Horton attempts to cross a long, rickety bamboo bridge over a deep gorge. Jim Carrey (top) gives voice to Horton

Jim Carrey provides the voice for Horton the elephant in the CG animated film version of the Dr Seuss classic Horton Hears A Who. Horton hears a distant cry from a tiny speck floating in the air which turns out to be a microscopic city, Who-ville, that is in grave danger. He can’t see the Whos, but he can communicate with their Mayor (Steve Carell) and the courageous elephant sets out to save the community from impending destruction.

Engaging, upbeat and enthusiastic as always, Jim Carrey, 46, sat down in Los Angeles to discuss his latest film...

Is it exciting doing a CGI animated film? It’s your first isn’t it?

It is the first time for me doing anything like this. Yeah, it is exciting. I was waiting for the right thing to come along; I always wanted to be a part of this medium. The advances they’ve made in the last 10 years are amazing so I was delighted to do this.

Can you talk about the appeal of Horton?

The thing that I loved about Horton was that he is a world apart from The Grinch (who I played in How the Grinch Stole Christmas). This is a character who does not have any ego at all. First of all, I thought to myself, how am I going to play an elephant? Nobody has done a voice for Horton before. I thought surely there has to be a big booming voice but when you think about the soul of Horton, you realise that he doesn’t think he’s bigger than anything else. He doesn’t think he’s bigger than the mouse, who’s his best friend. His soul is much more gentle than you’d imagine.... So I thought that would affect the character.... I asked the directors if they wanted a crazy characterisation and they said ‘no we just want him to be like you’. So I was a younger version of myself for the role. I just wanted to humanise him and make him the kind of character who simply wants to love everything and everyone in its path.

He is very good-natured, isn’t he?

He is innocent and friendly and loves creating his own fun in his own head; he gets kind of tickled by his own thoughts. He likes to play jokes on people but at the same time, he won’t leave you hanging there waiting because he wants you to feel good....

Yet he has some opponents and enemies like the Kangaroo?

Characters like Horton, who still maintain their innocence and love for the world and their creativity, always cause fear in those who have lost touch with that. That is what happens with the Kangaroo.... I think there is a lot going on with this story, a lot more than meets the eye.

Had you read and enjoyed a lot of Dr Seuss books?

Oh yes, Dr Seuss books were huge for me.... To me Dr Seuss is like a child’s version of punk. It is as cool as you can get and fun. Dr Seuss will never be unhip. I love the idea of introducing a whole new generation to the stories. The message is so great in this one — that there are no limitations to what you can do. I also love the idea that ‘a person is a person no matter how small’. You shouldn’t judge anyone, and the idea of worlds within worlds within worlds.

Is it difficult for you as a physical comedian, being trapped in a sound booth making an animated movie?

It was hard work. I can tell you I went home sore a lot of days because I was doing wild characterisations with my arms and my body all the time. I did not sit still. I would go home aching from head to foot and say ‘what is this, am I doing an action movie?’

Did the animators use any of your own expressions for the animation?

They said that was essential and they had a video camera trained on me all the time so they could get all my expressions recorded.

What was the most challenging aspect of the film?

I think the greatest challenge with this type of film is that you have to create an imaginary world in your head that doesn’t exist. It is also about trust.... With other actors in the room, you can see where the scene is going. But with this kind of film, you have to trust they are pointing you in the right direction.

Horton is very determined to save the people of Who-ville. What do you have in common with him?

I am pretty tenacious. I don’t think you can really make it in life unless you have that kind of quality. When I get beat over the head I say to myself: ‘oh that didn’t feel very good but I guess I can still do this.’ You just keep at it... until something good happens.

Did you come up with ideas of your own for Horton and improvise?

On a daily basis I was creating a lot of different things. That’s why they hire people like Robin Williams or me to do these things — to be spontaneous. They want us to come in and fill out the character and scene and create special moments. I work with the animators and they tell me about a sequence and I go ‘what if we do this?’

You take a lot of risks. Do you enjoy challenging yourself?

I like challenges and I don’t believe in failure. I don’t believe in regrets. I believe suffering, failure are things that are absolutely necessary to make us the best people that we can be, the best at whatever we want to do. All of it is essential. I come from the philosophy of: ‘whatever happens to me is the greatest thing that could happen, no matter what.’ Sometimes in the moment I have a regret, but then I have found myself every time down the line saying to myself: ‘I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that so called failure.’ For example, I would not have been able to do Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind if I hadn’t had my heart broken. I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things I’ve done without those moments when I thought it was the end of the world....

Have you always been funny?

When I started out performing as a little boy, I was trying to make my mother feel better and laugh because she was sick and in pain all the time. I found out that I had that power to relieve her. It started out that way and expanded and I knew I wanted to do this. What I do as an art form is try to make people feel good and if I do try to make them feel bad, it’s for a reason. There’s something I am trying to say.

Who was your inspiration?

My dad. I always dreamed of being like my dad. He was an amazing character. Talk about animated — he was a cartoon. When he told a story when I was a little kid, I used to look up at him and watch the entire room fall to pieces. That was it. I wanted to be just like him.

What has been your greatest challenge?

Authenticity. Really that it’s it — being what you want to be, rather than what you think you should be in order to make it or be accepted; to fly in the face of people who say ‘you shouldn’t do this or that’. It’s saying: ‘you don’t understand, if I don’t do those things then I’ll die and spend my life in hell because I wasn’t true to myself.’ So there really isn’t a choice.

Do you have to get it right?

I’ve done scenes where I didn’t think I was completely in them. I never feel completely like ‘I did it’. Acting is divine dissatisfaction.

Can you talk about your next project?

I am doing a film right now with Bob Zemeckis, a classic version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens with Gary Oldman. I am playing Scrooge at four different ages and I’m playing the ghost of Christmas Past Present and Future. This kind of film (performance capture 3D animation) presents its own problems because you are in an empty warehouse that has cameras on the walls and there is nothing for you there except your imagination. So the work you have to do is ask yourself: ‘what did it smell like in Victorian England in that era?’ Okay, it smelled pretty bad....

What are your goals?

Just more creativity. I want to be a positive force in the world, I would like to make people happy.... And I still have this childlike joy in doing my job, which is the greatest gift for me.

What is your favourite Jim Carrey film? Tell t2@abpmail.com