The stars were out this weekend for the premiere of the new animated children’s film Horton Hears a Who, based on the 1954 Dr. Seuss book of the same name. Abortion protesters crashed the premiere at Westwood Village Theater on Saturday, with the justification that the film and book’s motto “a person is a person, no matter how small” can also be used as a statement against abortion. Dr. Seuss was personally against the abortion activists appropriating his phrase for their cause, and he threatened to sue over it before he died in 1991. In 2001, his widow did sue an abortion group for using her husband’s writing without his permission.

Judging from these photos, the protestors were contained and kept away from the little guests at the film, and the premiere went on as scheduled.

Carrey stars as the voice of the elephant Horton, who discovers a planet in a small speck of dust and works to protect its tiny inhabitants. It also stars Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, and Will Arnett.

Here’s the trailer:

Horton Hears a Who is out in US theaters on March 14, and is refreshingly out in the rest of Europe around the same time. It is getting good reviews, and since it’s a kids’ film it’s sure to be a hit.

Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures, which also include Jenny McCarthy and her son, Evan, who will be 6 in May, Brooke Shields, her husband Chris Henchy and their daughters Rowan, who will be 4 in May, and Grier, 23 months. Also shown are Carol Burnett and what look like her surly grandchildren, Jamie Pressly and her fiance, DJ Eric Calvo, Joely Fisher and her daughter True, 25 months, Ray Liotta and his daughter Karsen, 9, and friend, Jesse McCartney and his brother Timothy McCartney, The American Idol Finalists, Steve Carell, Will Artnett, and Jim Carrey’s 20 year-old daughter, Jane, showing off her Canada tattoo.

Jenny McCarthy’s five-year-old son Evan is autistic, and Jenny has been a vocal advocate for all sorts of alternative autism treatments. Though to be fair, there is such a wide range in the autism spectrum and so much is still unknown about it that there aren’t exactly many conventional treatments at this point. Most things are experimental and work for some kids and not others. Jenny recently spoke about the benefits of treating autism with diet and vitamins, and urged the medical community to at least consider it.

McCarthy, whose five-year-old son Evan suffers from the disorder, travels around America giving talks about the alleged benefits of natural medicines. But the blonde, who is dating Jim Carrey, wishes doctors would acknowledge how diets and vitamins can be used to treat autism.

She says, “I’ve been speaking to moms across the country who are all shouting out the same thing: ‘This (diet and supplement intake) is working. It’s so heartbreaking to see the medical community not support something called diet and vitamins. And it pains us, city after city after city. I see this heartbreak on these mom’s faces. Autism isn’t covered by (medical) insurance. If things like diets and supplements are working, then why not support it? These kids are getting better and I will not shut up and will not stop fighting about it.”

[From WXYZ]

Jenny has gotten a lot of flack for her techniques and her beliefs, especially from the rest of the world that doesn’t have to deal with autism. They’re definitely unconventional, but if nothing else it speaks to the desperation a mother must feel in trying to heal her son. She was open-minded and willing to try anything. In October, Dr. David Feinberg, chief executive officer of the UCLA Hospital System, called McCarthy his hero for all the work she’s done related to autism. She travels around the country speaking to audiences about her experiences with it, and has written a bestselling book. She is, however, associated with a group called Indigo Moms that believe their kids have special abilities and auras that’s pretty hooky, and it brings her credibility down a few notches. Either way, she’s still making headlines, bringing a lot of attention to autism, and raising a ton of money for research, which can only be a good thing.

Here’s Jenny McCarthy leaving Whole Foods Market with a bag of groceries on 03/01/2008. Images thanks to WENN.