The Butter Battle Book (1989) (TV)

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writers:

Dr. Seuss (book)
Dr. Seuss (written for television by)

Release Date:

13 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Short

Plot:

A tale of two hostile neighboring countries, one country is occupied by the Yooks, while the other is occupied by the Zooks...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Children's Book | Food In Title | Arms Race | Allegory

Cast

Charles Durning	...	Grandfather (voice)
Chris Latta	...	(voice) (as Christopher Collins)
Miriam Flynn	...	(voice)
Clive Revill	...	(voice)
Joseph Cousins	...	(voice)

Directed by
Ralph Bakshi		(supervising director)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dr. Seuss		book
Dr. Seuss		written for television by

Produced by
Ralph Bakshi	....	producer
Dr. Seuss	....	executive producer (as Theodor Geisel)

Original Music by
Glen Daum

Film Editing by
Brad Gunther

Production Management
Sherry Gunther	....	production supervisor (as Sherry Argaman)

Art Department
Kent Butterworth	....	storyboard artist
Dave Marshall	....	storyboard artist (as David Marshall)
Tom Minton	....	storyboard artist
Jim Reardon	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Philip Phillipson	....	sound reader (as Phil Phillipson)

Animation Department
Marcia Adams	....	background color key
Kent Butterworth	....	animation director
Kent Holaday	....	mouth animation synchronization
Mike Kazaleh	....	layout artist
Sandra Kumashiro	....	layout checker
Dave Marshall	....	animation director (as David Marshall)
Jeff Pidgeon	....	models
Chris Reccardi	....	layout artist
Linda Redondo	....	color modeler
Rose Ann Stire	....	color modeler (as Roseanne Stire)
Louise Zingarelli	....	layout artist

Music Department
Glen Daum	....	composer: original song music
Lee Ann Ledgerwood-Steig	....	composer: original song music (as LeeAnn Ledgerwood)
Jeremy Steig	....	composer: original song music
John Moses	....	musician (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Bakshi Animation
• Turner Network Television (TNT)

Distributors

• Turner Network Television (TNT) (1989) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS) (as part of The Best of Dr. Seuss)

Other Companies

• Servisound  audio post-production
• Unitel Video  video post-production
• Score Productions  music production
• Screen Music Studios (SMS)  voice recording (as Screenmusic Studios)
• Wang Film Productions Company  animation production (uncredited)
• Cuckoo's Nest Studios  animation production (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Dr. Seuss' The Butter Battle Book" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

Bakshi Animation

Trivia:

Dr. Seuss has credited this 1989 TV special as the most faithful adaptation of his work.

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Best of Dr. Seuss (2000)

The World In Ten Million Years

Wow. Wow, wow. Hmmm. Do I waste the words? In the spirit of Bakshi, I'll stay human and fail by trying. I won't believe the Grandfather. Anyone who studies Bakshi feels the tides of generations, of change, of the street, of music, and art, addiction and emotion. Of the loss of soul which accompanies conviction. So those few will suck on the sour, ironic pill of these comments like they have every minute of Bakshi film, and twist their face wry, and spit it out and never forget. They illustrate alike. Let me simplify and close; from 'a brilliant, if all-too-brief, collaboration...' "Soon there are goofy attempts by a hired Grandfather Yook (voiced by Charles Durning) to take on the task of stopping the Zooks from continuing on their bottom-buttered path." And contrast. From 'Simplistic and misguided' "In any event, the cartoon is little more than simplistic propaganda which does little to explore the nuances of the ethical questions behind nuclear armament and instead tries to inculcate fear of weapons technology into children." Do I really need to summarize? Probably, but I won't. Conviction becomes reality. What acts is indestructible.