Hats Off to Dr. Seuss

 (TV) (1966-1973)

Two children left home alone for a short while one afternoon are visited by a very interesting yet troublesome cat wearing a tall striped hat. The cat succeeds in creating a huge mess in their house - can they get it cleaned up before Mom gets home?

For more about Hats Off to Dr. Seuss and the Hats Off to Dr. Seuss Blu-ray release, see the Hats Off to Dr. Seuss Blu-ray Review

Starring: Hans Conried, Allan Sherman (I), Bob Holt, June Foray, Boris Karloff, Athena Lorde
Narrators: Eddie Albert, Boris Karloff
Directors: Hawley Pratt, Chuck Jones, Ben Washam


This Blu-ray release includes the following titles, see individual titles for specs and details:

The Cat in the Hat Blu-ray    Dr. Seuss's Deluxe Edition: The Cat in the Hat [1971] / The Hoober-Bloob Highway [1975] / Daisy-Head Mayzie [1995] / Blu-ray + DVD Warner Bros. | 1971 | 85 min | Rated TV-G | Region A (B, C untested) | Aug 07, 2012 Two children left home alone for a short while one afternoon are visited by a very interesting yet troublesome cat wearing a tall striped hat. The cat succeeds in creating a huge mess in their house - can they get it cleaned up... Animation / Family

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Blu-ray Deluxe Edition / Blu-ray + DVD + UV Digital Copy Warner Bros. | 1972 | 25 min | Rated TV-G | Region free | Feb 14, 2012 A young boy goes to meet a ruined industrialist in a treeless wasteland and hear his tale of what happened to him. His tragic story is about how he began a thriving business with a useless fashion product derived from the trees... Animation / Family

Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! Blu-ray    Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy Warner Bros. | 1970 | 26 min | Rated TV-G | Region free | Oct 06, 2009 Hearing a faint cry for help from a floating speck of dust, Horton finds a tiny planet of Whos living there. Though he can't see them, he hears them for sure - and puts his safety on the line for microscopic inhabitants.... Animation / Family / Short

Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham and Other Stories Blu-ray Dr. Seuss on the Loose: The Sneetches / The Zax / Green Eggs and Ham | Deluxe Edition / Blu-ray + DVD Warner Bros. | 1973 | 25 min | Rated TV-G | Region A (B, C untested) | Jun 26, 2012 The Cat in the Hat serves up three timeless tales from Dr. Seuss. First item on the menu is a yarn about those wacky snooty snobs, The Sneetches. They learn a valuable and expensive lesson about themselves that everyone can... Animation / Family / Short

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Blu-ray    Dr. Seuss / Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy Warner Bros. | 1966 | 26 min | Rated TV-G | Region free | Oct 06, 2009 This joyous, heart-tickling holiday event based on Dr. Seuss' beloved book and featuring the voice of Boris Karloff has delighted viewers of all ages since its 1966 debut. The fun begins when the grumpy, grouchy, Yule-hating... Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy / Holiday / Musical / Other / Short

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss Blu-ray Review

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, February 10, 2013

Remember when sitting down to watch a children's television special meant something? When an animated TV special was, well, something special? A warm blast of poignant holiday cheer, a tradition revisited year after year, a stirring small-screen adaptation of a classic children's book... ah, those were the days. Alas, with the advent of the Cartoon Network, twenty-one around-the-clock Disney Channels, and sixty-three Nickelodeon programming blocks, children's television specials are quickly going the way of Saturday morning cartoons. Fortunately, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set its mind to preserving the Charlie Brown and Dr. Seuss classics of yesteryear. Hats Off to Dr. Seuss is a bundle -- no more, no less -- but it's a bundle of fun, with five featured 1966-73 Dr. Seuss television specials -- How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax and Green Eggs and Ham -- as well as additional surprises primed to delight young imaginations and stir up some middle-aged nostalgia in the process.


All five titles in the 5-disc Hats Off to Dr. Seuss collection have been previously reviewed. Click on any of the following links to access more extensive analysis of the specials, their AV presentations and their special features:

Disc 1: The Cat in the Hat (1971)
Disc 2: The Lorax (1972)
Disc 3: Horton Hears a Who! (1970)
Disc 4: Green Eggs and Ham & Other Stories (1973)
Disc 5: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Click on any of the following links to read a detailed review of the each special's video presentation:

Disc 1: The Cat in the Hat - 4/5
Disc 2: The Lorax - 4/5
Disc 3: Horton Hears a Who! - 3.5/5
Disc 4: Green Eggs and Ham & Other Stories - 4/5
Disc 5: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - 4/5

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Click on any of the following links to read a detailed review of the each special's audio presentation:

Disc 1: The Cat in the Hat - 4/5
Disc 2: The Lorax - 4/5
Disc 3: Horton Hears a Who! - 2.5/5
Disc 4: Green Eggs and Ham & Other Stories - 4/5
Disc 5: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - 2.5/5

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 


Disc 1: The Cat in the Hat

• The Cat in the Hat Sing-A-Long Mode (HD, 25 minutes): Sing along with The Cat in the Hat as dynamic karaoke-style lyrics appear over-top the entire image. The black bars to either side of the feature presentation are also filled with various designs, some static, some animated.
• The Hoober-Bloob Highway (SD, 25 minutes): An obscure 1975 animated special that, interestingly, isn't actually based on any of Seuss' books. It also happened to be the last Seuss special to air on CBS.
• Daisy-Head Mayzie (SD, 25 minutes): A 1995 Hanna-Barbera animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' last book.

