The Cat in the Hat - 'Toon Reviews Shorty

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On this day, March 2, I’d like to celebrate the birthday of a talented and noteworthy figure in entertainment, Ted Geisel, or as most people know him, Dr. Seuss.  Most of the world has grown up with at least a selection of his vast library of children’s novels and for good reason.  Through his appealing art style invoking plenty of personality in the characters, and nonsense words that feel believable, his works are a huge definition of the idea of imagination.  For this reason, Dr. Seuss has the right to be seen as inspirational to any aspiring artist or entertainer, right down to his birthday being celebrated at schools every year.  They make a note to introduce kids for reading, but there’s a definite vision to the stories he set out to tell, and that’s why many people fondly remember them into adulthood.

It goes without saying that Dr. Seuss is revered when it comes to literature and early reading, but most people don’t know that he’s made a name of himself in animation as well.  Now the TV adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is quite popular, but others don’t have the same recognition.  A majority of them were made throughout the 1970s and 80s by DFE Films or DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, run by former Warner Bros employees David DePatie and Friz Freleng.  Despite this, you hardly see them rerun these days and are more likely to find a majority of them on streaming services or home media.  This MC Toon Reviews Shorty is designed to give recognition for one of them.  Considering that this is the day to fondly look back on Dr. Seuss’ greatest accomplishments, I’ll look into the TV special of his best-known work:

The Cat in the Hat

(July 4, 1971)

When people think of this title, they instantly think of either the acclaimed children’s book known the world over, or the critically panned live-action film version from 2003.  However, this short half-hour special deserves just as much recognition for how it successfully brings Dr. Seuss’ literary vision to life.  It’s one of the works that show that even when a story sounds simple, that doesn’t matter.  All you have to do is go all out with a good story idea and you’ll have it leave many strong impressions.  What we have here is successful at just that, highlighting the original story’s relatability and memorable moments, while also offering a few of its own.

Now, the story is mostly in line with what was in the original book.  A brother and sister are left home alone on a rainy day with nothing to do for fun until they get an unexpected visitor.  It’s the titular Cat in the Hat who lets himself in with the intent of showing a lot of fun tricks and games the kids can do to keep themselves entertained.  All the while, he’s berated by the pet fish, here named Karlos K. Krinklebein, for his antics while constantly making the point that he shouldn’t trespass here when the mother’s out.  While there are a few unfortunate implications with the protagonist getting away with breaking into homes, what really shines is the intriguing theme.  Most works would admonish the audience for breaking rules and preach that they’re here for a reason.  While this is true, this story also makes a point to say that bending the rules for the sake of a good fun time can be harmless. 

The Cat in the Hat’s intentions are genuinely to help the kids out of their funk, and they’re certainly better off actively following him than sitting around watching it rain.  In fact, the push for fun and leisure is one I tend to support, balancing out the will of the mind to do the right thing, and the will of the heart to satisfy one’s own needs.  This is the basis of the impression the Cat leaves on the kids as they transition from depressed and bored to full of life and energy.  Sure, they don’t have much to their personalities, but through the effectiveness of the fun the Cats shares, they’re quite endearing and relatable as blank slate characters.  I mean, there’s sure to have been many times when we were impressionable of what peers had to offer.  Speaking of relatable, the fish also stands out as a visual metaphor of a conscience and sense of reason.  He’s like a little shred of doubt that’s persistent when bending the rules, reminding us that we know we’re doing wrong, yet we choose to ignore it for self-satisfaction.  His portrayal in the special kind of nails this sensation like with his growing temper and frustration while trying to get the Cat out of the house. 

The story makes a point to support putting reason aside, but with emphasis on the mess they’re making, there’s also a reminder that there’s a catch to this.  When you are bending the rules, there’s a chance it could cause harm, so make a note to get it under control. That’s what everyone does when they clean the house before the mother returns, and the Cat doing most of the work shows that for his recklessness, he knows what he’s doing.  As you can tell, even as a simple children’s story, it leaves a lot to think about when it comes to living life, and can reach out not just to kids, but adults too.  With several fun moments to highlight the phases of the theme, it turns out to be very memorable and easy to see why it’s still celebrated to this day.  That’s just for the basic story in general that this special follows, but how does the special itself work on its own?

