Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)

Director:

Robert Clampett

Writers:

Dr. Seuss (book)
Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

11 April 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy

Plot:

Horton the elephant agrees to watch over lazy Maisie bird's egg while she vacations. Much later, after...

Plot Keywords:

Elephant | Circus | Repeated Line | Merrie Melodies | Dr Seuss

Cast

Sara Berner	...	Maysie / Baby (voice) (uncredited)
Mel Blanc	...	Mouse / Hunters / Audience Member (voice) (uncredited)
Frank Graham	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Kent Rogers	...	Horton / Peter Lorre Fish (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Clampett

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Maltese		story
Dr. Seuss		book

Produced by
Leon Schlesinger	....	producer
Henry Binder	....	assistant producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carl W. Stalling		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Treg Brown		(uncredited)

Sound Department
Treg Brown	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
A.C. Gamer	....	effects animator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Robert McKimson	....	animator
Warren Batchelder	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Izzy Ellis	....	animator (uncredited)
Earl Klein	....	layout artist (uncredited)
Lou Lilly	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Thomas McKimson	....	animator (uncredited)
Bill Melendez	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Phil Monroe	....	animator (uncredited)
Bob North	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Virgil Ross	....	animator (uncredited)
Rod Scribner	....	animator (uncredited)
Cornett Wood	....	animator (uncredited)

Music Department
Carl W. Stalling	....	musical director
Milt Franklyn	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Leon Schlesinger Studios

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

10 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Leon Schlesinger Studios

Trivia:

Peter Lorre was a favorite characterization for the famed Warner Bros. cartoonists, as he tangled several times with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. He was also portrayed as a fish in a Dr. Seuss Warner Bros. cartoon, Horton Hatches the Egg (1942).

Quotes:

[First lines]
Narrator:Horton Hatches the Egg. Now once in a jungle, or so the tale goes, there lived a strange bird that most everyone knows. Her name, it was Maysie. She was mean as could be, and never seemed happy while up in her tree. Sighed Mayzie, this lazy bird hatching her egg...
Maysie:I'm tired and I'm bored and I've kinks in my leg from sitting, just sitting here day after day. It's work, how I hate it. I'd much rather play. If I could find someone, I'd fly away free.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

Soundtrack:

It Looks Like a Big Night Tonight

Clampett and Seuss - A match made in heaven

Every animation fan is well aware of Chuck Jones's Christmas classic 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas', a seasonal staple based on the classic story by Dr. Seuss. However, fewer people are aware of Bob Clampett's adaptation of a Seuss story, 'Horton Hatches the Egg', which predates Jones's effort by a couple of decades. Out of all the Warner Bros. directors, Clampett is arguably the most obvious choice as the ideal person to adapt Seuss's surreal tales and he more than proves himself with 'Horton Hatches the Egg'. Both the genius of Clampett and of Seuss shine through as Clampett deftly weaves his own edgy, grotesque humour into Seuss's friendlier tomfoolery. Exceptional wordplay (rhyming "it doesn't make sense" with "I'm so immense" is merely the tip of the iceberg) and brightly coloured characters and settings collide with Hollywood caricatures, indelible images and off-colour jokes about backsides, sea-sickness and characters shooting themselves in the head! Clocking in at just under ten minutes, 'Horton Hatches the Egg' is longer than the average Merrie Melodie but if anything it leaves the viewer begging for even more. It's truly a shame that there were no further Clampett/Seuss collaborations as it is clearly a match made in heaven. 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' may be the recognised classic but 'Horton Hatches the Egg' deserves to be as widely celebrated and its egg-based narrative makes it ideal for the Easter schedules. If only these gorgeous cartoons weren't so rapidly disappearing from our screens, perhaps 'Horton Hatches the Egg' (along with hundreds of other classics) might be rediscovered by a whole new generation. In the meantime, you can get your hands on this charming short on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection volume 6 DVD.