Disc 2: The Lorax

• Dr. Seuss's Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (SD, 25 minutes): A 1979 animated television special written by Seuss.
• Butter Battle Book (SD, 24 minutes): An animated short film based on Dr. Seuss' The Butter Battle Book, an anti-war parable about tolerance and conflict.
• The Trees! The Trees! The Voice of the Trees! (HD, 11 minutes): An environmental EPK about Geisel's forward-thinking tale, the importance of trees and the purpose of environmental organizations like TreePeople.

Disc 3: Horton Hears a Who!

• In Search of Dr. Seuss (SD, 90 minutes): Kathy Najimy hosts this hyperactive, annoying, overproduced mess of a feature-length special that attempts (and generally fails) to explore the life and works of Dr. Seuss. While a parade of notable celebrities appear -- Patrick Stewart, Christopher Lloyd, and Robin Williams among them -- they do little more than embarrass themselves for an hour and a half. Still, anyone who braves their skits will find a treasure trove of information about the author and his canon, readings of Seuss' tales, and some fairly impressive set and costume designs. Ultimately, young children may enjoy its colorful wares, but adults will be too busy holding back groans to do the same.
• Butter Battle Book (SD, 24 minutes): An animated short film based on Dr. Seuss' The Butter Battle Book, an anti-war parable about tolerance and conflict.
• Daisy-Head Mayzie (SD, 24 minutes): This second animated short is based on a story that wasn't published until after Seuss' death.
• You Can Hear Horton, Horton Can Hear You! (SD, 3 minutes): A karaoke-esque singalong comprised of several Horton songs.

Disc 4: Green Eggs and Ham & Other Stories

• Interactive Puzzles (HD): Four interactive puzzles are included, two for "Green Eggs and Ham," one for "The Sneetches," and one for "The Zax." The mechanics are extremely simplistic -- match puzzles pieces to their place on a nearby puzzle board -- as are the six-piece puzzles themselves. Children are rewarded with a short clip from the corresponding story upon completion.

Disc 5: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

• Audio Commentary: Voice actress June Foray and animator Phil Roman reflect on their contributions to the film, its endurance as a holiday classic, Boris Karloff's involvement, and the various artisans who lent their talents to the production. It isn't the most extensive commentary I've listened to -- Foray and Roman are more nostalgic than informative -- but their chat is a charming one.
• Dr. Seuss and the Grinch: From Whoville to Hollywood (SD, 16 minutes): A grating EPK that pairs a painful, neverending rap with an admittedly revealing exploration of Dr. Seuss' life, his influences, his original artwork and sculptures, and his creation of the Grinch and the Whos.
• Songs in the Key of Grinch (SD, 8 minutes): Tony-winning composer Albert Hague and "Tony the Tiger" vocalist Thurl Ravenscroft discuss their work on the film. Candid, engaging, and thorough, it's easily the best featurette on the disc.
• Song Selections (3 minutes): An audio player that allows users to listen to four songs -- the film's "Opening," "Trim Up the Tree," "Welcome, Christmas," and "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch."
• "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Special Edition (SD, 19 minutes): A dated, altogether cheesy look at How the Grinch Stole Christmas that originally aired on TNT in 1994. The late Phil Hartman hosts, but the real draw are the documentary's interviews with animator/producer/co-director Chuck Jones.
• Who's Who in Whoville: Text-based bios for Chuck Jones, Dr. Seuss, Boris Karloff, and June Foray. Yawn.
• Grinch Pencil Test: A whopping three storyboards that trace back to the original production.

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 


If you already own all five Dr. Seuss Blu-ray releases, you won't find anything new here. If you don't, Warner's 5-disc collection will prove to be a welcome dose of childhood nostalgia. The specials are hit or miss -- How the Grinch Stole Christmas being the biggest hit, Horton Hears a Who being the biggest miss -- as are their audio tracks, but the various video transfers and, of course, all the warm memories that accompany them are not. Hats Off to Dr. Seuss is a solid collection that comes with a humble (if hesitant) recommendation.

Warner Bros. has announced the release of a 5-disc box set collecting The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs & Ham and Other Stories, The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Hats Off to Dr. Seuss: Collector's Edition set kicks off Warner's ...