Before you fall out laughing on account of this animated movie, seemingly directed toward children, being selected for review, let me begin by saying I found this movie to be profoundly spiritual. As one not inclined to favor contemporary arts more than their usually superior predecessors I will also say forthright that I do believe this 2008 remake of a Dr. Seuss’ classic was preferable to the original especially because of its spiritual angle.

In Horton Hears a Who, Horton is an elephant who one day hears a yelp coming from a small speck floating in the wind. Upon investigation he learns that this speck is actually a small world inhabited by microscopic people called “Who’s.” Horton vows to protect this speck and its inhabitants and adopts the mantra “a person’s a person no matter how small.” Initially, Horton is the only one who can hear the “Who’s”. Consequently, he is persecuted by his society who claims “if a thing can’t be seen or touched it does not exist.” Horton is a lone voice crying in the wild; a role many of us former drug users who now speak unpopular truths are acquainted with. The story shows the pressures of the majority trying to force one to deny truth. There are many other spiritual lessons in this story, which I will not spoil for future viewers, but rather will strongly encourage you to discover for yourself.

The movie is extremely funny from beginning to end. The genius of it is that, it is a movie children are bound to love, making it a perfect opportunity for parents to be reminded of some truths and teach these to their own kids or even their Sunday school students.