Album: Seussical Soundtrack

The People Versus Horton The Elephant

CAT (AS MARSHAL)
This is the case of the people versus
Horton the elephant

OTHERS IN COURT
Horton the elephant!

CAT (AS MARSHAL)
Judge Yertle the turtle presiding.
Everyone rise!

JUDGE YERTLE
Order! Order! Order in the court!

JUDGE YERTLE & ALL
Order, order, order, order in the court!

CAT (AS MARSHAL)
The defendant is charged with talking to a speck,
Disturbing the peace, and loitering ... on an egg.

HORTON
Your honor, this clover is Exhibit A.

HORTON SOUR KANGAROO,
They're Whos here. WICKERSHAMS, BIRD GIRLS
There are Whos here.
Smaller than the eye can
See! Biggest blame fool
in the Jungle of Nool
It's true, sir!
Here's who's who, sir!
He's a who, and so is she Biggest blame fool
in the Jungle of Nool

(JUDGE YERTLE bangs the gavel)

JUDGE YERTLE
Order! Order! Order in the court!

CAT (AS MARSHAL)
Call to the stand the star witness versus
Horton the elephant.
Raise your right hand and swear!

(THE SOUR KANGAROO steps forward to take the oath)

SOUR KANGAROO
I swear...
That he's the biggest blame fool
In the Jungle of Nool
As I testified long ago.
Biggest blame fool

YOUNG KANGAROO
Just a fool, fool, fool!

SOUR KANGAROO
And a mother like me should know.
Judgin' him trunk to toe...
You better think!

BIRD GIRLS
Think!

SOUR KANGAROO
Think!

BIRD GIRLS
Think!

SOUR KANGAROO
Oh please, throw him in the clink!

BIRD GIRLS (testifying)
Talkin' to a speck
Talkin' to a speck
To a speck of dust!

GERTRUDE
Objection!

ALL (EXCEPT HORTON AND GERTRUDE)
Overruled!

WICKERSHAMS, KANGAROO, BIRD GIRLS (testifying)
Sittin' on an egg
Sittin' on an egg
Sittin' on an egg!

GERTRUDE
Objection!

ALL (EXCEPT HORTON AND GERTRUDE)
Overruled!

(Group by group, the animals sweep forward to testify, their voices building to cacophony.
The following lines overlap)

BIRD GIRLS SOUR KANGAROO WICKERSHAMS
Talkin' to a speck
Talkin' to a speck Fool! Fool! Fool!
To a speck of
Dust! In the Jungle of
Talkin' to a speck Nool! Nool! Sittin' on an egg!
To a speck of Nool! He's sittin'
Dust! On an egg!
Talkin' to a speck Fool! Ha! Ha!
Talkin' to a speck Ha!
To a speck of

(Horton emits a tremendous angry elephant trumpet. The courtroom falls silent)

HORTON
I meant what I said
And I said what I meant:
An elephant's faithful
One hundred percent!
You can throw me in jail,
Lock me up in a zoo...
But I won't desert my egg
And I will not abandon Who!

These Whos, sir,
Win or lose, sir,
Whether you believe or not,
They're here.
They live in fear.
And I'm the only friend they've got

You can do what you want with me, Your Honor,
And I won't question why.

But Please save Who,
The ti-niest planet in the sky.

(There is tension in the courtroom as JUDGE YERTLE delivers his verdict)

JUDGE YERTLE
Based on the evidence, I have no choice
But to order the defendant, Horton the elephant,
Remanded to the Nool asylum for the criminally insane.
And as for the dust speck...

BIRD GIRLS
Ooh! That dust speck!

CAT (AS MARSHAL)
And as for the dust speck

BIRD GIRLS
Ooh! That speck!

CAT (AS MARSHAL), SOUR KANGAROO, WICKERSHAMS, YERTLE
And as for your dust speck,

CAT (AS MARSHAL), SOUR KANGAROO, WICKERSHAMS, YERTLE, BIRD GIRLS
That we will
Boil boil boil boil boil...
In a hot steaming kettle of beezlenut oil!

HORTON
Boil it! Oh no!
No, that you can't do!
It's all full of persons!
They'll prove it to you!
Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor!
Oh, please, Mr. Mayor!
You've got to prove now
That you really are there!
So ring every doorbell.
And send out the word!
Make every Who holler!
Make every Who heard!

CAT (AS MARSHAL), SOUR KANGAROO, WICKERSHAMS, YERTLE, BIRD GIRLS
Boil, boil, boil, boil, boil!

(MR. and MRS. MAYOR appear)

MAYOR & MRS. MAYOR
Attention all Whos!
Attention all Whos!
We've got to be heard!
There's no time to lose!

MRS. MAYOR
So send up a shout

MAYOR
Make it loud! Make it clear!

JOJO, ALL WHOS
We are here! We are here!
We are here! We are here!

(A silence as ALL in the courtroom listen...)

HORTON
(triumphantly)
Now surely you heard. It was clear as a bell!
Now all of you surely heard that very well!

(No one else has heard a thing)

JUDGE YERTLE
I heard no small voices
And you didn't either!

(SOUR KANGAROO riffs through the following)

COURTROOM MEN COURTROOM WOMEN
Boil it! Boil it!
Boil it! Boil it!
Boil it! Boil it!
Boil it! Boil it!

(HORTON struggles to protect THE WHOS from the mob, holding the clover away from them)

HORTON
Don't give up! I believe in you all!
A person's a person, no matter how small!
And you very small persons will not have to die
If you make yourselves heard! So, please! TRY!

(THE WHOS are revealed. They're terror stricken.
They beat on tom toms, play musical instruments, wave their arms.)

COURTROOM PEOPLE WHOS
Boil it!
Boil it!
Boil it!
Boil it!
We are here!
Boil it!
We are here!
Boil it!
We are here!
Boil it!
We are here!
Boil it!
We are here!
Boil... We are here!

HORTON, MR. AND MRS. MAYOR
Jojo, think of something!

(Everyone freezes as THE CAT steps out of the scene.)

CAT
Now just for a moment, young Jojo looked grim.
The fate of the Whos rested squarely on him!
But then came a think.-
A peculiar new word no one ever had heard!

(The scene unfreezes...)

ALL (IN COURTROOM) WHOS
Boil it! We are here!
Boil it! We are here!
Boil it! We are here!
Boil!... We are here!

JOJO (a long yell)
YOPP!

(JOJO'S voice reverberates loudly through the universe.
And the WHOS are heard at last. The ANIMALS gasp in amazement.
The WHOS gasp in relief!)