BOTTOM LINE: A cute CG cartoon filled with some very loveable characters and a wacky, fascinating story, but also has many strong life-lesson themes underneath its kiddy-friendly surface, making for a kids' movie that adults can enjoy at their level as well.

THE GOOD: Going in to a movie based on a Dr Seuss book, you have to know you're going in to something quite off centre and this very successful adaptation of "Horton Hears A Who" definitely lives up to that credo. While frolicking in the forest one day, Horton the Elephant hears a yelp coming from a speck on a flower, eventually discovering an entire village of 'Whos' living on it; the problem is, no one else can hear them, and when "Kangaroo", leader of the jungle, sees Horton trying to convince people of what he's heard, she tries to bring him back in to line with deadly force while Horton is determined to put the speck in a safe place so the citizens of "Whoville" can live peacefully. Apart from the usual appeal of a movie like this to kids with its loveable characters, odd-ball storyline and some fabulously rendered CG visuals, this film is cut above the rest in that it has some very strong themes, least of all being that all people should be treated equally, no matter their shape or form. Or perhaps a larger theme is the idea that we shouldn't ever block our minds to other possibilities, which applies to both Horton (who in an excellent sequence points out that we could all be living on a speck and someone up there could be looking down on us and we'd never know) and the Mayor of Whoville who has to convince his town that they are living on a speck without them thinking he's mad. These themes give the film a larger quality that goes beyond your simple children's story and makes for some entertaining and thought-provoking sequences that even adults will enjoy even if the kids don't. Jim Carrey is perfect as Horton, and for the most part is restrained (although there are some exceptions) and Steve Carell is likewise perfect as the Mayor of Whoville who is just trying to keep his town safe. A nice touch is that the film is narrated with the words from the book in certain places, and given that its CG you feel like you're watching a 3-D, moving version of the original book.

THE BAD: There isn't a lot to criticise in this superior adaptation of the Dr Seuss children's book, other than to say a few more good jokes and laughs might have been nice, but that's really just my personal preference (the idea of Horton hearing life on a speck certainly lends itself to more funny scenarios than were presented in the film). Jim Carrey gets to indulge in his own personal brand of noisy comedy every now and then, but for the most part he's not cut loose all that often. This is a very good movie.