Horton Hatches the Egg is a 1942 American animated short film by Leon Schlesinger Productions, based on the 1940 book by Dr. Seuss, and released as part of Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies series.

[1] The short was directed by Bob Clampett and was the first film adaptation based on a Seuss book.

Mayzie, a lazy, irresponsible bird, convinces an elephant named Horton to sit on her egg while she takes a "short break".

As Horton sits in the nest on top of a tree, he is exposed to the elements, laughed at by his jungle friends, captured by hunters, forced to endure a terrible sea voyage, and finally placed in a traveling circus.

She visits the circus just as the egg is due to hatch, after 51 weeks in Palm Beach, and demands that Horton return it, without offering him a reward.