Horton Hatches the Egg

Horton Hatches the Egg

Directed By:		Robert Clampett
Produced By:		Leon Schlesinger Henry Binder (uncredited)
Released:		April 11, 1942
Series:		Merrie Melodies
Story:		Michael Maltese Rich Hogan (uncredited) Dr. Seuss (book)
Animation:		Robert McKimson Rod Scribner (uncredited) Virgil Ross (uncredited) Sid Sutherland (uncredited) Izzy Ellis (uncredited)^[1] A.C. Gamer (effects) (uncredited)^[2]
Layouts:		Nic Gibson (uncredited)^[3]
Backgrounds:		Michael Sasanoff (uncredited)^[4]
Film Editor:		Treg Brown (uncredited)
Voiced By:		Mel Blanc (uncredited) Sara Berner (uncredited) Kent Rogers (uncredited) Robert Clampett (uncredited) Frank Graham (uncredited)^[5] The Sportsmen Quartet (uncredited)
Music:		Carl W. Stalling
Starring:		Narrator Horton Mayzie Peter Lorre Fish Baby Mouse Hunters
Preceded By:		Saps in Chaps
Succeeded By:		Dog Tired

Horton Hatches the Egg is a 1942 Merrie Melodies short directed by Bob Clampett.

Plot

Clampett's unit didn't use the customary storyboard, but added ideas for the cartoon in Clampett's copy of Seuss' book. Among the elements they added were:

The opening paragraph, starting with "Now once in a jungle . . ." and ending with " . . . up in her tree."
A nonsense song of the time, "The Hut-Sut Song" by Horace Heidt - Words and music by Leo V. Killion, Ted McMichael & Jack Owens, sung by Horton and his son.
A fish caricature of Peter Lorre who commits suicide after seeing Horton on a boat
Mayzie's breathy Katharine Hepburn impression.
Mayzie unsuccessfully attempts to lure Horton using sex appeal.
Several other bits of dialogue are omitted or rewritten.

Availability

(1991) LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 1, Side 4: Bob Clampett
(1991) VHS - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 4: Bob Clampett
(1999) VHS - Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition, Vol. 7: Welcome to Wackyland (USA Turner print, uncensored)
(2000) VHS - The Best of Dr. Seuss (USA Turner print, uncensored)
(2003) DVD - The Best of Dr. Seuss (USA Turner print, uncensored)
(2008) DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc 4
(2008) DVD - Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who Deluxe Edition

Censorship

The scene of the Peter Lorre fish seeing Horton on the boat and asiding to the audience, "Well, now I've seen everything" and shooting himself in the head was censored when it aired on TBS, TNT, The WB, and Cartoon Network (barring its appearance on The Bob Clampett Show) and is now airing censored on Boomerang.^[6]
The version of this cartoon shown on the TNT special In Search of Dr. Seuss re-dubs and re-edits the entire short, and also removes the opening and ending title cards from the Blue Ribbon reissue.^[6]

Goofs

The AAP print uses the 1955-56 Merrie Melodies ending card.^{[citation needed|date=]}

The LaserDisc print changes the ending title to that of a 1949 or 1953-54 season ending Color Rings scheme plastered with the 1946-55 Looney Tunes music.

Notes

This is the only Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies short based on a Dr. Seuss book.
The original titles have been found but have not yet been restored for DVD.
"Horton Hatches the Egg" was adapted from the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. Horton and the Peter Lorre fish were voiced by Kent Rogers, Mayzie and the elephant bird were voiced by Sara Berner, Frank Graham narrated, and Mel Blanc performed most of the other voices.
The Turner "dubbed version" print retains the 1941-55 MM end music (applies to both the USA and EU prints).
Production on this cartoon began in August of 1941.^[3]
In the book from Dr. Seuss as well as other animated screen adaptations (including the 2008 CGI-animated film by Blue Sky Studios), Horton's skin is gray.
Clocking at a total run-time of about 9 minutes 50 seconds (excluding its original technical credits), this is one of the longest-running Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts ever produced.