Horton Hatches the Egg (film)
| Horton Hatches the Egg | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies series | |
 Blue Ribbon reissue title card | |
| Directed by | Bob Clampett |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Story by |
Michael Maltese (screen adaptation) Dr. Seuss (original story) |
| Voices by |
Kent Rogers Sara Berner Frank Graham Mel Blanc Bob Clampett |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by |
Robert McKimson Virgil Ross Sid Sutherland Rod Scribner |
| Layouts by | Earl Klein |
| Backgrounds by | Richard H. Thomas |
| Studio | Leon Schlesinger Productions |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 11, 1942 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 10min |
| Language | English |
Horton Hatches the Egg is a ten-minute animated short film based on the book by Dr. Seuss, by Leon Schlesinger Productions in 1942, released as part of Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies series. The short, which in contrast to the original children's book, was more adult-oriented and was directed by Bob Clampett. Horton was voiced by Kent Rogers along with the Peter Lorre fish, Sara Berner voiced Mayzie and the elephant bird, Frank Graham narrated, and Mel Blanc performed most of the other voices.
In producing the cartoon, Clampett's unit did not use a storyboard, as was the customary practice; instead, they sketched and wrote additional ideas for the cartoon in Clampett's copy of Seuss' book. Several elements that do not appear in the original book were added to the cartoon, including;
- An introductory paragraph, starting with "Now once in a jungle . . ." and ending with " . . . up in her tree."
- A scene where Mayzie uses sex appeal, including (unsuccessfully) shifting her physique to make it appear as if she has large breasts, to lure Horton.
- Several areas of skipped or re-invented dialogue, such as when Mayzie claims to have bags under her eyes, or when Horton speaks, "Plain as day" to the hunters, except that they only have one gun, which is clearly not aimed at his heart.
- A fish caricature of Peter Lorre who shoots himself in the head after seeing Horton on the boat (This scene has been edited or removed from most television prints of the cartoon since the 1980s).
- A breathy Katharine Hepburn impersonation by Mayzie, and
- A popular nonsense tune of that era, "The Hut-Sut Song" first recorded by Horace Heidt – Words and music by Leo V. Killion, Ted McMichael and Jack Owens, sung by Horton and his son, with the words "and so on so on so forth" replacing some of the lyrics.
Production
- Animation: Robert McKimson, Virgil Ross, Sid Sutherland, Rod Scribner
- Effects Animation: A.C. Gamer
- Layout: Earl Klein
- Background Supervisor: Art Loomer
- Background: Richard H. Thomas, Charlotte Richardson
- Graphics: Don Foster
- Co-Director: Ben Washam
- Editor: Treg Brown
- Sound Editor: Treg Brown
- Musical Director: Carl W. Stalling
- Additional Music: Dean Elliott
- Orchestrations: Milt Franklyn
- Assistant Producer: Henry Binder
DVD release
The short has been released on DVD twice. First, on The Best of Dr. Seuss, released in 2000 and also featuring The Butter Battle Book and Daisy-Head Mayzie. It was later included on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 in 2008.