The Cat in the Hat

Ok, so it's way different than the book. If you ask me, the cartoon is way better than the book. The Cat in the Hat comes to the two kids on a rainy day when their mother leaves them all alone. The Cat shows them how to have fun as they all search for his moss-covered three handled family grudunza. Mr. Krinklebein, the fish, constantly tries to get the Cat to go away. Thing I and Thing II make appearances. I have been watching this cartoon since I was two years old!!

The latest member of the family to succumb to this wonderful bit of silly fun is our 3 year-old. He rarely speaks, but has most of the lines to this one memorised and loves it to bits. Who can blame him? Alan Sherman's portrayal of the Cat is a fine piece of voiceover work, as are all the characters in this one, and the songs never leave your head WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!I really wish that Viacom, or whoever holds the rights to this one, as well as the other Dr. Seuss titles originally released by Fox would hurry up and get them out on DVD, because our tapes are nearly worn out! Definitely recommended, if you can find it.

Dr. Seuss and his stories are not very familiar here in Holland and although the Jim Carrey version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' was a pretty big hit it hasn't changed that very much. Still, I saw this animated version of 'The Cat in the Hat' and let me start by saying that it is so much better and funnier than the Mike Myers version.

When the mother (voice by Gloria Camacho) of a girl (voice by Pamelyn Ferdin) and a boy (voice by Tony Frazier) leaves on a rainy evening the kids are very bored. A cat in a hat (voice by Allan Sherman) enters the house to cheer them up. The fish (voice by Daws Butler) is not very fond of that because they are making a huge mess. Everything must be clean before mother comes home.

The first half with the arrival of the cat is not that great. It has some nice songs though. The second half, especially the part where the cat explains how he is called in other countries, is great and very funny. I understand why stories like this are very popular. Kids just have to like it and for adults it must be a nice memory from their childhood.

Dr. Seuss books just don't lend themselves well to live action movies. The live action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas was awful, mostly because the padded scenes LOOKED like padding. There isn't enough of a story in Seuss's books to make a feature-length movie, and really not even enough to make a 25-minute TV show.

But add some good animation and the music of Allan Sherman, and you have a winner. I'll be watching THIS version for many years, not the dreadful Mike Meyers version.

This song-filled Dr. Seuss classic should be shown on network television at least twice a year! The musical numbers are pure fun; as a bonus, they managed to sneak in a quick foreign languages lesson. The newest home video release of this favorite has the words on the screen, which is even better. Listen during the song performed with Thing 2 and Thing 1. You'll hear the booming baritone of Thurl "Tony The Tiger" Ravenscroft. I have watched this special over 100 times on home video, and never want to stop.