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STUDIO: LionsGate
MSRP: $14.98
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 72 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
* Nothing
The Pitch
Dr. Seuss’s literary legacy continues to be mined for profit.
The Humans
Anthony Asbury, John Kennedy, Bruce Lanoil, Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Kathryn Mullen
The Nutshell
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss started as a cable show in the mid-1990s. Sticking to preschool fare, it came and went before longtime Seuss fans knew of its existence. Now, Lionsgate has landed the rights to the program and has begun releasing compilation discs of the program. The Grinch, Yertle the Turtle and The Cat in the Hat are our stars, as we dive headlong into three episodes with Halloween themes. While not the worst things released for kids, it will be trying for many parents to stomach.
You’re in our world, fish. You saw what we did to the class hamster when he tried to teach us to count. We don’t need no education, we need your soul.
The Lowdown
Three episodes. Multiple stories. General thematic points. The Cat in the Hat entertains kids during a blackout, while the Grinch scares people at an amusement park. Yertle the Turtle gets to go all Seven Samurai, but he eventually betrays the villagers’ trust. The lessons here are about overcoming fear and becoming a better person. While the three episodes are short running and never tug at the mind, it’s about right for the young kid in your life that’s tired of watching The Incredibles.
Still, repetition is the name of the game with this material. The series creators don’t seem to trust a small child’s ability to pick up on subtext, so they drive home the point. The point being that you should quit shitting your pants, learn to eat real food and to just nut up. That might sound like a tall order for a small child, but Seuss don’t take no Pre-K jive. I still wonder what the hell ever happened to breaking out one of the original books and reading to your child.
What’s more insulting is that the work is lesser Henson Company fodder that seemed to dominate the basic cable airwaves in the last years of the Clinton Administration. What does it all mean for you? Well, if you’re currently whacking off to pictures of Ke$ha’s box munching…you’re not going to care. If you’re one of the few parents left among the CHUD community, you’ll realize that kiddie entertainment has continued to shit on your chest. What does it all mean? Nothing, because no one’s selling you anything that you haven’t seen before.
Tonight, Yertle gives praise to Crom. Tonight, Yertle stacks his mates before his reptilian God.
The Package
The DVD comes with no extras. The A/V Quality is passable for a show that was originally shot on video. The Dolby Surround track does a decent job at supporting the dialogue for those discerning child viewers. If you’re looking for anything else, well LionsGate threw on a shitload of trailers. Kids love trailers, don’t they? If they don’t, then they can just shove this DVD up their butt.
Out of a Possible 5 Stars