Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)

. . . the meaning of HORTON HATCHES THE EGG. This Dr. Seuss Looney Tune from World War Two does NOT make much sense in its original context of the 1900s. Who ever heard of an ELEPHANT BIRD?! Recently, however, America's crack corps of Warnologists (those folks who laboriously interpret Classic Warner Bros.' Animated Shorts for prophesies of 21st Century America's impending Calamities, Catastrophes, Cataclysms, and Apocalypti--which have proved far more accurate than those of that over-rated prognosticator, Nostradamus) have made a startling discovery. Present Day editorial cartoonists invariably caricature Barack Obama with Horton-like elephant ears. Also, "Lazy Mayzie" sounds a lot more like Hillary Clinton than some dead chick called Kate Hepburn. During his national address Oct. 14, 2016, Mr. Obama cried us a river complaining about Leader Trump and boosting (while making excuses for) that raunchy rooster's moll, Mayzie (aka, Hillary). Rest assured, Today's Citizens of Horton's Future: We've been shown how this story ends. Horton hatches HIS egg, which turns out NOT to resemble a Lazy Mayzie Clinton, but a Cute Widdle Teenie Tiny elephant: that is, a Chip off the Ol' Block, Leader Trump!

Directed by Robert "Bob" Clampett, "Horton Hatches the Egg" is a wonderful Warner Bros. cartoon based on the Dr. Seuss fable. Full of bright colors and catchy rhymes, this story is one that I truly find heartwarming, particularly when I see poor Horton suffering through his unwavering faithfulness. Thankfully, his suffering is only temporary.My favorite scenes? Horton is delightful as he prances and sings "Hut-Sut Rawlson on the Rillerah", but it gets even better when he is joined by his offspring at the end. "A rifle was aiming right straight at his heart," but it actually wasn't! And who could neglect the Peter Lorre fish? I am impressed and amazed at the strong moral character of our dear friend Horton. If only everybody in this world had that same kind of integrity.

This afternoon while I was waiting for Enchanted to begin, there was a preview for the new computer-animated feature, Horton Hears a Who? with the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell. After going home and checking out the Cartoons, Model Sheets, and Stuff blog, I discovered the presence of another Horton tale from Dr. Seuss that I remembered from childhood called Horton Hatches the Egg that became a Warner Bros.-Bob Clampett cartoon. Anyone who's read HHtE will be glad to see how faithfully Bob adapted both the story and drawings to his short while adding some of his own gags and a ditty called "The Hut-Hut Song". One of those gags had a fish that looks like Peter Lorre and as he sees the elephant sitting on an egg on a tree in a boat moving in the sea for the circus, well...Oh, watch the cartoon. And kudos to Mr. Clampett for making such a wonderful Dr. Seuss animated cartoon. The Cartoons, Model Sheets, and Stuff blog linked this from Daily Motion.

Directed by Bob Clampett and scripted by the great Warner Brothers storyman Michael Maltese, this animated version is very faithful to the 1940 story about Horton the earnest elephant, but has a few added embellishments. Call it an irreverent version for adults.The story begins with a lazy mother bird who longs to go on vacation. She needs to attract Horton so he'll sit on her egg for her. So she pushes her stomach upwards to give herself really big ...Horton keeps the egg warm during a torrential storm -- that's in Seuss -- getting submerged and nearly drowning -- that's in Clampett.Three hunters discover Horton perched on the egg and aim straight at his heart. Only in this version it's Horton's jumbo-sized posterior they actually get in their sights. In Seuss, the hunters are gentlefolk nattily done up in bowties; in Clampett, they're coiffed in a style more befitting Yosemite Sam.Horton is captured and taken across the sea to be exhibited in New York. The sight of Horton at sea is so startling that a fish, who looks and sounds just like Peter Lorre, shoots himself in the head.Dr. Seuss's story ends happily, with Horton returned safely to his jungle home. Clampett's story also ends happily, with Horton earning big money for promoters.The Warners team succeeded in reproducing Dr. Seuss's distinctive artistic style but added a full range of colour to his limited palette. A couple of scenes also have what appear to be watercolour backgrounds -- very nice. A little added touch to an already beautiful-looking, one-of-a-kind cartoon.