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Geisel's credit on Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 - September 24, 1991) was a children's author-illustrator and commercial cartoonist, best known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss. Taking his professional name from his middle name (his mother's maiden name, which rhymes with voice in its original pronunciation), Seuss wrote such books as And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who, and The Cat in the Hat. His writing was distinguished by his complex rhyme schemes (often using anapestic tetrameter) and the creation of unusual or elaborate names and words, such as Sneetches or Oobleck. Geisel's illustration style was highlighted by his trademark horseshoe eyes for characters and teetering, elliptical towers and loops in architecture.
All of these elements were incorporated by The Jim Henson Company into the 1996 series The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, which made use of many of the characters created by Geisel (The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, The Grinch, Sam-I-Am, and others), as well as creating new characters and landscapes by melding the Seuss style with the Muppet aesthetic.
That same year, Jim Henson Pictures optioned the rights to a live-action version of the Seuss book Oh, the Places You'll Go! It was never produced.
Geisel's other work included countless political cartoons and scripts for WWII propaganda films, the occasional adult book such as The Seven Lady Godivas (1939), and the screenplay for the movie The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, which featured Seussian architecture and costume elements.
References
Fozzie as the Grinch
"Dr. Puce" from Sesame Street
Blue Eggs and Toast on Dinosaurs
- Fozzie Bear was mistaken for the Grinch in a sequence from It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, after being accidentally painted green. The scene features two "Who"-like characters in elaborate make-up, specifically referencing the 2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas film adaptation.
- In the prologue to a "Trash Gordon" segment on Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch offers Slimey some storybook alternatives, including The Brat in the Hat by Dr. Puce.
- In Dinosaurs episode "Terrible Twos," The Babysitter reads to Baby Sinclair from the bedtime book, Blue Eggs and Toast, a take-off of Green Eggs and Ham.
- The Sesame Street song "Doin' the Family Thing" includes a shot of a woman reading I Can Read with My Eyes Shut to a kid.
Book Connections
In addition to his own illustrations and writing, Geisel oversaw many sub-series under the "Dr. Seuss" label and collaborated with other artists under such pen names as Rosetta Stone and Theo. LeSieg (Geisel backwards). Many of these artists also worked on Muppet/Sesame Street books.
- Mel Crawford illustrated the 1952 book version of Gerald McBoing Boing, written by Geisel as a children's record and adapted for an Oscar-winning animated short.
- Michael K. Frith served as editor-in-chief for the Seuss Beginner Books series, and illustrated the 1975 book Because a Little Bug Went Ka-choo, written by Geisel as Rosetta Stone. Frith was interviewed for, and appeared in, the documentary, The Political Dr. Seuss.
- Linda Hayward conceived and wrote the Dr. Seuss Beginner Fun book series.
- Joe Mathieu illustrated The Tooth Book (1989) and The Eye Book (1996), written by Geisel under the pen name Theo. LeSieg
- Michael J. Smollin illustrated the 1980 Theo. LeSieg book Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should Be a Vet!!
Adaptation Connections
Many actors, puppeteers, and other crew members worked on both Muppet/Henson productions and Dr. Seuss adaptations for film, TV, or stage.
- Tim Blaney puppeteered on How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 2000)
- Jim Carrey played the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 2000)
- Dan Castellaneta played the voices of Thing 1 and Thing 2 in The Cat in the Hat (film, 2003)
- Billy Crystal played the Voice of America in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994)
- Tim Curry played Finagel in Daisy-Head Mayzie (TV, 1995)
- Charles Durning voiced Grandfather Yook in The Butter Battle Book (TV, 1989)
- Matt Frewer played the Cat in the Hat in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994)
- Albert Hague composed the songs for How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
- Sean Hayes played Mr. Humberbloob and the Fish in The Cat in the Hat (film, 2003)
- Bill Irwin played Lou Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 2000)
- Howie Mandel played Sam-I-Am in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994)
- Andrea Martin played an ad woman in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994)
- Kathy Najimy played Kathy in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994)
- Rosie O'Donnell played the Cat in the Hat, as a replacement, in Seussical (Broadway, 2001)
- Molly Shannon played Betty Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 2000)
- Patrick Stewart played Sgt. Mullvaney in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994)
- Jeffrey Tambor played Mayor August Maywho in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 2000)
- Frank Welker voiced various roles in The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (TV, 1982), Horton and others in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994), and Max in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 2000)
- Lillias White played a shopper in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 2000)
- Robin Williams played Father and the fish in In Search of Dr. Seuss (TV, 1994)
- Jonathan Winters played Dr. Eisenbart in Daisy-Head Mayzie (TV, 1995)