I love Horton. I do, I really do. While the movie wasn't the most amazing experience of my life, it was exciting to watch my favorite childhood book come to life with thanks to the advances made in computer animation. I was a little shocked at the subtle innuendos targeted towards adults, and my friends all swear these are fairly common in children's movies. I was, however, more than a little miffed when the book's adaptation included a new plot line with 96 daughters and 1 son. I doubt Horton's original creator would have enjoyed this adaptation of his story.
Apparently, I am not the only person who was disgruntled by the decision to give the mayor 96 daughters and 1 son, with his son being the only one he would give more than one minute to. Sure, the 96 daughters and 1 son plot is fairly amusing and makes for easy rhymes, but what are we teaching our daughters? Peter Sagal of NPR makes some good observations after the jump.
From NPR's Peter Sagal:
But what writers are told, you see, in Hollywood notes meetings, is that every character has to make a journey, towards something he needs and ultimately gets, and what they decided the Mayor of Whoville needs was a better relationship with his son. Here is a father with 96 daughters -- 96 amazing, beautiful, unpredictable, mysterious, distinct, glorious human beings -- but gosh, what in the world is he going to care about? I know, let's give him a moody silent uninteresting offspring, but this one's got a Y chromosome... that'll be boffo box office!
[...] And there's this -- not only does the movie end with father and son embracing, while the 96 daughters are, I guess, playing in a well, somewhere, but the son earns his father's love by saving the world. Boys get to save the world, and girls get to stand there and say, I knew you could do it. How did they know he could do it? Maybe because they watched every other movie ever made?
Now, I'm not exactly shocked that the producers did this. Almost all of the major flicks where the world gets saved, the saving is usually done by someone of the XY persuasion. Star Wars, Harry Potter, and even as far back as the Greek Gods, it's always the men saving the world. I'm not ok with that.
I'll stick with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, thanks.
