Horton Hears a Who

Posted March 26th, 2008 by Samuel Clough

I went to see “Horton Hears a Who” the other day with the kids and some of their friends. While this may seem to be just another children’s movie on the surface, there is actually a much deeper message in Horton that we must communicate to our children and others around us. I very rarely say this about a film because most films are not worth the time spent to watch them, but it looks like God is speaking to a generation through Horton. Read on to see why.

In the book, Horton is protecting a tiny group of people that no one else can hear.No one else believes they exist as real people because they cannot see them or hear them and so they persecute Horton who can hear them and tries to protect them. Horton, on the other hand, protects them with the motto, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” I think you can see very clearly where this is going. The “Who’s,” blissfully ignorant of how small they are and the fact that the big world outside does not believe they exist and would just as quickly destroy their home as protect it, clearly symbolize the unborn. You can see the analogy in the popular media as abortion proponents continually argue that the “unborn fetus” (i.e. baby) is not really a person. Why is it not a person? Science has proven that the unborn baby has brain waves, a heart beat, and it can move and feel. There is just one thing an unborn child cannot do and that is speak so that you and I can hear it.

While the tiny Who’s symbolize the unborn, Horton then can be a symbol of a life movement that is willing to pay any price from mere ridicule, to personal loss, to protect the lives that no one else believes in. In the film, Horton drops everything and focuses himself on protecting the Who’s even at his own personal expense and even when no one else believes it is worth it.Check out these two excerpts to hear Lou Engle speak about the significance of the film:

Because the message is getting out about the symbolism of the film and because there were some pro-life demonstrations at the opening, much has been made about the fact that Dr. Suess did not write the film as an allegory for the life message. While that is no doubt probably true seeing as the book was written long before abortion was legal or even common, that does not mean that God cannot divinely take the message of the book and use it to speak to a generation.Regardless of what Dr. Suess’s intentions were, the book can be used as an excellent tool to teach children the value of life in a presentation that is on their level. The message gets even more profound if you read the second Horton book, “Horton Hatches the Egg.” In this book, Horton finds a bird who does not want to be bothered by the responsibility of sitting on a nest and hatching an egg, so Horton agrees to sit on the egg. While the bird selfishly relaxes far away, Horton endures all sorts of trials to protect the egg and make sure it hatches.

When you put these two books together, you get a very profound messages. First, we must protect all life because, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” Then, the second book gets to the root of the abortion issue and that is the issue of selfishness compared with sacrifice and responsibility. Like Horton, in an age that disregards life, we are called to sacrifice with the spirit of adoption to save a generation whose parents will abandon them for their own personal pleasure. Regardless of what the intent of the original books was, these messages are very clear in the books and thankfully the message comes through in the film as well. For that reason, these books can be used to help enforce the values that are being instilled in our children through a resource that is very much on their level.

Now for the only negative parts. The film is not perfect. In the film Horton is ridiculed and called names that are not in the book. This is a sign of our times and I seriously doubt most children or parents will even blink an eye, but as God reveals to me more and more the power and significance of our words, it is sad to see our language slowly grow more crass even on a production aimed at children.The film also takes a cheap shot at home schooling. The chief villain in the film, the kangaroo, early on declares that her child is “pouch schooled.” It’s clearly a dig at home schoolers that is unnecessary. In fact, I have read a few reviewers who felt like the film makers were trying to make the kangaroo look like a rigid, home schooling fundamentalist that is out to oppose the free thinking Horton. While I can see how they come to that vantage point, if the “pouch school” comment was taken out I do not think you would get that impression.

With those negatives being said, I still believe that God is speaking to the nation through this film. As the film was produced by unbelievers it is not perfect, so it should not be analyzed as a Christian film, but that does not mean that God cannot speak clearly through it. Sometimes we go too far and try to see God in all sorts of films that we should be embarrassed to even see, much less promote, and other times we miss something God is saying because the package is not perfect.

All in all, I think we should promote the film, and make sure we promote the message to others. Many will walk out of Horton without giving the message a second thought, but if we spread the message of the obvious symbolism in the movie and the value that, “A person’s a person no matter how small,” we may find adults that would never consider the life message beginning to re-consider their values. Sometimes taking a truth and presenting it through from a child’s presentation can make the truth hit home in a way that other presentations do not. After the film, also make sure the sit down with your children and the book and make sure they get the message. Then follow it up with “Horton Hatches the Egg” and you will have some great material for teaching children the value of life, sacrifice, love, and responsibility.