The Cat in the Hat (TV program)

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"You will note, I am neat; wiped my feet on the mat."

The Cat in the Hat is a 1971 animated musical television special, based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat, produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Allan Sherman provided the voice of The Cat in the Hat. This special was produced by Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Dr. Seuss and David H. DePatie, and directed by Hawley Pratt.

The special loosely follows the shell of the book's plot, but throws in some new material to fill out the show's 26-minute time slot. After the Cat makes his entrance and fools around a bit, the kids request that he leave. He does so, but then comes back in, claiming that his "moss-covered three-handled family gredunza" has been stolen, and he accuses the Fish, who is given the name Karlos K. Krinklebein 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" (better known as the process of elimination), which involves writing marks on every place they've already checked. This makes a mess of everything, and Mr. Krinklebein demands that the Cat leave, but it only prompts the Cat to sing another song, this one about feeling negative and self-loathing. 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. Krinklebein's fishbowl as the ball/puck. (According to them, every house they visit has a pessimist fish.) Mr. Krinklebein then accuses the Cat of not being a real Cat ("Whoever 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 practically every other language ("In Spanish, el gato en un sombrero."). The song becomes so catchy that everyone, even Krinklebein, joins in and contributes alternative translations for languages like Eskimo and Russian (the languages used throughout the song are English, French, Spanish, German, Eskimo, Russian, 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. 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 grudunza." Given that it was his only other possession at the time he walked into the house (hats, boxes and other nicknacks appearing out of thin air aside), it's assumed the that grudunza was actually the Cat's umbrella, which he had never lost at all.

The special is currently available on DVD (it was originally on VHS via CBS-Fox Video's Playhouse division). While the special faded somewhat into obscurity after its initial transmission, it was re-issued to coincide with the live action adaptation of the book. Since then it has gained a new-found appreciation, helped in no small part by the poor reception of the live action version.

Although the original book's sequel did not receive an animated adaptation, the Cat went on to appear in several more Dr. Seuss specials. In 1973, there came Dr. Seuss on the Loose, where Allan Sherman reprised his role as The Cat in the Hat. Here, The Cat in the Hat appeared in bridging sequences where he introduced animated adaptations of three other Seuss stories: The Sneetches, The Zax, and Green Eggs and Ham. Then, in 1982, there came The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, where The Cat in the Hat, now voiced by Mason Adams, meets the title character of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and sets out to reform his new green adversary. Later, in 1995, the Cat appeared again, this time with the voice of Henry Gibson, to narrate Daisy - Head Mayzie, a special based on one of Dr. Seuss' lost works. (It was later adaptated into a book.) Most recently, in 1996, he starred on the Muppet-like kids' show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, where he was voiced and puppeteered by Bruce Lanoil (later Martin P. Robinson).