Horton Hears a Whodunnit! is a crossover between Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! and ABC's Whodunnit?
This segment is from MAD Season 4, Episode 19 (97): Pacific Ring / Horton Hears a Whodunnit!
Summary[]
A group of strangers are asked to solve a murder by an elephant in a tuxedo.
References[]
- Disney's Dumbo
- Hop on Pop
MAD References[]
Characters[]
- Horton the Elephant
- Don
- Adriana
- Dontae
- Sasha
- Steve
- Mayor of Whoville (non-speakable)
- Will Smith
Transcript[]
(Scene begins with four contestants, Don, Adriana, Dontae, and Sasha looking around in a fancy mansion.)
Horton: (voice-over) These four people are here to play a game. (Close up of his suit, as an anonymous host straightens his bow tie. Scene cuts to Don nervously reading a book called, “The Cat is the Hack”.) But what they don’t know… (A gunshot sound is heard, followed by screaming. Don looks over to see his fellow contestants observing a broken spilled bottle on the floor.) …is the game is no… (A sword drops from the ceiling, and almost hit Dontae, but he avoids it just in time.) …ordinary game. (Cuts to two doors opening revealing the host’s suit from a neck down perspective.) The game is… (The contestants turn their heads to see the host of the game.) …murder. My name… (Camera shows that the host is none other than Horton the Elephant.) … is Horton. (The four people look confused.) Oh, and someone... (Dramatically) murdered a Who!
(Four people start screaming, then they stop screaming, except Don. And Horton uses his trunk on Don still screaming.)
Horton: That's better.
(Title card: Horton Hears a Whodunnit!)
Horton: Don, Adriana, Dontae, and Sasha, you are here to solve a murder.
Don: Who died?
Horton: Yes.
Adriana: Wait, we need to find who?
Horton: Exactly.
Dontae: Exactly, who?
Horton: Bingo!
Sasha: (Off-camera) Oh my gosh! (Scene cuts to her) I found who died! (Points to a random presumely dead guy on the floor.)
Horton: What? No, he’s not dead! That’s Steve. He’s on my crew of the show. (Scene cuts to Steve laying asleep on the floor.) Steve! Steve! (A bug crawls into Steve’s mouth, waking him up.)
Steve: Huh? Is this scene over yet?
Horton: (Annoyedly) Not yet.
Steve: Alright. (Goes back to sleep.)
Don: Can you just tell us who died?
Horton: Yes. (Points to the floor.) That who! (Close-up of the floor, but nothing seems to be on it (or is it?..))
Adriana: I don’t see anyone.
Horton: And you won’t, because Who’s are impossibly, microscopicly… (Close-up to his hand, revealing the Mayor of Whoville.) …and adorably tiny beings. (Camera zooms out to see the full cast again.) Who can’t be seen without a magnifying glass.
Dontae: Well, give us a magnifying glass!
Horton: As soon as you solve this riddle. (A flag comes out of his trunk, revealing a clue as it reads…) Wet get, two dogs get wet! Help yelp, they yelp for help! Hill Will, Will went up hill! Will Hill still, Will is up hill still! (The contestants huddle up and start mumbling to each other.) Have you solved the riddle?
Don: Yup, we have. So, you’re nuts, and we’re gonna so see if it’s too late to get on The Voice. So, so long, Dumbo.
Adriana: Look! (Points to a mountain that is seen through the window.) Someone’s on that hill!
Dontae: Is it a fish?
Don: A fish? Why would it be a fish?
Dontae: I don’t know, Don. I barely know what’s happening here. I think I need to lay down with Steve. (Lays down on the floor.)
Sasha: Let’s go! (The four people run out of the mansion, leaving Horton, Dontae, and Steve behind.)
Dontae: Is it “cooleth”?
Horton: Sure. (Steve (still in his sleep) wraps his arm around Dontae, as he too starts to fall asleep. Scene cuts to the top of the mountain, as Don, Andriana, and Sasha climbed to the top.)
Don: Oh my gosh! It’s Will Smith!
Will Smith: Heh. Yes it is. And you have solved the riddle. You may now have this magnifying glass, so… (Don takes the magnifying glass, and the contestants run down back to the mansion.) Man, you do one M. Night Shamalan movie, you end up exiled on a mountain. SHAMALAN!!!
Horton: (Scene cuts back to the mansion, where Don shows him they found the magnifying glass.) Excellent work. Wait, what happened to Sasha? (Cuts to Sasha, who has joined Dontae and Steve in their little nap time.) Right, should’ve known. Anyway, you may now use the magnifying glass.
Don: (Uses the magnifying glass on the floor to reveal a Who squashed flat like a pancake.) Yup, there’s The Who.
Andriana: Looks like someone stepped on him.
Don: Huh. (His magnifying glass shows a whole bunch of other Who’s also got stepped on.) It looks like there lots of squished Who’s.
Horton: Very good. But who stepped on those Who’s?
Don: Well, you got the biggest feet. (Dramatic close-up of Horton’s feet.)
Horton: But compared to a Who. Everyone’s feet are big.
Andriana: Yeah, but you’re the only one who’s also stepping on everyone. (Zoom out to reveal Horton standing on Dontae, Steve, and Sasha.)
Horton: Oops! Heh. Forgot they were there. Well, I guess this solves the mystery. (Due to his heavy weight, Horton crashes down on the floor with his stepped-on victims.) You think it’s too late to get on The Voice?
(End of segment.)
Trivia[]
- This is the first time Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! and ABC's Whodunnit? showed up, and the first time MAD showed a 1954 Dr. Seuss book (Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!).
- This is the first time Horton the Elephant is wearing clothes in a MAD sketch, although he doesn't wear clothes in the movie and the book.
- The golden jigsaw puzzle pieces in the background of the title card refers from the Banjo-Kazooie video game franchise