The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss

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The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.jpg

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss logo
Format Live-action/puppet TV show
Created by Dr. Seuss (characters)
Starring Anthony Asbury
Bruce Lanoil
Stephanie D'Abruzzo
John Kennedy
Kathryn Mullen
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 40 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Michael K. Frith (season 1)
David Steven Cohen (season 1)
Stephanie Simpson (season 2)
Brian Henson (seasons 1 and 2)
Jonathan Meath
Running time 30 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel Nick Jr.
Original run October 13, 1996 – December 28, 1997

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is an American live-action/puppet television series based on characters created by Dr. Seuss, produced by Jim Henson Productions. It aired for two seasons (1996–1997) on the Nick Jr. Block on Nickelodeon (United States). For the first few episodes (including the series premiere), the show aired during Sunday night prime time, immediately before Nick News. It is notable for its use of live puppets with digitally animated backgrounds, and in its first season, for refashioning characters and themes from the original Dr. Seuss books into new stories that often retained much of the flavor of Dr. Seuss's own works. It derives its name from wubble, a type of unicycle mentioned in the Dr. Seuss book I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew.

Contents

[edit] Format

In many respects seasons one and two of the program are very different shows. The two seasons have completely different intro and outro credit sequences and songs reflecting their differing orientations.

[edit] Season One

Each episode is a self contained story based on Dr. Seuss characters such as Yertle the Turtle and Horton the elephant. The unifying element is that the stories are introduced and commented on by The Cat in the Hat (voiced by Bruce Lanoil ) who serves as host of the show. Occasionally The Cat in the Hat himself appears in the episode, reprising his role as a bit of a trickster, as in his original eponymous books (ex. episode 1.6: "The Simplifier").

Season one is notable for hewing closely to many of the themes of the original Dr. Seuss stories which often had a strong moral overtone. As a result, some episodes have distinctly dark or sinister elements which, like some Dr. Seuss books, may not be appropriate for younger children.[1]

[edit] Season Two

For season two the show was reworked along the lines of a more traditional children's program. The Cat in the Hat (now voiced by a much less gravelly sounding Steve Whitmire) lives in a playhouse with a gaggle of little cats (A through Z) and the often flustered Terrence McBird (voiced by Dave Goelz). Aside from the residents of the house there are usually visitors based on Dr. Seuess characters. Each episode revolves around a theme (such as family, health, art) and features one or two songs about the theme. The action shifts between The Cat in the Hat and what is going on in his playhouse and shorter related story interludes, which he shows to the audience by means of his "Wubbuloscope." These story vignettes take place in various locations like the "Kingdom of Didd," a vaguely Renaissance setting, "Seussville," a contemporary city, Mount Crumpitt, where the Grinch lives, and the Jungle of Nool, home to Horton the Elephant and others).

The tone of season two is much lighter, no doubt the result of bringing in a number of comedic writers such as Adam Felber and Mo Rocca. The Cat in the Hat is no longer a trickster and instead has assumed the role of a friendly and enthusiastic host who is helpful and nurturing. Although this revised format only lasted one season before the show ended, the format was recognizably carried over into Jim Henson Productions' next children's program, Bear in the Big Blue House, which was aired on the Disney Channel.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Episodes

Further information: List of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss episodes

[edit] Broadcast history

[edit] United States

[edit] United Kingdom

[edit] Australia

  • ABC2 (2006–2007)

[edit] Home Video Releases

The series was never systematically issued to home video on either VHS or DVD. Current DVD releases contain three episodes per disk and are a mix of episodes from the first and second seasons.

[edit] Funding

[edit] References

  1. ^ Seussville: Which Dr. Seuss Books Are Right for My Child?

[edit] External links
Bibliography
Adaptations
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Other works
Related topics
1 as "Theo. LeSieg".   2 Posthumous.
Characters
Muppet Performers
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Henson Alternative
  • Puppet Up! (2006–present)
  • Late Night Buffet with Augie and Del (2006)
  • Tinseltown (2007)
  • Alt/Reality (2008)
  • Simian Undercover Detective Squad (2011)
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PBS Kids GO!
See also
Nick Jr. original series
1988–1995
The Adventures of Little Audrey (1988–1994) • Eureeka's Castle (1989–1995) •The Busy World of Richard Scarry (1993-1997) • Gullah Gullah Island (1994–1997) •
Allegra's Window (1994–1996) • Little Bear (1995–2003)
1996–2000
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996–1997) • Blue's Clues (1996–2006) • Franklin (1997–2004) • Little Bill (1999–2004) •
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (2000–2006)
2001–2005
Oswald (2001–2004) • 64 Zoo Lane (2001–2003) • Max and Ruby (2002–) • Maisy (2002–2007) • Oobi (2003–2006) • Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends (2004–2009) • Blue's Room (2004–2007) • Pinky Dinky Doo (2005–2009) • Jack's Big Music Show (2005–2007)
2006–2010
The Upside Down Show (2006–2008) • Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! (2006–2010) Toot & Puddle (2008–2009) Olivia (2009–)
Current series
Dora the Explorer (2000–) • The Backyardigans (2004–) • Go, Diego, Go! (2005–) • Wonder Pets (2006–) •Yo Gabba Gabba! (2007–) • Ni Hao, Kai-Lan (2008–) •
The Fresh Beat Band (2009–) • Team Umizoomi (2010–) • Dino Dan (2010–) • Bubble Guppies (2011–)
See also
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