Katie is an abnormal yellow yak. She is one of the jungle children who are educated by Horton and enjoy spending their freetime with him.
Katie's behavior in the film is atypical. She is frequently shown in short frames, making unusual sounds, facing the wrong direction during conversations, and speaking nonsense. Although odd, she is also a kind and creative spirit. She and her friends are supportive of Horton when they find out about his belief in the tiny people living on his "speck." Katie attempts to encourage Horton by holding up her own flower, saying, "On my world, everyone's pony, and they all eat rainbows and poop out butterflies."[1]
Though at first glance, Katie seems to be an insignificant comedic relief character, she actually has an immeasurably important role and has become the center of a complex Seussian conspiracy. At the end of the film, as the narrator concludes his story and the final musical number fades out, the camera pans outward. Viewers see not only Horton's spec but a great many specs floating through space. The scene is meant to imply that we are all tiny beings, each on our own specs, floating through space alongside many other equally significant specs with equally significant living beings. This motif is consistent across Dr. Seuss's collection of children's stories--all people are equal. We are all unique and all important. We have great potential to invoke change and despite our relative size in the universe. Still, we are ultimately only one of countless meaningful lives. That is, except for Katie.
In this same scene, Katie is not with her jungle friends on their spec, floating alongst many specs. Katie ascends. She rises into the stratosphere, full size, and floats up among the stars. She is not one of many. She is the only being of her kind. Her yellow fluff contrasts starkly against the endless purple void of space. This ascension has been speculated to represent the ascension of Christ. Could Katie be Seuss' own depiction of a heavenly being? Perhaps, Seussian literary scholars have wondered, Katie may be a portrayal of Seuss' own image of God. Viewers are left to wonder how they fit into the prophetic message Katie left for Horton. In a world where everyone is a rainbow, are we fulfilling our true purpose of eating rainbows and pooping out butterflies? What will we have to say when we find ourselves in the afterlife, standing before Katie?
Quick Facts:
- Katie has brown eyes and a small tuft of orange hair.
- She is one of the only children in the film who is not shown to have parents.
- She can be seen eating insects on screen.
Katie was not in the Horton Here's A Who Book.