Horton Hears A Who Movie Analysis

Scene One

"Animated elephant Horton finds a speck of dust floating in the Jungle of Nool. Upon investigation of the speck, Horton discovers the tiny city of Who-ville and its residents, the Whos, which he can hear but cannot see. Horton forms a friendship with the mayor of Who-ville, Ned McDodd, and promises to transport Who-ville to safety. However, Horton encounters opposition from his jungle neighbors, who don't want to believe in the existence of Who-ville."

 -The official description of the animated film "Horton Hears A Who" made in 2008 as an adaption of Dr. Seuss's book. 

Scene 1: Say it isn’t true.

    Summary: Horton is surrounded by an angry horde of animals, prepared to rope him and cage him. Kangaroo comes forward and tells him that if he simply “comes to his senses” and denies that there are people living on the speck, they will let him go. Horton is cowering in fear and actually seems tempted when he asks her, “All I have to do is say that it isn’t true?” He looks at the speck on the clover. The speck that he had defended and protected for the length of the movie, the speck that he searched for relentlessly in a field of clovers. His face hardens with resolve and he stands to face Kangaroo. Instead of denying the speck, he boldly affirms his belief that there are people on that speck. He tells his accusers that they could do as they wished to him, but he would not back down, finishing with the phrase, “People are people, no matter how small.” 

    Interpretation: I read a book called “Jesus Freak” shortly before watching this movie. “Jesus Freak” is a book full of stories of martyrs, people who suffered and often died for their faith. In many of those stories, the martyr was given a choice similar to Horton’s: deny your faith or perish. Deny your faith or suffer. I imagine each of those brave people were scared at that moment. Many of them could probably see the instrument that would be used for their torture and/or death, just as Horton could see the cage behind him and the vines in the crowd’s hands. They knew exactly what would happen to them if they refused to deny their faith. . . but they still do so anyway. Why? They took a look at their own “speck”. What looked like a speck to those around them was a whole world to them- their whole world. They had searched for and found the Truth in a field of disguised lies, and stuck with it despite the opposition that came from every direction and person around them. That was the Truth they refused to deny. Lots of those martyrs did similarly to Horton: they looked at their persecutor, firmly confirmed their belief, and that come what may, but they would never deny their faith. 

Implication:  We don’t face persecution in American as they do in other countries. Police don’t arrest us for sharing the Gospel, our churches and Bibles aren’t burnt to the ground or thrown into the fire. We don’t have to meet in secret in order to avoid being tortured or killed. But that does not mean we don’t face our own form of persecution. As our country steps away from its Christian roots, our faith faces scorn and ridicule. As Lecrae, a Christian rapper, once wrote in one of his songs: “Christians in American face social execution, if our beliefs conflict with a liberal resolution.” Your friends might leave you or turn against you. You might be ostracized at school. Your teachers might grow angry with you. Society might grow angry with you. This is our persecution today. What it comes… what will you decide to do? Is your faith a speck or a world? 

"Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also."
(1 John 2:22‭-‬23)