Horton the Elephant

Regular
1940-1954
1942 film
1970 TV special
2008 film

Species:

Elephant

Gender:

Male

Age:

20-30

Family:

Unnamed parents
Unnamed uncle
Morton the Elephant Bird (son)
Nate the Elephant (cousin)
Catherine the Great (ancestor)
Thidwick (adoptive brother)

Gertrude McFuzz (Romantic Partner)

Occupation:

Teacher

Appeared:

Horton Hatches the Egg (1942 film)
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (film)

Like:

Bathing, peanuts, daydreaming, his friends, dust specks, pretending, drinking, cookies, ninja, relaxing

Dislike:

Monkeys throwing bananas at him, losing the speck, being roped and caged, danger, getting stuck, making mistakes

Favorite Colors:

Blue

Favorite Foods:

Peanuts

Fate

Puts the speck on the flower in the top of Mount Nool so Whoville can be safe.

Portrayed by

(see below)

Voice Actor

(see below)

Personality

Friendly, hopeful, observant, relaxed, kind, trustworthy, outgoing, cowardly, clumsy, thoughtful, helpful, encouraging, extroverted, loving, good-hearted, paranoid, stoic (sometimes), stubborn, efficient, playful, hard-working, clever, altruistic, strong, nurturing, innocent, protective, brave, fearless, compassionate, forgiving, big-hearted, eccentric, goofy, naive, sensitive, a bit crazy, sweet, imaginative, sort of absent-minded, humble, steadfast, simple-minded, inquisitive, dreamy, faithful, responsible, receptive, very unselfconscious, sympathetic, soft-spoken

Horton the Elephant is the kind-hearted elephant who is the main protagonist of the 1940 book, Horton Hatches the Egg and its 1954 sequel Horton Hears a Who!. He also appears in Seussical the Musical, and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. Horton is the leader of the Jungle of Nool characters in Horton Hatches The Egg, Horton Hears A Who!, and Horton and the Kwuggerbug and more Lost Stories and Dr. Seuss's You Are Kind Featuring Horton The Elephant and I Am Horton and Horton Hears A Boo! and Horton Hears A Hanukkah Party! He is also the deuteragonist of the special.

Appearance[]

Horton is a gray elephant with blue eyes. His ears sprout like wings.

In the Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon version, he is portrayed as pink instead of gray.
He has a tuft of black hair on the top of his head. His body is round in shape.
He is extremely heavy.

Personality[]

In each of Horton's book appearances, he endures ridicule for believing in something that no one else does. In 1942, Horton the Elephant appeared in Horton Hatches the Egg.

Horton never loses faith, though. Even after being roped and caged, he continually insisted that the Whos existed, which they did. In The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, he is performed by John Kennedy.

Horton is also one of the main characters in Seussical, played by Kevin Chamberlin. He combines his roles in Horton Hatches the Egg, and Horton Hears a Who! The basic storyline of the musical is centered around him.

Horton's selflessness is a defining trait. In both stories, he valiantly protects something that seems insignificant to other animals (an egg and a speck that contains a very small world), enduring their cruel mockery. His indifference to their taunts is rewarded in the end, a testament to his noble character.

Horton is very innocent and daydreaming (even a bit nuts in the film) but fearless and compassionate. He is also very forgiving since he never holds terrible feelings for the other animals despite all the harm they have done to him.

He is also a father to an elephant bird named Morton and a brother to a moose named Thidwick.