New Film: Doctor Seuss's "Horton Hears a Who" to Raise Pro-Life Questions

LifeSiteNews ^ | 8/10/07 | Elizabeth O'Brien

[wagglebee]

LOS ANGELES, August 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new animated version of the well-known children's book, "Horton Hears a Who," may once again spark debate about the story's pro-life interpretation when it is released next Spring.

The 20th Century Fox production of the well-known children's book, "Horton Hears a Who," is a major production that will be in theatres on March 14, 2008. The film features the voice of Jim Carrey as the main character Horton and Steve Carell as the Mayor of Who-ville.

In the storybook version of "Horton Hears a Who," famous children's author Dr. Seuss tells the story of a community of microscopic people called "Who's" who live in "Who-ville". The world is a tiny, yet technologically advanced community of people living on a dust-speck. The jungle elephant Horton has excellent hearing that alerts him to the presence of the people, and he promises to protect them from danger.

None of the other jungle animals believe that Horton is protecting real people, however, because they can't see or hear them. Horton nevertheless risks his life to guard the dust speck, and repeats the phrase that has since become well known: "A person's a person no matter how small."

In the end, as the dust speck is about to be destroyed in the "beezlenut stew," all the Who's in Who-ville gather together and yell at the same time in order to make their voices heard. The effort fails until the very last young Who, called Jo-Jo, joins in. His little cry boosts the noise just enough for the larger animals to finally hear them and believe in their existence.

Since the book was published, the phrase "A person's a person no matter how small" has become an unofficial phrase representing the motivation of the pro-life movement. Pro-life advocates have used it on t-shirts, websites, signs, and as teaching material. The book has been viewed as a metaphor for the reality that unborn babies are persons and as pointing towards the need for a concerted effort to end abortion.

Nevertheless, according to an ABC radio interview with Philip Nel, author of "Doctor Seuss: American Icon," Dr. Seuss did not intend the story to be interpreted as a pro-life statement. Nel claims that at one point during his life, Dr. Seuss (otherwise known as Mr. Theodore Geisel) even threatened to sue a pro-life group who had used the phrase on their stationary.

Whatever Dr. Seuss's intentions may have been, his widow Audrey Geisel, who is a supporter of Planned Parenthood, abortion and the homosexual movement, has been very upset by pro-life interpretations of the phrase "A person's a person no matter how small". She criticized Action Life Ottawa (ALO) in 2001 for using the phrase with a picture of an 8-week old fetus on a pro-life poster that was put up in Ottawa Catholic churches.

In a January 29, 2001 report by the National Post, Geisel's San Francisco lawyer Cathy Bencieengo stated, "We don't want to take a position one way or the other, but this is not an area in which Dr. Seuss participates." She also demanded that ALO remove the Seuss phrase from the poster.

Carroll Rees, a spokesperson for Action Life, stated in a news report, "We didn't think it was a problem, as long as it was being used for teaching purposes-and we're a non-profit organization, we're not selling posters, and we gave credit to him." ALO was pleased that the issue was brought to the media spot light, thereby drawing added attention to the pro-life cause.

National Organizer of Campaign Life Coalition Mary Ellen Douglas commented on "Horton Hears a Who", saying, "The parallels to the life issue are fairly obvious in the story because Horton is aware of these people that the rest of his comrades don't seem to notice. And for us as a pro-life movement, we've spent the last 30 some years trying to get the general population to see the unborn child in the womb as being really there, as being truly human. They can't shout from the womb. We're the only voice for them."

She continued, "We can identify with Horton because people are ridiculing him and saying they (the Who's) are not there. This is very much the situation in Canada. They want to deny that the child is there. The statement is exactly what we've been saying."

Referring to the controversy over pro-life advocates using the phrase, she noted, "Mrs. Geisel became very irate in the past when the particular phrase 'A person's a person no matter how small' was adopted by the pro-life movement. But the reality of the story is probably extremely pro-life, and we hope that people viewing the movie will see the parallel between the unborn child and the little Who's."

View "Horton Hear's a Who" Movie Trailer:
http://movies.aol.com/movie/dr-seuss-horton-hears-a-who/2469...

