Movie murmurings: "Horton Hears A Who"

So in today's Philadelphia Inquirer we have a review of "Horton Hears a Who," featuring the following observation from movie critic Carrie Rickey: "As any 55-year old can tell you, Horton's story is quite cosmic. For the pachyderm (voiced by an unusually serene Jim Carrey) takes it on faith that there exists a parallel universe that he can only hear. And he remains firm in convincing doubters, including Sour Kangaroo..."

So he's taking something "on faith" that he can hear? That's called evidence, Carrie. This is not a parable of the long-suffering believer hounded by nasty skeptics, though I can easily see the religious right using the movie's release to seize on that interpretation and run with it ad nauseam.

Let's put this nonsense to rest before it really gets going. Our friend Horton is more like a long-suffering scientist trying to convince the willfully ignorant rabble that what he's discovered empirically is the truth. After all, there are some Sour Kangaroos out there who still refuse to accept germ theory (you can't see the little buggers!). 

A modern update of the story might go like this: the Wickersham Brothers are up in arms at the economic implications of Horton's claim, since Who-rights activists might block their pink clover harvesting efforts. They convince the kangaroo to write a column for World Net Daily poking holes in the Who theory without actually taking a serious look at the evidence. Meanwhile, a nasty vulture steals the draft of Horton's master's thesis and drops it where it will never be found --  a university library.