aholster-1 Reviews

Horton Hears a Who! (2008)

Didn't care for it

[1/10 · 19 April 2008]

My daughter talked about seeing this movie for weeks before we went to see it, as it is based on two of her favorite Dr. Seuss books - Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches an Egg. Unfortunately, they completely twisted the characters around and stuck in too much cinematography and filler and got away from the plot. The jokes were corny and my 4-year-old daughter was visibly bored throughout the whole movie. She has loved the movies we went to see in the past, but she said the movie wasn't anything like the book and wanted to know why Horton acted so crazy in the movie. She didn't let out a smile or a chuckle throughout the entire movie (and neither did I). While I appreciate that the movie wasn't offensive (We made the mistake of suffering through Cat in the Hat), it just didn't successfully stretch out two short children's books into a full-length movie. It sacrificed plot for visual effects and forced jokes and I just didn't find the movie funny, or even entertaining. And, frankly, my daughter likes just about anything, and she didn't enjoy the movie. As she is the target audience of Dr. Seuss books, I found that unfortunate. We'll stick to the books.

I know Audrey Geisel loves her late husband, but please stop selling the rights to his works to everyone. That isn't what he stood for.

Annie (1999 TV Movie)

Good, but unnecessary

[7/10 · 20 January 2008]

I found the acting was good, but not as good as the original. Also, the songs, staging, and virtually everything were kept precisely the same, which made this remake unnecessary.

The new actress playing Annie didn't have the same charm as the original, but had a good singing voice. Kathy Bates is one of my favorite actresses, so the opportunity to see her singing and dancing was quite a pleasure. That being said, she is no Carol Burnett, who was divine in the original.

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I enjoyed it as well, but it paled in comparison to the original.

Underdog (2007)

Cute and Inoffensive

[8/10 · 20 January 2008]

If the movie were exactly like the original cartoon without doing anything different, there wouldn't be any point in making a movie. I think the point of remaking something is to change and innovate and provide a different take on the same subject matter.

That being said, I don't understand the negativity. I find that children's movies that lack any offensive, sexual, vulgar, or crude content are becoming few and far between. My four-year-old really enjoyed this movie and laughed several times and I didn't have to explain anything inappropriate like is placed in so many other so-called children's movies (the very worst being the remake of "The Cat in the Hat").