well i just watched the most amazing movie(except perhaps Donny Darco). I came across a few ideas on the possible underlying message of the film, Perhaps "A person's a person, no matter how small" is about abortion. Pro-life organizations believe the horton quote affirms their belief that human life begins at conception. The pro-lifers, famously, support their own agenda, but obviously that’s horribly misguided; at best, it’s completely unintentional (Theodor Geisel’s widow has, in at least one case, brought suit against pro-lifers for attempting to co-opt the phrase). I suppose if you wanted, you could also ascribe some religious meaning to it, too. You could argue that Horton was some sort of Seussian Jesus, an elephantine prophet who insisted — in the face of a jungle full of kangaroo and monkey naysayers — that God did exist, even if you couldn’t see or hear him. But the book’s ending mucks all that up, if only because no one actually believed until they heard for themselves, hardly an endorsement for the existence of God since religious folks are supposed to act on blind faith before proof is offered up (unless the town of Whoville somehow represents the Second Coming). Maybe, thematically making the movie about the powers of imagination. They frame the Kangaroo (Carol Burnett), the Wickershams, and Vlad the Eagle, et al., as cynics hellbent on destroying independent thought, throwing the world of make believe in a beezlenut stew. That theme, however, also seems to backfire for the same reasons that using Horton as a religious allegory fails, namely that no one is convinced otherwise until proof is marshaled, seemingly proving the cynics’ point that, unless it can be seen or heard, it does not exist. And therefore, humbug to imagination. Or Horton Hears a Who isn’t a political or religious allegory, it’s not a right-wing metaphor or communist propaganda, it’s just a great little book about tolerance and friendship, about helping someone in need, and about putting aside stubborn pride and asking for help when you need it. It’s a simple, sweet story about community, about rallying together to further humanity — or, er, who-manity. What are your ideas on the movie's meaning?
