Horton the Elephant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Horton the Elephant is a fictional character from the books Horton Hatches the Egg and Horton Hears a Who, both by Dr. Seuss. Horton is a kind, sweet-natured elephant who cares about other animals or people. Though he goes through many hardships, whether trying to keep an egg warm through storms, rough travels, and humiliating shows or trying to save a small planet from harm, he always triumphs; the egg hatches into an elephant-bird, while the planet is saved and respected by the others. He is very popular for because of his big heart and respectful com- passion, which makes him more humorous.
Horton is also a character on the TV series The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. Kent Rogers voiced the character in "Horton Hatches the Egg".
Horton is portrayed by Jim Carrey in the computer-animated adaptation of Horton Hears A Who, where he is shown as being eccentric and imaginative.
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[edit] Other Characters
[edit] Hatches the Egg
- Mayzie: A lazy, good-for-nothing bird who was sitting on an egg, but probably got lazy after a few days. She convinces Horton to sit on the egg, but when it started hatching, she demanded it back until it hatched into an elephant bird. In Seussical, it is revealed her full name is Mayzie La-Bird.
- Hunters: 3 game hunters that were going to shoot Horton, but decided to sell Horton to the Circus due to him in a tree. In the book, they are illustrated as gentle folk, but in the cartoon, they look more like Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd.
- Morton the Elephant Bird: Half elephant, half bird. The most likely reason for Morton being half elephant half bird is because of Horton sitting on the egg.
[edit] Hears a Who
- Sour Kangaroo or Jane Kangaroo: A cruel and obsessive kangaroo who does NOT believe the Whos and Whoville exist. She also believes Horton knows they don't exist. She will do anything to get rid of Whoville, and even follows Horton over the mountains to carry out her nasty mission.
- Junior Kangaroo: Kangaroo's young Joey. Has the habit of repeating what his mother says, even if it's not a word, such as "HMMPH".
- Mayor of Whoville: The mayor of the microscopic world of Whoville who cares very much for his city and its people. In the animated special of Horton Hears a Who, he is changed a bit. His name is Dr. Hoovey and he is a scientist who worked on communicating to outer space life. Nobody in Whoville believes him about Horton until Whoville crashes when Vlad drops the flower and decide to help him save Whoville. But there is only one question: Is this the same Whoville as in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or a different one? It is more likely the same because Horton Hears a Who was published 3 years before The Grinch.
- The Wickersham Brothers: A group of vicious monkeys that steal the flower that Whoville rests upon. They have a very large family consisting of their uncles, cousins, and in-laws that help tie up Horton.
- Vlad Vladikoff: A black bottomed eagle that takes the flower that Whoville rests upon and drops it in a huge patch of flowers. In the animated special of Horton Hears a Who, his name is changed to Whizzer McWoff and he appears more sinister than his book counterpart.
- JoJo: A little boy who is quiet by nature, but turns out to be very loud when he saved Whoville by shouting the made up word "YOPP". In Seussical, he plays a much larger role. He is portrayed as an over imaginative boy who is very misunderstood by everyone except for The Cat in the Hat and Horton. He ends up being the hero. Jo-Jo is played by Jesse McCartney who is a singer.
[edit] Quotes
His defining characteristic is his loyalty. As he says in Horton Hatches the Egg:
- "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.
- An elephant's faithful, one hundred per cent!"
And in Horton Hears a Who:
- "A person's a person, no matter how small."
[edit] Other Media
- "Horton Hatches the Egg" was made into a 10 minute cartoon for Looney Tunes in 1942. Created by Bob Clampett.
- "Horton Hears a Who!" was made into an animated TV special in 1970. Directed by Chuck Jones.
- In the Full House episodeFogged In, Uncle Jesse is reading Michelle "Horton Hears a Who", until Danny comes in and he tells a story about the first half of the episode (only using a fairy tale setting and Danny being the "Geeky Giant").
- Both Horton books were part of the main plot in the musical Seussical. Horton was one of the main characters.
- Horton the Elephant appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Metal Militia" voiced by Roger L. Jackson. He is seen listening to a Jewish comedian.
- Horton Hears a Who! was made into an animated motion picture in 2008 with Jim Carrey as Horton, Steve Carell as the mayor of Who-ville, Carol Burnett as Sour Jane Kangaroo, and Jesse McCartney as JoJo.
- The Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends TV Show has produced an episode called Land Of the Flea that parodies
Horton Hears A Who!
