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Show C-7 I The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, March 19-21, 2008 'Horton' strains Seuss' classic the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring Jim Carrey, who returns to Who-Ville this lime as the voice of Horton the elephant. And "Horton" is a huge leap beyond the atrocious live-action "The Cat in the Hal" with Mike Myers. All Ihree Seuss renderings share a By DAVID GERMAIN common problem: The padding needed to lake them to the big AP Movie Writer screen diminish the story, leaving LOS ANGELES (AP) - more to gawk at but less to savor. Horton may hear a Who. but the Computer-animation veterans rest of us may hear a lot of hoopla, Jimmy Hayward and Steve and it's not all the charming sort Martino, both making their direclyou expect from a benign Seussian ing debuts, quickly establish the world. colorful, carefree life in the jungle "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a of Nool, where the happy Horton Who!" succeeds to a point in put- co-exists with a menagerie of ting the Hollywood spin on strange critters. Theodor S. Geisel's beloved chilHis buddies include the gabby dren's book about an elephant mouse Morion (Seth Rogen), defending a microscopic civiliza- while the creatures of Nool live tion. under the thumb of the self-rightVery young children will find eous Kangaroo (Carol Burnett), plenty to giggle over in the manic the snooty equivalent of a smallslapstick of this latest computer- minded PTA mom. animated adventure from Blue Horton incurs the wrath and Sky Studios, the outfit behind the ridicule of Kangaroo as he insists "Ice Age" flicks. And Blue Sky's he's made an astonishing discovcreations are a solid transmuta- ery - an endangered land called tion of Seuss' odd storybook Who-Ville that exists in a tiny world into digital images. Seuss' speck resting on a clover. rhymes generally give way to loud Kangaroo maintains that if you pratfall nonsense, though, as the can't see something, it can't exist, filmmakers stretch a thin, thin forcing Horton to sneak about in story to fit a feature-length movie. communicating with the mayor of The result is more amiable than Who-Ville (Steve Carell), as the the live-action "Dr. Seuss' How elephant seeks a haven for the tiny town safe from predators and other dangers. While Carrey and Carell do a lot of jabbering, the voice cast - which also includes Jaime Pressly, Jonah Hill and husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler - sounds fairly plain and anonymous. The exception is Charles Osgood, who brings his folksiest manner as narrator, offering up soothing snippets of Seuss' rhymes. Screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, whose credits include "The Santa Clause 2" and "College Road Trip," fill in the gaps around Osgood's homey narration mostly with frantic, forgettable patter. There was barely material enough for the 1970 half-hour TV version of "Horton Hears a Who!" so imagine the stretching and stuffing that went into this. Everything Horton does drags on rather tediously. Still, the animation itself is vibrant, occasionally dazzling, loaded with detail that helps bring the whimsy of Seuss' world to life. And there's Seuss' moral - that a "person's a person no matter how small." "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who," a 20th Century Fox release, runs 86 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four GRAND OPENING I Park City's Drop-in Childcare Always Fiw» Always Educational Special Activities All Week Long March 28- April 5 THE ARK Quarry Village at the Jeremy Ranch exit 435.655.7205 Mon-Fri 8A-6P $8/Hr $6/Hr Siblings www,thearkchildcare.com NEED A LITTLE M O R E S P A C E ? Dinosaurs and bunnies for Easter DavPilkcy. This wacky family of three hangs Associtated Press Writer a Merry Halloween sign on Dec. 24 to mark Easter and is topsyT. Rex dons a cotton tail. Holly Hobbie walks on egg turvy pleased when a sunglassesshells with her friends and the wearing Easter Bunny in a red Dumb Bunnies decorate an minivan pulled by eight flying upside-down pine tree in a bas- pilgrims makes a special delivery ketful of Easter book adventures down their chimney. - Happy Easter. Holly! (Little for kids this year: - Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail Simon, $3.99. ages 4-S) by Sonali (HarperCollins, $15.99, ages 3-6) Fry and illustrated by Bob Berry. Holly Hobbie and her friends by Lois G. Grambling and illusornately decorate Faster eggs trated by Jack E. Davis. The Easter Bunny is felled by for Clover's annual hunt, but disa cold the day before the holiday aster ensues when Holly acciand a well-meaning T Rex dentally crushes Amy's pretty enlists help from his dinosaur eggs and doesn't 'fess up to her friends to fill in, but the effort friend. wears them out and they over- - Where are Baby's Easter sleep. No worries. The dinos pull Eggs? (Little Simon, $6.99, ages off a hurried surprise for the baby-3) by Karen Katz. This lift-and-flap board book children sadly awaiting their coloffers lots of hidden bling as a ored eggs on Easter morning. - The Dumb Bunnies' Easter cherubic toddler searches for (Scholastic, $6.99, ages 4-8) by Easter eggs in the garden. There are sparkly chicks, shiny jellybeans By LEANNE ITALIE and a flower-adorned bonnet. - The Bigsest Easter Basket Ever (Scholastic, $4.99. ages 4-8) by Steven Kroll and illustrated by Jeni Bassett. A small town community of mice, in a 1950s-inspired tableaux, competes to see who will win the prize for the biggest Easter basket. They learn that you have to break a lot of eggs to make an omelet. There's a page of shiny foil egg stickers inside. - Littlest Pet Shop Sweetest Easter Ever (Scholastic, $5.99, ages 9-12) by Monique Z. Stephens. The large-eyed pets decorate the pages of this activity book that includes a challenge to make new words out of E-A-S-TE-R and a science project showing how to dye eggs with natural ingredients like spinach leaves and red onion skins. There are also mazes, word searches and recipes. C H E C K O U T T H E REAL ESTATE W E E K L Y T W I C E A W E E K IN THE PARK RECORD Park Record. NO MORE CROWNS!! Dr. Brandon McKee and Park City Dental Associates presents the most conservative dentistry available, Cerec. Come see why they call us ... 1. The most conservative dentistry-No more little peg teeth 2. Completed in 1 visit-No more temporaries 3. Tooth colored-Very Esthetic f: Longest lasting-Ceramic material that is tooth friendly 5. No more goopy impressions DR. MCKEE ALSO OFFERS: 1. Implant placement-we work with your insurance for the best treatment 2. Sedation dentistry for anxious patients 3. Invisalign-invisible orthodontics (braces) SHOP MON. TUES. & WED MARCH 24TH, 25TH & 26TH SPEND $100 OR MORE ON NON-SALE ITEMS AND RECEIVE A FREE $25 GIFT CARD. 4. Many other cosmetic procedures -••••'<',[ CALL FOR A FREE CONSULTATION OR SCHEDULE A CLEANING AND EXAM |^#* The $25 gift card may be used for future purchases in April 2008 only. park city 1685 bonanza drive 435-658-4866 W E ARE ALWAYS WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS. CALL 435-649-6066 OR VISIT US O N THE WEB AT WWW.PARKCITYDENTAL.NET mon-sat 10-7 sun 1 1-5 1830 PROSPECTOR AVENUE • PARK CITY |