this was made. There are not any of the Warner Bros. standard cartoon characters in here (Bugs, Daffy), but the focus here is on an elephant, who gets an A+ for dedication in the story here and a nice little reward at the very end that was pretty sweet, almost touching. Sadly, most of the action before that is not really too memorable, so the plot could have been better and even gets a bit repetitive. The three antagonists, if you can call them like that (Mother Bird also has something going for her), look as if they are taken right out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon though, also a bit on the incompetent side, but luckily the elephant is not as resilient as Bugs. Oh yeah, final note, this one here is actually based on a work by Dr. Seuss and he had many more adaptations to come in the following decades. It may not be as good as Elmer The Elephant, but it is still worth watching, mostly thanks to the revelation at the very end.

I said what I meant and I meant what I said. I am tired of the katherine hepburn impersonations in these cartoons really I am. Peter Lorre impersonations are also made in many cartoons from the thirties and forties. Others include the marx brothers and Laurel and Hardy. Come on impersonate some other celebrities or do not do it at all. Why kill yourself if you've seen everything. Also you cannot really see everything. You could spend a life time and what you've seen would still be almost negliglble. That joke has been done many times before in the thirties also. What a lazy bird. What's with the rhyming Dr Zeuss? Some are really unnecessary. Oh well at least not everything was being rhymed with everything else or it would just be weird. Not the best Dr Zeuss inspired cartoon. The ending is just ridiculous. This is my opinion but some may find it cute and charming there is nothing wrong with that. That is not the case with me.

. . . the meaning of HORTON HATCHES THE EGG. This Dr. Seuss Looney Tune from World War Two does NOT make much sense in its original context of the 1900s. Who ever heard of an ELEPHANT BIRD?! Recently, however, America's crack corps of Warnologists (those folks who laboriously interpret Classic Warner Bros.' Animated Shorts for prophesies of 21st Century America's impending Calamities, Catastrophes, Cataclysms, and Apocalypti--which have proved far more accurate than those of that over-rated prognosticator, Nostradamus) have made a startling discovery. Present Day editorial cartoonists invariably caricature Barack Obama with Horton-like elephant ears. Also, "Lazy Mayzie" sounds a lot more like Hillary Clinton than some dead chick called Kate Hepburn. During his national address Oct. 14, 2016, Mr. Obama cried us a river complaining about Leader Trump and boosting (while making excuses for) that raunchy rooster's moll, Mayzie (aka, Hillary). Rest assured, Today's Citizens of Horton's Future: We've been shown how this story ends. Horton hatches HIS egg, which turns out NOT to resemble a Lazy Mayzie Clinton, but a Cute Widdle Teenie Tiny elephant: that is, a Chip off the Ol' Block, Leader Trump!

Dr Seuss was one of my childhood favourite authors(and I still hold a lot of fondness for them) and Bob Clampett was one of the best and most unique animation directors. Combining the two together seemed like a match made in heaven, and this is something that translates just as well on screen. I am glad that there are others who hold Horton Hatches the Egg, and I wish it was better known because of all the animated cartoons/specials there is of Dr Seuss' work(the granddaddy of them all being How the Grinch Stole Christmas) Horton Hatches the Egg is among the best ones. The animation is beautifully drawn and brightly coloured, you have got to love the Peter Lorre fish, that was genius. Clampett even brings his own edge to it while still remaining faithful to Dr Seuss' style, which I really liked. The music is whimsical and upbeat both in the incidental scoring and the ditties, while the dialogue and rhymes are as catchy and witty as ever, again having that Clampett edge while still feeling and sounding like Dr Seuss. The story and characters are always engaging, there is a great deal of charm and heart and often it is hugely funny too. The voice work is just great. In conclusion, a classic that deserves better recognition. 10/10 Bethany Cox