For one thing, running at a short half-hour, it’s able to avoid falling into the trap most adaptations of Dr. Seuss’ work fall into.  You go in expecting the story of The Cat in the Hat to come to life, and that’s just what you get.  There’s a tall cat wearing a red and white hat visiting two bored kids on a rainy day and entertaining them with his tricks and activities.  There are no extraneous subplots to take away from the fun tone.  The entertainment factor feels from the heart and doesn’t try so hard to appeal to one particular demographic.  Simplicity is key in the story and character personalities so the main theme can leave an impact.  This wouldn’t be the best direction if this were an adaptation of a long chapter book, but this is a short simple Dr. Seuss children’s novel we’re talking about.  Shorter lengths are a necessity when bringing these works to life.  Also, animation is the true way to adapt the story as well, for the medium where literally anything can easily happen is honestly the only way to accurately interpret the unique style.  Not to mention, it’s the medium to capture all the main players.  The Cat in the Hat is a calm and laid back as he goes about his mission to spread fun also helped by enjoyable voice work from actor, Allan Sherman.  The kids may be blank slates, but as I previously mentioned, they clearly show the effects of the Cat’s antics as they become livelier the more they go on.  Also mentioned earlier, the fish’s temper at the Cat is fun to watch and really defines his role as the shred of conscience in the fun.  There’s also Thing 1 and Thing 2 as the Cat’s sidekicks who are honestly more destructive and rowdy than he is, resulting in some of the special’s more fast-paced sequences.  Even if there isn’t much to see, it suits its purpose of adapting the classic story well and doing so faithfully.

Faithful to the tone as the special is, unlike most Dr. Seuss TV special adaptations, it’s not really direct.  There is one other reason the Cat in the Hat comes to the kids’ house than to just help the kids have fun on the rainy day.  In fact, he’s quickly sent away at the commands of the fish as the special just gets started.  Then he instantaneously returns, claiming that someone stole something called a “moss-covered three-handled family gradunza” and sticks around to find it in the house.  This gives the special more backbone to the story than just teaching an interesting lesson, but this being the main reason the Cat stays begs a few questions.  The biggest one is of what exactly a gradunza is.  Upon research, I’ve found out it’s either a piece of furniture, or a wrestling move, but neither definitions are implied in the special proper.  Then again, this is a Dr. Seuss work we’re talking about. 

This setup allowing the Cat to stick around is the reason behind most of the antics which are still really fun highlights to the special.  He has an activity where he and the kids look at different spots in the house and write symbols on all the places the gradunza isn’t located.  It also helps that it comes with an unbelievably catchy song to explain the process and puts a larger emphasis on the creativity of the strategy than the main goal.  There’s also some truth to it when it comes to finding lost things and can help avoid the common mistake of looking in the same place twice.  Another fun sequence relating to the gradunza search is the introduction to Thing 1 and Thing 2, suggesting a more helpful side to them not seen in the book.  However, they’re just as reckless as ever, messing up the house in many oddball ways, also set to a crazily amazing song sequence.  Heck, they’re clearly interested in calling out the fish for not liking fun, and don’t search for the missing object at all.

With all this in mind, you could argue that there being a specific reason for the Cat doing his thing devalues the message of there being benefits in rule bending for fun.  Well, consider that even in these activities, there’s more focus on the chaos of writing on walls and running around than actually finding the Cat’s gradunza.  Even after sounding strict and emotional about finding it, he’s not worried for it at all.  It even hits a few tangents that don’t relate to the search at all.  The Cat uses insults from the fish to sing about how he’s a punk, and entertain with a few tricks with his hat. 

Then near the end, everyone forgets about it all together in a spectacular sequence of saying the phrase “Cat in the Hat” in various languages.  Even the fish gets in on that fun, showing that even reason can’t hold out of fun for long.  Just to add to the fun tone, rather than just teaching languages, they make most of them up, especially in the second half of the song. E.g.: Chapka and Shlyapa are actually both Russian for the word ‘hat.’ 

Technically, the special is all over the place by focusing on finding the gradunza for one minute and then doing something completely unrelated another.  This could be a major flaw, but thanks to the execution establishing the tone of the special, what threatens to hold the special back elevates it to impressive status.  The lack of urgency, even when they are looking for the gradunza, which they by the way never really explain what it is, suggests the Cat’s using it as an excuse to stay.  By the time he puts more care into proving to the fish that he really is a Cat in a Hat, it’s practically obvious that he was making that ploy up the whole time.  This turns out to be an interesting way to teach how having fun really works where everyone gets involved to do a task, but have fonder memories of everything in between.  This move is so clever, the twist at the end with the kids’ mother saying she saw the Cat walking with the gradunza feels somewhat redundant.  The whole special captures the message and tone of the original book well, but it’s also great to know that it has enough appeal to stand as its own thing.

The Cat in the Hat TV special is a must-watch for anyone who’s ever loved the works of Dr. Seuss.  It’s long enough and smartly crafted enough to match the author’s original vision and clever moral, but it has its own surprises.  Enhanced by broader characterizations of the main players and amazingly catchy songs, the push for fun is cleverly interpreted.  There’s a clear passion to adapting Dr. Seuss’ work that must be seen to be believed.  After all, when it comes to animated storytelling, there’s no better way of saying that it’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how.

Highly Recommended

That’s it for this ‘Toon Reviews Shorty, and I'll see you next time in the regularly scheduled review roster. There’s nothing left here to say except:

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)

Stay Animated Folks!