Why I wouldn’t want to live in Whoville

I was sat earlier today in my living room when the 2008 animated film Horton Hears a Who! came on the television. Usually I dismiss these kinds of films as children’s entertainment, but I found myself watching more and more of it. I came to the realisation that Whoville is, basically, a terrifying place to live. Here’s why I wouldn’t want to live in Whoville.

First off, if like me you’re sketchy on ‘Seuss lore’, Whoville is a minute town which features in both Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, though the location of the town varies in each story. Horton the elephant discovers Whoville on a speck of dust, while in The Grinch the town is only described as south of Mt. Crumpit — its overall location in the universe is never revealed. In the popular movie adaptation, it is located on a snowflake. The particular Whoville I am concerned with is the one Horton discovers, and it is described thus:

The town known as Whoville

for there live the Whos

Really happy and safe,

knowing only good news,

unaware that their world

was a speck on a clover,

unaware the sweet life

they knew might be over.

We learn a few things from this description, most crucially the idea that the stability of Whoville is precarious at best, something demonstrated repeatedly in the film; as Horton carries the town on a flower, his eratic movements cause tremors across Whoville. We also learn that the inhabitants of Whoville are blissfully unaware of their unenviable position in the universe, believing themselves to be secure and feeling nothing but happiness in their lives. You might argue we hold a similar ignorance toward the fate of our world in the universe, and the Whos at least have established a society in which all are happy and content with their livesm making it an awesome place to live in. But you’d be wrong, at least on the second point.

I put it to you that not all Whos are ignorant of the dangerous position they find themselves in, and it is fact a secret kept largely from society for around 100 years. Mayor Ned McDodd, voiced by Steve Carrell in the animated feature, establishes contact with Horton and quickly learns of the unsettling reality of Whoville. He tries repeatedly to warn his fellow Whos of the nature of their home, but at every turn he is met with the Whoville Council who insist there is no cause for alarm. When the Mayor suggests postposining the Who-centennial, a celebration of 100 years of Whoville happiness, the council react with outrage:

Chairman: We’re about to celebrate 100 years of Whoville happiness in harmony, and you want to postpone the celebration?

Mayor Ned: Well, what if Whoville’s not safe?
Chairman: Nothing EVER goes wrong in Whoville! Never has, and never will!

We can obviously see this is a dubious claim at best. No society is without its downfalls - Take for instance the Grinch in the alternate Whoville, or even the Mayor’s son JoJo who is withdrawn and depressed.
It is around this point that the Chairman lowers a giant glass bowl over himself, Ned and the other council members. Cheerful elevator music fills the hall, seemingly calming the concerned onlookers, as the chairman proceeds to attack mayor Ned from within the glass. We the viewer never learn what is said behind this bubble of isolation, but I contend that the council is making a pointed effort to prevent Ned from revealing the truth about Whoville to society, possibly out of fear of inciting widespread panic.

The glass raises, Ned is ridiculed, and everyone carries on as normal.

Another scene that caught my attention was later in the film, when Ned’s only son JoJo leaves their home in the dead of night to visit his favourite haunt. Where is it? An abandoned observatory. Now, you tell me: What could have caused the Whos to abandon a perfectly good observatory some time in the past, to allow the stairs leading up to it to crumble (hell, they possibly destroyed the stairs) and for it to slip into utter decay? What did they see when they looked through the telescope and into the heavens?  Perhaps they didn’t understand what they saw, and so left the observatory to wither? No, because we see the Whos are a scientific people when Ned visits Doctor Mary Lou Larue, a teacher at Who University who describes what effects being located on a speck of dust might have when Ned puts the theory to her. 

JoJo makes his way to the abandoned observatory.

None of this makes any sense unless you consider that the scientists manning that observatory uncovered the horrifying truth, and the council sought to cover that truth immediately.. And here is where the real scary stuff kicks in; in an effort to ensure total calm, the frantic council enacted a series of laws and regulations preventing anything bad from ever being reported or even mentioned in public: 

‘for there live the Whos

Really happy and safe,

knowing only good news.’ 

I bet you anything it happened 100 years ago, and the Who-centennial is the celebration of the enactment of said laws.

With this in mind it becomes apparent that the Whos are struggling under the weight of a totalitarian government so intent on concealing a truth that would shatter the pillars of Who society beyond repair that they have censored all negativity. The thought of their total and complete destruction occuring at any moment was enough to attempt to envelop their society in the reassuring blankets of complete and utter ignorance. This Orwellian regime all falls apart when Horton is presented to the Whos by Ned, and the council’s hand in establishing it is never recognised. They all get away scott free, feigning suprise and wonderment at the existence of Horton and his world beyond the speck alongside their Who bretheren, who turn out to be infinitely more resilient and courageous than the council. Perhaps they will eventually be brought to justice.


(Have a great Christmas everyone!)