Dr. Seuss on the Loose (1973) (TV)

Director:

Hawley Pratt

Writers:

Dr. Seuss (book)
Dr. Seuss (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 October 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Family

Plot Keywords:

Dr Seuss | Period In Title | Based On Children's Book | Train | Character Name In Title

Cast

Allan Sherman	...	Cat in the Hat (voice)
Hans Conried	...	Narrator / North-going Zax (voice)
Paul Winchell	...	Joey / Sam-I-Am / Sneetches (voice)
Bob Holt	...	Sylvester McMonkey McBean / South-going Zax / Sneetches (voice)

Also Known As:

Green Eggs and Ham and Other Stories (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:Uc (video rating) (1986)

Company:

The Cat in the Hat Productions

Quotes:

Narrator: Then, the North-Going Zax said with North-Going pride...
North-Going Zax: I never have taken a step to one side, and I'll prove to you that I won't change my ways if I have to keep standing here 59 days!
South-Going Zax: And I'll prove to *you*...
Narrator: Yelled the South-Going Zax...
South-Going Zax: That I can stand here in the Prairie of Prax for 59 years! For I lived by a rule, that I learned as a boy back in South-Going School, "Never budge." That's my rule. "Never budge in the least. Not an inch to the west, not an inch to the east." I'll stand here not budging. I can, and I will, if it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!

Well worth checking out

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).