It’s looking to be a good year for Josh Flitter. The young actor filled key roles in Nancy Drew and License to Wed, both of which came out in the last month. Now he’s acting alongside Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Dane Cook, and Amy Poehler in Horton Hears a Who, the animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s elephant adventure.
The story surrounds Horton (voiced by Jim Carrey), who hears a sound on a speck of dust. It turns out to be the world of the Whos, led by the mayor (Carell) and his wife (Poehler). Horton designates himself as protector of the Whos’ world, but the other animals refuse to believe in the tiny world, and almost destroy Who in their effort to prove Horton wrong.
Flitter plays Rudy, the son of the Sour Kangaroo (voiced by Burnett), who didn’t have much of a part in the original story, other than being in the Sour Kangaroo’s pouch. Flitter, who has finished recording his vocal performance, told SciFi Wire they have expanded the role for the movie, however, giving him a much bigger role. The movie reunites Flitter with Jim Carrey, who worked together in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and continues a trend of working with big actors. Carrey Carell? Robin Williams? Lucky little actor.
And yes, I’m partially running this more positive story about Flitter because I feel guilty over comments about Flitter in License to Wed. It’s not the actor’s fault the part is extraneous and serves no real purpose other than to be fodder for critics who are grumpy after having to sit through the fluffy comedy. Hopefully his part in Horton will be a little better.
