Ken Daurio

With their impeccable timing and incredibly expressive voices, Carrey and Carell are the perfect combo to play Horton and the Mayor. They capture their characters' sense of awe and insecurity. The film expands the book's character pool to create a huge family for the Mayor: He has a wife (Amy Poehler) and 96 daughters. Also, Jo Jo (Jesse McCartney) is now the Mayor's loner, misunderstood son instead of a random Who. There are other differences between the original text and the film, but most show more work just fine to pad the story.

What's especially refreshing is that, by keeping the adaptation animated, there are no costumed actors to distract from the story's positive message. Horton firmly keeps the focus on his promise to protect the Whos because he believes in the inherent value of all beings. That's a powerful -- and difficult -- concept for very young kids to grasp, but somehow Dr. Seuss (channeled by this big-studio production) makes the lesson both approachable and very entertaining. Written by Commonsense Media show less

An evil mastermind adopts three little girls as part of his villainous scheme.

Disposable entertainment. It's very funny, pretty much guaranteed to get some hysterical laughter at some point. It's otherwise unremarkable and forgettable.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: C plus

GPA: 2.4/4

I can't get enough of the minions. Pierre Coffin is hysterical! Gru is still better as a bad guy, however. Here, he discovers his long lost twin brother and sets out to win his job back.

An animated adventure that follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams: a tree. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.