Cast
* Allan Sherman as The Cat in the Hat/Narrator * Daws Butler as Karlos K. Krinklebein * Tony Frazier as Conrad * Pamelyn Ferdin as Sally * Gloria Camacho as Mother * Thurl Ravenscroft as Thing One * Lewis Morford as Thing TwoProduction
The production began at Chuck Jones' MGM Animation/Visual Arts in the late 1960s after the studio had finished ''The Phantom Tollbooth (film), The Phantom Tollbooth'' and another Dr. Seuss special, ''Horton Hears a Who! (TV special), Horton Hears a Who!''. After MGM stopped animation production and closed down its animation department for good in December 1970, production was moved to DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (marking the company's first Dr. Seuss television special), which was run by Jones' fellow Warner Bros. Cartoons alumnus Friz Freleng and Warner Bros. Cartoons's last original production executive David H. DePatie. Although Chuck Jones and his staff were retained by DePatie–Freleng in the production of the special, Jones left the studio and did not work on any other Seuss projects after ''The Cat in the Hat''. Other staff members that had worked with Jones, such as Dean Elliott and Maurice Noble, eventually stopped working on Seuss projects also. DePatie and Freleng were credited together as executive producers, while Jones was credited as producer with Seuss (under his actual name). For the next three Dr. Seuss animation specials, Freleng and Seuss (again using his real name) were credited as producers, although separately. DePatie–Freleng animated a new Cat in the Hat Productions logo for this special, which would be used in the next three specials. The pace and rhyming sequences of several of the songs (particularly "Calculatus Eliminatus") led many to believe that they were composed by Sherman, since they closely resemble his earlier song parodies; however, only Seuss is credited.Differences from the book
The plot of the special differs significatly from the original book. Among the many deviations, the sequence in the book where the Cat balances all sorts of objects while standing on a ball, only to overdo it and come crashing down, is left out. The closest equivalent is the fishbowl and bubbles sequences. 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 "MacGuffin, moss-covered three-handled family gradunza." The vocabulary used in the special is also on a higher level than the book's, though still in Seuss' trademark rhyme.Home media
The special was originally released as a VHS videocassette on the CBS/Fox Video label's Playhouse Video imprint (trade name), imprint in 1989. It was later released as part of the ''Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics'' release from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with CBS/Fox Video, CBS Video and Fox Kids, Fox Kids Video in the mid-1990s. It was later released on DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment/Universal Studios Family Productions on October 7, 2003. Warner Home Video released the special on Blu-ray and DVD on August 7, 2012.The Cat in other TV specials and series
Although the original book's sequel ''The Cat in the Hat Comes Back'' did not receive an animated adaptation, the character went on to appear in several more Dr. Seuss specials. In 1973, there came ''Dr. Seuss on the Loose'', where 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 Dr. Seuss stories: ''The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Sneetches'', ''The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Zax'' and ''Green Eggs and Ham''. In 1982's ''The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat'', the character, 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 book. In 1996, a Muppet version of the Cat starred in ''The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'', where he was voiced by Bruce Lanoil and Martin P. Robinson. ''The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!'', an educational animated series based on the ''Random House Library'' series, premiered in September 2010; the Cat is voiced by Martin Short.References
External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cat In The Hat, The 1971 television specials 1970s animated television specials CBS television specials Television shows written by Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss television specials Musical television specials Television specials by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises Films scored by Dean Elliott 1970s American television specials The Cat in the Hat Films directed by Hawley Pratt