Seussical: The Movie...?

The movie opens on an empty street. A little boy wanders into view and sees a strange red-and-white striped hat where a sewer cover should be. He walks around it a few times, wondering out loud to whom it might belong. When he mentions a "hat-wearing cat", a human-like black-and-white cat(The Cat In The Hat) pops out of the sewer, having hidden below the street and anticipated the boy's arrival; The Cat is surprisingly spotless and without a bad odor when he appears out of the sewer. The Cat suddenly encourages the boy to "think" the Seussian world into existence. One by one, significant characters break the fourth wall and introduce themselves to the audience and the boy watches in awe as his imagination miraculously comes to life. He and the Cat share a fun handshake right after all the Seussian characters are brought to life. Soon after, the boy and the Cat suddenly begin to hear jungle drums, commencing the official story. The Cat, noticing the boy's amazement, tells him to imagine a clear blue sky. With continuous encouragement, the boy and the Cat suddenly appear in the Jungle Of Nool. The Nool transformation sequence shows the street turning into grass and the buildings morphing into tall palm trees. The boy steps back and points in amazement toward "the River Walloo." An elephant the boy identifies as Horton walks by the duo and takes a dip in the pool. The Cat and the boy watch as the jungle comes to life. Three bird girls gracefully swoop down from high tree branches and serve as a Greek chorus for a majority of the movie.

Horton swims and splashes, enjoying the peace of the jungle until he hears a "small noise". He looks around and sees nothing. Now, the Cat tells the boy to observe and they both spot a speck of dust blowing by. Horton sees it now as well, decides to save whoever's calling for help, then gently places the speck on a clover. The boy and the Cat jump back in shock because as soon as Horton places the speck on the clover, the sassy Sour Kangaroo and her tough-guy son jumps in. The Sour Kangaroo shoves the bird girls aside to mock Horton, dubbing him "the biggest blame fool in the Jungle of Nool". The boy ducks in fear as three sharp-dressed monkeys known as the Wickersham brothers swing in from tree branches. They surround a terrified Horton, who continually holds the speck close to him. The Cat suddenly jumps in as a talk show host and asks the Nool citizens if they think Horton's crazy. They all nod agreement or voice their opinion. Gertrude McFuzz, a bluebird, tries to convince the Cat that Horton's perfectly sane and has never acted out before. Then, a vain "showgirl" bird named Mayzie hogs the spotlight after Gertrude. Horton, amidst the chaos, insists he has to keep the speck safe because of his morals. He also frequently insists, "a person's a person no matter how small." Yertle the Turtle suddenly pops out from behind Horton, saying his behavior is against the law.

Eventually, a majority of the animals disperse, but the Wickersham trio threaten to take the clover from Horton before leaping off. Gertrude briefly introduces herself to the audience, but, failing to be noticed by Horton(she assumes she goes unnoticed because of her "one-feather tail"), walks away with a gloomy look on her face. Horton continues to stay close to the clover, occasionally hearing the same cry for help. The Cat breaks the fourth wall and zooms in on the planet of Who, making a visual split between Nool and a newly-introduced place: Whoville. The mayor of Who and his wife introduce themselves and tell Horton all about their struggles and the potentially fatal fate they could meet if not kept safe since Who is "the tiniest planet in the sky." They also tell Horton about how their planet is "on the brink of war". The mayors and several other young citizens implore Horton to help them out amidst their current struggles. Horton immediately promises to try and keep the Whos safe. Now, only Whoville is visible, but it is made clear that Horton is still trying to listen. The Cat narrates as Mr. Mayor and Mrs. Mayor walk home quickly in the rain. Mr. Mayor holds his pink jacket over his wife's head. The Cat suddenly pushes the boy into the story, now known by the name of Jojo, after the mayors announce they've just arrived home from a "Who PTA" meeting. Things go wrong for Jojo as his parents instantly begin to scold him for getting in trouble at school.