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HORTON HATCHES THE EGG (1942) (****)

Buy It Now!

This film is featured as bonus material on the deluxe-edition of HORTON HEARS A WHO!

As part of Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies, animation legend Bob Clampett took a crack at putting his spin to Dr. Seuss. The result is a mash-up of Clampett's craziness and the Seussian rhyme and style. At 10 minutes, this short is brisk and alive, which isn't always the case with some of the longer animated TV specials of Dr. Seuss' books.

In this fable, dedicated elephant Horton kindly takes over sitting on an egg for the lazy bird Maisie. With a sucker in place, Maisie grabs her bags and heads to the beach. No matter what happens, Horton is determined to sit until the job is complete. Even when three hunters show up, the firm pachyderm takes a stand to protect the egg.

The short uses the poetry of Seuss, but Warner story man Michael Maltese embellishes with classic Looney Tunes style gags, puns and pop culture references. A Peter Lorre-look-alike fish shooting himself with a pistol is not Seuss. These sly winks give the short a Looney Tunes tone, while retaining the Seuss story. Clampett's timing, pacing and direction makes the characters real characters, not cut-outs from the picture books moving across the screen. Additionally, the theatrical short gets the full production values that it deserves. The simple palette of the Seuss books is expanded with lush watercolor backgrounds. It might not be the most faithful Seuss adaptation, but it's one of the most successful.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks