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“After all, a person is a person, no matter how small,” is the famous line from the classic Dr. Seuss book Horton Hears a Who. The big screen animated version is stuffed with enough big Hollywood actors to keep you guessing who’s who, no matter how small the role. Horton Hears a Who is blandly enjoyable, clean fun and overly busy at times, but enough to keep the young ones briefly entertained.

One day, Horton the elephant (Jim Carrey) hears a cry from help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can’t see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. Horton learns the speck of dust is home to the microscopic Whos, who live in their equally microscopic city of Whoville and led by Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carrell). Horton agrees to help protect the Whos, but this gives him nothing but torment from his neighbors in the jungle of Newell, who refuse to believe that anything could survive on the speck. Still, Horton stands by the motto that, “After all, a person is a person, no matter how small” even if it means risking his own life.

Horton Hears a Who has much going for it –a frenzied, busy pace, flashy animation and an energetic all-star cast of voices to make it an above-average entry in the animated genre. Horton mixes some of the best elements of Dr. Seuss’ beloved book, including the oddly shaped Who-villers and the basic tone of the story, and updates it with current references to computers and the internet, cell phones and other contemporary gadgetry. Most kids won’t get those references (for example, My Space reference) but enough zeal to keep kids engaged for its brief running time.

Comic leads Carrey and Carrell add zing to Horton and their voices the most recognizable of its large cast. Carrey, who played a live-action Grinch a few years back, especially has fun as the merry elephant hero, who says things like “I said what I meant and I meant what I said” and makes wild gestures with his ears. Carrell, as the miniature mayor of Whoville with many, many kids, also gets in a humorous line or two – “Do you ever feel like we’re being watched…and maybe that thing is an elephant?”; his stint in a dentist’s chair is one of Horton’s best scenes.

The rest of Horton’s voice work is charming though distracting if you try to figure out who’s who (pun intended). Listen closely for Carol Burnett as a manipulative kangaroo, Will Arnett as an evil bird, Isla Fisher (Definitely, Maybe) a lisping who-ville scientist and Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) as a small blue mouse, though our comic leads still generate more laughs. Other celebrity voices get lost in the fray – including Jaime Pressley (My Name Is Earl), Jonah Hill (Superbad) and even (gasp!) Dane Cook – most of whom have just a few lines.

It’s best just to sit back and enjoy Horton’s charm and fast pace. The intensity level (i.e. scary moments) is remarkably low though Carrey’s ad-libbing (a John Kennedy reference, among many others) and other references (a misplaced nod to Japanese anime) will go well over the heads of its intended audience. Horton comes from 20th Century Fox animators Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, they both worked in the animation departments for Robots, Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 2, and while vibrant it lacks the quality or originality of Disney.

Horton should still be a solid hit, with many of Dr. Seuss’s relevant messages of respecting others opinions strongly reinforced throughout, down to a predictably fun climax. Horton also reinforces the fact that Dr. Seuss and his oddly shaped characters are far less annoying and easier to take in animated form than live action form. Carrey’s Grinch was annoyingly odd and Mike Myers The Cat (as in Cat in the Hat) downright creepy in those respectively dreadful movies. I’d much rather see Carrey as an animated, dopey elephant any day versus his swirlingly hyper and heavily made-up Grinch.

No matter who you are, no matter how small or large, will be entertained by Horton Hears a Who, even if just a speck of it will be remembered a few hours later.

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