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Sour Kangaroo and Horton do NOT see eye-to-eye

Dr. Seuss had the matchless ability to distill complex issues into clear and comprehensible philosophical declarations that kids and adults alike could easily understand. Horton is supercharged with a number of such positive messages. It is a story of resolute faithfulness and diligence in the face of overwhelming peer pressure. It would have been very easy for Horton to give up when the going got tough, but after all, "an elephant's faithful 100 percent."

But it is Seuss' beloved phrase, "a person's a person, no matter how small" that embodies a principle as simple as it is profound, and speaks to so all areas of our lives and, indeed, our faith. It is a mantra that endows all created things with a sacredness and value found only in their Creator. While Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) never intended his phrase to become a salvo in the abortion debate, many see in its simplicity the totality of the pro-life message.

The film also acts, equally inadvertently, as a model of religious conviction. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for," says the writer of Hebrews, "the evidence of things not seen." Contrasting the words of Hebrews 11:1, Sour Kangaroo tells Horton, "If you can't hear, see or feel something, it does not exist." But Horton is persuaded. He knows that the Mayor and the Whos of Who-ville are real, despite not being able to see them. In the same way, Horton's immensity actually makes him invisible to the microscopic Mayor. When trying to describe Horton to the rest of the Whos, the Mayor frequently employs the sort of language one uses to describe a God who has yet to make himself visible to us.

Horton Hears a Who! is sure to be a zany and delightful romp for children. But it has the added benefit, thanks to Dr. Seuss' deceptive simplicity, of being a conversation starter about deeper topics like the innate value in each and every one of us, the need for persistence in doing the right thing no matter the odds, and, for the Christian parent, a metaphor for faith itself.

Talk About It

1. In what way does the film's premise mirror Hebrews 11:1, describing a faith that believes despite a lack of physical evidence? In what ways is it different?
2. Consider what the film has to say about child rearing. With 97 children, the Mayor has time enough for only one minute a day with each of his kids, leading to a distinct lack of personal connection, especially with Jojo, his oldest. Do you feel that the Mayor's misplaced expectations for Jojo were satisfactory resolved?
3. Some parents may take issue with Sour Kangaroo, a character cut from the same cloth as Footloose's Rev. Moore—or the papal inquisition that tormented Galileo for his celestial assertions. While no one would disagree that Sour Kangaroo is clearly in the wrong, some may see her characterization (and her child's heroic act of defiance) as a dangerous undermining of parental authority. What do you think?
4. Horton's famous line—"a person's a person, no matter how small"—has been "co-opted" as a slogan by some pro-life groups. What does Scripture say about a person being a person, no matter how small? (See Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:5.)

The Family Corner

Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! is rated G. See the concerns in No. 3 in the "Talk About It" section. About the only thing parents might find objectionable is the use of the word "boob" (in the non-anatomical sense) throughout the film.

Photos © Copyright Twentieth Century Fox

© Brandon Fibbs subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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