Read Previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

UNEXPECTED PROTEST OVER PRO-LIFE POSTER A GREAT BENEFIT
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2001/jan/01012902.html

[wagglebee]

Referring to the controversy over pro-life advocates using the phrase, she noted, "Mrs. Geisel became very irate in the past when the particular phrase 'A person's a person no matter how small' was adopted by the pro-life movement. But the reality of the story is probably extremely pro-life, and we hope that people viewing the movie will see the parallel between the unborn child and the little Who's."

I have always believed that regardless of what he said in public, Dr. Seuss was pro-life; at the very least, his income depended on children.

[wagglebee]

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[MrB]

I don’t really believe that the “pro-choice” folks don’t understand that “a person’s a person no matter” where, or how small.

I believe that they DON’T CARE, because it’s more important to take away one of the consequences of choices made prior to conception.

[Graymatter]

“It’s a deep-dyed ee-vil political plot...”

Hope that tune makes the cut!

“We know what you’re up to, pal,
You’re trying to shatter our morale,
And raise the cost of figs and dates
And wreck our compound interest rates
And shut our schools and steal our jewels
And even change our football rules
Take away our garden tools
And lock us up in vestibules!
But fortunately we’re no fools!
We’re the Wickersham brothers...”

[Erik Latranyi]

Liberals can’t stand having their own words turned against them.

[trisham]

Maybe he was. It’s really a shame that his wife isn’t, but let us hope that he was.

[wagglebee]

Good point. And it is a far greater sin to know the truth and not care than it is to be ignorant to the truth.

[mnehring]

[PetroniusMaximus]

“who is a supporter of Planned Parenthood, abortion and the homosexual movement”

They all go together, don’t they.

[Fester Chugabrew]

The parallel between Dr. Suess’s story and the pro-life cause is, however incidental, very much apropos. Tough luck for Dr. Suess that the concept and words, “a person’s a person no matter how small,” merit little in the way of unique language or thought, as if no one else may make use of these words in a pro-life context. Meanwhile Mrs. Suess doubtless holds the recipe for beezlenut stew.

[Deut28]

They left off euthanasia, probably just an oversight.

[Tanniker Smith]

I saw a preview. It has a better "look" than the Grinch or Cat in the Hat films, but my kids are older, so I'll skip it.

The Grinch movie was okay, but unnecessarily long and just plain unnecessary. Besides flipping the characters so that many of the Whovians seemed to have forgotten the meaning of Christmas until the Grinch came along, it was padded even more than the 23-minute cartoon (which, by the way, didn't exactly follow the book -- but Chuck Jones' changes worked great and Boris Karloff's narration just sealed the deal!).

Meyer's as the Cat in the Hat just looked absolutely freaky, so much so that I never had any intentions of seeing that film. The CitH cartoon was a classic in my house when I was a kid; we watched it every year. I've seen it once as a parent and discovered two things: first, "Hey, that's Allan Sherman doing the voice!" and second, it was dreadfully painful to watch as an adult. Oh, well.

I liked the two Horton cartoons as a kid. I hope that they don't screw them up too badly. I'm sure that the rhyme will be tossed out immediately, but hopefully the story will hold up. (Hey, that worked for Madelline, so maybe it could work here, too.)

[Jeff Chandler]

"A person's a person no matter how small."

I just found my new tagline!

[flowerplough]

Ms. G, supporter of abortionists, abortions, and homosexual minority-identity politix... wonder if she might consider herself to be a Democrat?

[Bommer]

The real issue is that WHOre Audrey Geisel. She has pimped out great Dr. Suess books into crap movies! Dr. Suess was very protective of his works. Only really had trust in 1 man to do it right, and that was cartoonist Chuck Jones! The Grinch and Cat in the Hat both sucked.

[picard]

The Grinch and Cat in the Hat both sucked

The Cat in the Hat remake actually made me ill. Never before in my life have I actually been angry, I mean furious, at the entire cast/writers/producer of a movie.

I could have punched them in the mouth for the vile Hollywood filth they injected into a beautiful childhood story. BTW, Myers only has 3 character skits and is far from a 'great actor' and even farther from being an actor suited for children.

never saw grinch and never will. [puke on it]

[cpforlife.org]

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[Palladin]

I’m sad that Dr. Seuss, who was a pretty good guy, got saddled with such a witch for a wife.