Dr. Seuss on the Loose

One of the best Dr. Seuss specials of them all.

Paul Winchell provided the voices of both the grouch & Sam-I-Am in that classic children's tale!

The best part was when the fox, the goat, the mouse & the dogs sang part of the tune @ the end.

When people think of Dr. Seuss and animation, the Christmas classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is usually what comes to mind, which indeed is top-notch. (I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the new version this year to see how well it translates to live-action).

But most people don't know about a collection of Dr. Seuss shorts entitled "Dr. Seuss on the Loose".

This video has animated adaptations of 3 Dr. Seuss stories ("Green Eggs and Ham"; "The Zax"; "The Sneetches") with narration & introductions provided by the Cat in the Hat, voiced by humorist/folk singer Allan Sherman. His voice talents alone make this collection worthwhile viewing (although I must admit being biased as I am a longtime fan of Sherman's song parodies such as "Camp Granada", "Harvey & Sheila", etc).

Most people are familiar with the "Green Eggs and Ham" story. The animated version here follows the book fairly closely without a great deal of embellishment. "The Zax", although a somewhat humorous story teaching a lesson about stubbornness, is an extremely short and rather forgettable.

But the true gem on this tape is the story of "The Sneetches". The animated story takes the book to a new level, improving greatly on it with better action, sound effects, and a couple of very catchy songs. And the story itself, in addition to being riotiously funny, makes a very effective statement about prejudice and discrimination that ring out as clearly today as they did nearly 30 years ago.

This made for TV program is available on video but may be somewhat hard to find. If you can find it, it is well worth checking out (particularly if you have kids). If you can't, then you should at least look for the book "The Sneetches" in the children's section of your local public library. (Unfortunately, it has nowhere near the impact of the animated version).

Besides the music and colorful backgrounds, the acting was great and the story telling teaches us life lessons like anti discrimination, anti pride, and trying new things. This music is such an excellent piece of comfortable and fun type of jazz. All the work is thanks to Dean Elliot.

Like Sleeping Beauty (1959) (higher pitch for Lord Duke while using his normal voice for King Stefan to do a test recording), Hans Conried used a slightly different voice to provide his voices for the North/South Going Zax and do the narration. I also recalled that he probably did the little Sneetch and the Fox, but never semi-confirmed. His voice would go back to normal when he became the second voice of the Grinch in Halloween is Grinch Night (1977), another best Dr. Seuss special and my number two favorite Dr. Seuss special.

What I also enjoyed is the same laugh Guy-Am-I used was Tigger's laugh. The late Paul Winchell ws a marvelous lad in providing the voices of Sam-I-Am, Guy-Am-I, and the Sneetches, so does Bob Holt as Sylvester McMonkey McBean and the Sneetches and Allan Sherman as the Cat in the Hat as his final project before his death on November 20, 1973.

Next to one of my favorite friendship films such as Beauty and the Beast (both the original 1991 animated classic and the 2017 live action remake, my second favorite Disney live action remake), Dumbo (1941), The Cat in the Hat (1971, NOT the 2003 awful film of the same name), Wallace and Gromit, etc., this special holds a place in my heart with all the life lessons we folks must learn.

I love Dr. Seuss animated specials, and this is one of the best! I especially love the "Sneetches", and of course, I have a soft spot for "Green Eggs and Ham"! I love the songs they sing in the entire special, my favorites being the songs the backup singers sing in "Green Eggs and Ham" and the one before "The Zax" and all the songs from the Sneetches.

This collection is an amazing set. The Sneetches was iconic, and a really respectful adaptation to film from the source book. 10/10