The animation in Horton Hears a Who is impressive, right from the opening sequence. The colours of the whole film are vibrant, with impressive water drops and flowers shown in minute detail. The ‘Seussian’ look of the film captures the charm of the original 1950s book, and echoes the unusual swirly look of the two previous Dr. Seuss adaptations, The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat. In fact, everything about the film is wonderful, the story is lovely, the dialogue funny and snappy, and the characters well-rounded and likeable.
Horton is an elephant living in the forest of Nool. One day, teaching
the little ones all about the forest, he hears a faint sound coming
from a speck of dust. He knows in his heart that this is something, and
he is quite right, as the spec houses an entire universe - Who-ville.
Horton tries to speak with the noisy spec, and his voice travels down
to the Who-ville Mayor’s drainpipe, where the two realise that
Who-ville is in mortal danger unless a safe place can be found for the
spec in the forest of Nool. Only the other Nool residents are convinced
that Horton has gone a bit bonkers, and try to re-claim the spec to
bring him to his senses.
Michael Haneke certainly likes to provoke polemic around his work. His penultimate film, Hidden (2007), stirred and intrigued audiences. But it also left many of us disputing that unresolved ending, burrowing for exactly what was hidden in that final scene and pondering over what it all meant. 
