Horton Hears A Who

It is a great time to be a parent in our culture. So many of the "kids" films out there are fantastic, and Horton Hears A Who is the latest. This is by far the best Dr. Seuss adaptation I have seen since the old school Grinch. And what a cast: Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Carol Burnett. The animation is top-notch beautiful in every way, truly capturing Seuss' unique style but also modernizing it for the CG age. This is a very pleasurable film not only for kids, but also for adults.

We all grew up with the story of an elephant noticing a small world of "whos" on a tiny speck which landed on a flower. We all know that this elephant, Horton, does whatever he can to protect this spec. And we all remember the theme of the story: "A person's a person, no mater how small." What an important statement. We all struggle, as I know I do, with feelings of superiority at times, especially living in such a privileged culture and time. We have to remember we are no better than any of God's creation. We are no better than those who have gone before us, no better than those who have less, and no better than the stray dog running across the street. God created this world and said that it was good. Then He commanded us people to rule over it. What a misunderstood section in Scripture, one that has been used over the years to dishonor the God who gave it all to us. He wants to to take care of His creation, to honor Him by being His stewards. We are in charge for only a time, and we are responsible for running the show in a way that honors Him. God didn't tell us to rule over the earth because He didn't care about it, because He wanted us to treat it like our trash can/dump/etc. If God created the world and said that it was "good," how can we think otherwise. I know, it sounds too much like a bunch of tree-hugging hippie crap, but I believe that caring for God's creation is foundational to Scripture. Let us be a "pro-life" people in every sense, not just narrowing our view of "pro-life" to be solely a battle that takes place in a mother's womb. My parents raised me to love and respect the environment, and here is a film that will help me do the same for my son.

Horton reminds us to love all, as hard as that sounds (let's face it, it is impossible without God). Horton is a great example of selfless love and sacrifice, one that reminds us that life is a miracle, and that we have no more right to it than others, people or otherwise.