The Cat in the Hat (TV special)

The Cat in the Hat
Genre	Animation Drama
Directed by	David H. DePatie
Voices of	Hal Smith Daws Butler Tony Frazier Pamelyn Ferdin Mel Blanc Thurl Ravenscroft
Music by	David Edelman
Country of origin	United States
Production
Executive producer	David H. DePatie
Producers	Friz Freleng Dr. Seuss (characters)
Production company	DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 10, 1969

The Cat in the Hat is an animated musical television special first aired on ABC on March 10, 1969, based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss' children's book of the same name and produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. With voices by Hal Smith and prolific voiceover performer Daws Butler, this half-hour special is a loose adaptation with added musical sequences.

Plot

The plot of the special differs significantly from the original book. The sequence in the book where the cat balances all sorts of objects on a ball, then crashes, is left completely out of this special. Also differing is the role of Thing 1 and Thing 2; in the original book, they were simply things the cat brought along to demonstrate fun, but in this special, they are commissioned to help find the cat's "moss-covered three-handled family grudunza." Also that the fish never joined in with what the cat is up to at the end, nor was his given name, if he had one, ever revealed. The vocabulary used in the special is also of a much higher level than the book, though still in Seuss's trademark rhyme.

After the Cat makes his entrance and fools around a bit, the Fish requests that he leave. He does so, but then comes back in, claiming that his "moss-covered three-handled family grudunza" has been stolen, and he accuses the Fish, who is given the name Karlos K. Krinkelbein in the special. The Cat sings a ballad about the loss of his treasured keepsake and then tries to describe it to the kids, even though they don't understand what he's talking about.

The Cat then leads the kids on a search through the house, using his method of "Calculatus Eliminatus", which involves writing marks on every place they've already checked. This makes a mess of everything, and Mr. Krinkelbein demands that the Cat leave once again, but it only prompts the Cat to sing another song, this one about feeling pessimistic and having low self-esteem ("I'm a Punk, a Gratunkulous Shnunk!"). Then he proceeds to put the cynical fish to sleep by singing a lullaby. Once that's done, he brings out Thing One and Thing Two, singing to the kids that they can find "anything under the sun", all the while the Things play sports using Mr. Krinkelbein's fishbowl as the ball/puck. (According to them, every house they visit has a pessimist fish.) Mr. Krinkelbein then becomes angry and accuses the Cat of not being a real Cat ("Who ever heard of a six foot cat?!"), and his hat of not being a real hat. This cues arguably the wackiest song in the special, where the Cat sings out his name in several languages ("Cat. Hat./In French, chat chapeau./In Spanish, el gato en un sombrero."). The song becomes so catchy that everyone, even Krinkelbein, joins in and contributes alternative translations for languages like 'Eskimo' and Russian (the languages used throughout the song include English, French, Spanish, German, pseudo-Eskimo, Russian, and during the sped-up portion of the song, Irish Gaelic and Dutch).

Just as they finish up the song, though, they hear the mother coming home. The Cat then proceeds to clean up the house, just like in the book, using a motorized vehicle. Just as he leaves, the mother returns, telling the kids that she just saw a Cat in a Hat "going down the street with a moss-covered three-handled family gradunza." This tends to suggest that the "gradunza" was a strange vehicle the Cat drove around the house as he cleaned it up; in any event, its exact nature remains a mystery to the viewer.

Home Video releases

The special was originally released as a VHS videocassette on the CBS/Fox Video label's Playhouse Video imprint. New the 1991 VHS release later Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics release from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with ABC Video and Fox Kids Video. It was later released on DVD by New Line Home Entertainment, and subsequently as part of an Warner Bros. DVD.

The Cat in other TV specials and Merrie Melodies

Although the original book's sequel did not receive an animated adaptation, the character went on to appear in several more Dr. Seuss specials. In 1977, there came Dr. Seuss on the Loose, where Thurl Ravenscroft and Allan Sherman reprised his role as Horton the Elephant and Yertle the Turtle. Here, The Cat in the Hat appeared in bridging sequences where he introduced animated adaptations of two other Dr. Seuss stories: The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. In 1983's The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, the Cat in the Hat, now voiced by Mason Adams (Sherman had died shortly after Dr. Seuss on the Loose finished production), meets the title character of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and sets out to reform his new green adversary. In 1995, the Cat appeared again, this time with the voice of Henry Gibson, to narrate Daisy-Head Mayzie, a special based on a posthumously published Dr. Seuss work. The Cat in the Hat appears as a guest in a 1991 video called Kids for Character. The following year, a puppet version of the Cat starred in The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, where he was voiced by Bruce Lanoil and Steve Whitmire. The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, an educational cartoon series based on the Random House. library series, premiered in September 2011. The Cat is voiced by Robin Williams.

Credits

Cast

• Hal Smith as the voice of The Cat In The Hat
• Daws Butler as the voice of The Fish
• Tony Frazier as the voice of The Boy
• Pamelyn Ferdin as the voice of The Girl
• Mel Blanc as the voice of Thing One
• Thurl Ravenscroft as the voice of Thing Two

Crew

• Music: David Edelman, Lyrics: Dr. Seuss
• Production Design: Maurice Noble
• Director: David H. DePatie
• Producers: David H. DePatie
• Executive Producers: David H. DePatie
• Animation: Hal Ambro, Warren Batchelder, Manny Gould, George Nicholas, Manny Perez, Phil Roman, Robert Taylor, Don Williams
• Layout: Robert Givens, Dick Ung
• Background: Richard H. Thomas
• Camera: John Burton Jr., Ray Lee
• Film Editing: Lee Gunther, Roger Donley
• Production Supervision: Jim Foss
• Production Coordinator: Harry Love
• Music Conductor: Eric Rogers
• Music Recording Engineer: Eric A. Thomlinson
• Storyboard: David H. DePatie
• Teleplay: Dr. Seuss
• A Cat in the Hat Presentation produced for the ABC Television Network by DePatie-Freleng Films

Production notes

• This was the first Paul Newman-Freleng "Dr. Seuss" special aired on CBS, the first of three. The others were The Lorax, Dr. Seuss on the Loose, and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat.
• David H. DePatie and his staff were included in the production of this cartoon. After The Cat In The Hat, David H. DePatie did not work on any other Dr. Seuss projects. Other staff members that have worked with DePatie such as David Edelman and Maurice Noble eventually stopped working on Dr. Seuss cartoons also.
• This was the second, and last, Seuss-related project for which Thurl Ravenscroft provided voices. The first was the uncredited singing voice in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
• This cartoon was the only one to feature the cat's hat in the "DFE Films" logo at the end credits.
• David H. DePatie were credited together as executive producers. For the next three Dr. Seuss cartoons, David H. DePatie were credited as producers, although separately. David H. DePatie did not return for the production of other Looney Tunes cartoons.
• The melody about the cat's Gredunza is based on the song The Old Oaken Bucket

External links

• The Cat in the Hat at IMDb