A few years back, I went to see the live-action film version of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," the one with Jim Carrey in the title role. I was taken aback by the sexual double entendres in what was intended to be a children's film. I'd heard that the Mike Myers "Cat in the Hat" was the same way. So I don't have any faith in contemporary adaptations of Dr. Seuss books, because you know that Hollywood can't help mucking up something everybody loves by trying to make it snarky, sexy or politically correct. The tiny glimmer of hope I had for "Horton Hears a Who" faded when I saw a commercial for the film that showed a clip going for a cheap laugh by some Who getting kicked in the balls. Har har.
So I wasn't the least surprised when I read Patrick Deneen's item talking about how the movie appears to trash homeschoolers and Evangelicals. Excerpt:
I was first jarred by a passing reference by Kangaroo, who we are told early on is the oppressive enforcer of rules in the jungle. On hearing of the excitement of some of the smaller animals about being friends with Horton, she dismissively proclaims, "Oh, I don't allow Rudy to roam around with just anyone. He's pouch-schooled." Already we are given the intimation that home-schoolers are oppressive authoritarians - a reference I thought might be the end of things, but turned out only to be the start.
Here's a positive review from the Christian website Crosswalk. But check this excerpt:
Meanwhile, Horton’s protection of the flower is slipping. Mrs. Kangaroo (Burnett), a scary, controlling, fearful, suspicious mother who “pouch schools” her boy has gotten wind of Horton’s wild tale about a world on a speck, and she’s determined to squelch the nonsense. After all, it’s dangerous to get kids imagining things because “imagination leads to rebellion against authority, and rebellion leads to anarchy!”[snip]
The only negative is a subtle worldview issue. The “bad guy” is a homeschooling mother. The assumption is that it’s dangerous to put your kid in the group because it could eventually lead to anarchy. As a homeschooling mother, I find the moviemaker’s ignorance laughable. Thankfully, that’s not a pervasive theme, and the other elements of the movie are quite inspirational. ...All in all, Horton Hears a Who! makes for some great family discussion on many levels and some terrific entertainment for kids and kids-at-heart.
Subtle?! Please. It's rather ingenious that Hollywood has managed to take a story that has obvious appeal to pro-lifers -- Horton the elephant, recall, believes that "a person's a person no matter how small," and goes to great lengths to save the unseen lives of the Whos -- and turn it into something that demonizes the kind of people most likely to defend unborn life.
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Sigh. My semi-militant pagan friend hated it because she thought it was too pro-evangelical Christian.
If Dr. Seuss were alive today, he would call all of this rubbish! His stories were neither intended to offend homeschoolers nor were they even intended for children! If anyone knew anything about the good Dr. they would also know he wasn't even a Doctor, he was just a writer.
I think all the movies made from his fantastic writings are crap and if you waste your $9 going to one of these contrived pieces of bull$hit, then you get whatever you pay for. Who in their right mind would support such a thing? Can you even call THAT entertainment?? Please! Is THIS the level of intellegence we have been reduced to? Read the damn book to your kids, if you want to, at least you will be teaching them to appreciate reading, and then turn out the lights, it's bedtime!
Leslie--you're right about the movie made from Dr. Seuss books. Most of them are bad.
Rod: Wow! Actual comments! On a conservative blog? Amazing! (Better watch it, though. The last conservative to have comments was John Cole, and he's one of us now...) To complain about PC-ness in a Dr. Seuss movie is a bit of a stretch, though, given that Seuss was anti-war, pro-enivironmentalist, and would probably have been PC himself, were he alive today.)
I heartily agree with the commenter who didn't like the snarkiness & adult-oriented pop culture references in kids' movies. That's a trend that started with "Sesame Street," but somehow Sesame Street was always able to do it well.
"I think movie makers, when they're producing something that seems sickeningly "wholesome" to them, feel like they need to put something in there to establish their liberal credentials, so they won't get a bad name back in Hollywood." This is completely clueless as to how Hollywood works, speaking as someone who ACTUALLY WORKS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY and has ACTUALLY WORKED ON FEATURE FILMS and WRITTEN SHORT FILMS. If you'll notice, some other posters have already mentioned how the pouch-schooling thing could highlight Kangaroo's overprotectiveness. Hollywood does not care whether or not you are a liberal. Hollywood cares about only one thing: Can you make money?
People who make films and videos out of children's stories generally do so with adults in mind, since it is adults who actually plunk down the money to pay for them. Sometimes there is an additional and more laudable purpose. For instance, Sesame Street is adult-slanted at least partly to appeal to and be useful for illiterate adults. But generally, the mentality is the same as that of the baby food manufacturers who put salt and sugar into the strained carrots or whatever, because they know that mama usually tastes the food before feeding it to the kid, and if she doesn't like it, she won't buy it.
Marian, what you wrote is (sadly, imo) accurate, but as I recall from watching an anniversary/making-of special, the producers of Sesame Street had an explicit desire to avoid talking down to children. The concern was in any exchange that is not in person, such impressions are often difficult to avoid. Big Bird was an "everychild" character, capable of eye-level interactions with others (well, metaphorically) while maintaing the child-like view of the world.
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