“Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” was one of my favorite books as a child. Considering Hollywood’s recent tarnishing of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Dr. Suess’ The Cat in the Hat,” I did not look forward to “Horton’s” film debut with much enthusiasm.

However, “Horton” was magnificent in capturing the creativity, innocence and delight found in Dr. Seuss’ stories.

The film’s plot follows Dr. Seuss’ creation very closely. An elephant named Horton discovers a tiny world populated by man-like creatures called “whos” inside a speck of dust and vows to protect them. Although the other animals in the Jungle of Nool believe Horton is being ridiculous, Horton just rears back and replies, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent!”

Featuring an all-star cast headed by Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, this film features comedy will be enjoyed by children and adults. Instances of verbal and physical humor are found throughout the movie, such as when Horton attempts to cross a bridge that is so feeble that it cannot even support a feather, or the conversations between the Mayor of Whoville and his son, JoJo.

“Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” will thoroughly amuse anybody who is fan of Dr. Seuss and everybody can learn from the story’s lesson: “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

4 out of 5 stars