Whoville
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Whoville | |
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Dr. Seuss location | |
![]() Whoville, as seen in How the Grinch Stole Christmas! | |
First appearance | Horton Hears a Who! (1954) |
Created by | Dr. Seuss |
In-universe information | |
Other name(s) | Who-ville |
Characters | The Whos Grinch |
Whoville, sometimes written as Who-ville, is a fictional town created by author Theodor Seuss Geisel, under the name
Setting
According to the book Horton Hears a Who!, the city of Whoville is located within a floating speck of dust which is then placed onto a clover flower by Horton the Elephant. In the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas however, the location of Whoville is never mentioned; geographic references include the mentioning of a several thousand-foot tall "Mount Crumpit", and an overlook just north of the city where the titular Grinch resides. In the 1977 television special Halloween Is Grinch Night, which implies that the overlook is located on Mount Crumpit, additional geographic features are added to Whoville such as Punkers Pond, where sea monsters known as Hakken-Kraks (an apparent play on the legendary kraken, and reference to one of the many creatures from his book 'Oh The Places You'll Go') reside. Again, however, its greater location is not mentioned.
In the 1970s television special Horton Hears a Who! as well as the 2008 CGI-animated film of the same name, Whoville retains its literary location being within a speck on a clover flower. The 1966 television special How the Grinch Stole Christmas also stays true to the literature.
In the 2000 live-action film adaptation Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, from Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, Whoville is located inside a snowflake, south of Mt. Crumpit within the mountainous High range of Pontoos, described in the film's introduction. As the story takes place in the winter, the speck on which Whoville has landed is now on a snowflake instead of a clover, which would be out of season.
Because the city of Whoville resides on a speck, the Whoville depicted in 2008 film is prone to unexpected movement and weather and may from time to time change location altogether, a major plot point in the film.
Inhabitants
Many of the different characters, known as Whos, live within the speck that contains Whoville. The Whos are whimsical,
In the 1987 Soviet Ukrainian animated Horton Hears A Who short by
Cindy Lou Who is a generous young girl who was introduced in the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! In the 2000 live-action film, How the Grinch Stole Christmas[4] she is played by actress Taylor Momsen.
The Grinch is a fictional, green-colored creature with a cat-like face and a cynical personality. He lives in isolation on Mt. Crumpit with his dog Max. The Grinch overlooks the city of Whoville with a lack of empathy for all Whos. He is known to be of a different and more ambiguous species than the Whos, being stated as "more of a What" in the 2000 film. The Grinch is played by actor Jim Carrey in the 2000 production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, who would later return to voice Horton in the 2008 animated film Horton Hears a Who.
In the book Horton Hears a Who, there is a mayor in Whoville. In the 1970s animated special Horton Hears a Who!, rather than a mayor he is a professor of Science, Dr. H. Hoovey, who lives in the Eiffelberg Tower, played by Hans Conried. In the live-action film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, there is a mayor named Augustus May Who, played by Jeffrey Tambor. Actor Steve Carell voices the Mayor of Whoville in the 2008 animated film Horton Hears a Who. In this version, he is named Ned McDodd, and he lives with his wife, 96 daughters, and one son named Jo-Jo as well as the latest of a long lineage of the mayors of Whoville. There are differences between Hoovey, May Who and McDodd that are instantly noticeable: Hoovey, similarly to Horton, wishes to reveal the existence of other worlds to his world's inhabitants, May Who is a pompous, arrogant man who views himself as the only person worth listening to, whereas McDodd is "devoted, and fair and a little bit odd".
Adaptations
Books
Dr. Seuss created two children's books introducing readers to the magical world of Whoville. His first story, Horton Hears a Who was published in 1954. His second use of Whoville was in the story How the Grinch Stole Christmas published in 1957.[5]
Broadway
Seussical, is a Broadway musical produced by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty in 2000. The musical is a collection of Dr. Seuss's most famous stories that were combined to represent a synthesis of his work. The majority of the musical centers around the life in Whoville, especially the Whos' Christmas pageant and Horton the elephant. Both themes were based on the plots of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and Horton Hears a Who!
Theme parks
Universal Orlando Resort endorses Dr. Seuss's work by attributing a section of the amusement park to him. Within the Islands of Adventure, there is a component designated to the city of Whoville. In the town, visitors of Universal Orlando Resort can interact with the characters and explore the theme park.
Videogame
Whoville is one of the main locations in the 2000 game The Grinch in which the player, controlling the Grinch, tries to find and collect all the drawings and gifts. In the game The Grinch - Christmas Adventures 2023, Whoville is the third location in which the Grinch enters the inside of each house and steals gifts, and at the end of the game, the Grinch, under the control of the player, returns the gifts to all the houses of the city.[6]
Films and television
The television program
References
- ISBN 978-0-306-80736-7.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzEHf_aL7J0
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxQ65lje8vU
- ^ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Dir. Ron Howard. 2000. Universal Studios
- ^ "Seussville Books", Random House, Inc., 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.
- ^ ‘The Grinch: Christmas Adventures’ Launches on Consoles and PC License Global
- ^ Horton Hears a Who! Dir. Jimmy Hayward. 2008. 20th Century Fox. DVD.