I don't understand why they make these new "Dr. Seuss" movies and then make them horribly awful. I feel like Dr. Seuss rolled over in his grave when Cat in the Hat came out. (no offense to Mike Myers or Alec Baldwin, cause they're awesome.)
shareI agree with you completely! I actually recommend this movie to people as the only Dr. Seuss movie worth watching. There are two important differences between The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T and those other two flicks: 1)The "creative" forces behind the other two were guided by dollar signs; and 2)Dr. Seuss was actually involved in the first one.
I'm just worried that before too long, it will be decided that a remake is in order and that the comic-actor-of-the-day will be cast as Dr. Terwilliker. I know I'd stay away.
[deleted]
Strangely, from what I've heard Dr. Seuss didn't like the movie AT ALL. For the record, i think it's a great movie, as is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But above all the cat in the hat is the best Seuss adaption there is.
No. That was a lie. The cat in the hat was freaky and terrible and every known copy should be destroyed.
Matters Movie Club- a book club for the lazy!
http://www.geocities.com/matters_movie_club
Actually, the BEST adaptation of a Dr Seuss book was -- believe it or not -- from "termite Terrace", the Warner Bros. animation unit.
It's "Horton Hatches the Egg", from 1942, directed by Bob Clampett, and featuring sequence work by McKimson and Chuck Jones.
It's also longer, at ten minutes, than the average Termite Terrace product, and is the only straight adaptation of a book to come out of the shop (as opposed to parodies and lampoons).
It's available on a 2003 compilation "The Best of Dr Seuss", alng with "The Butter Battle ook" and "Daisy Head Maizie".
Actually, Ted rolled over and over in real life, as he found the experience of making this movie the greatest "down period" of his career. The movie itself is pure genius, of course, although the editing leaves a great deal to be desired. Ted's greatest disappointment began with the Hollywood experience - not a system kind to authors and scriptwriters of even the highest merit - at least not until recent history when the best of the best can get contracts with full creative control - unheard of in 1953! I cannot help but wonder if Ted's negative experience "cursed" his work as applied to movies. While works by authors like Raold Dahl have managed to translate into credible (if not always classic) movies, Ted's work has not fared so well in the transition.
That is not to say that I think 5,000 Fingers is not fantastic. Simply that Ted's experience with the movie may have tainted his (even posthomous) relationship with the medium.
Another thing to keep in mind - with Ted nothing was ever to make a buck, to make a name, or to make a career. His stories had meaning and depth of layers. 5,000 Fingers, for instance, drew many parallels with the then recent events of WWII, with Dr. T as the foppish and manipulative Hitler, Bart's mother as the mindless Nazi converts, and the plumber Zabladowski as America. The editing process even cut a song for Zabladowski entitled "I don't want to get involved". However, as with the war, he is eventually drawn into the fray and emerges victorious. And that was only one of the subtexts of the movie. A more obvious one is seen in the quote, "If kids had there way, parents wouldn't even be born." My only point here is to say that with work this layered, the artist/author simply must be directly involved in the movie-medium process. Cursed or not, I don't see there ever being a Seussian remake that will contain the charm and magic of Seuss.
On a related note - ever see Spy-Kids (the original)? If that wasn't inspired by this movie, I'd be quite surprised.
[deleted]
I agree with you, it just seems today everyone thinks children are just people who have not been educated on crude inside jokes or sexual inuendos yet. The cat in the hat and the grinch who stole christmas , where poor movies, and in another 5 years most likly will be totally forgotten, while the old cartoons and books will continue as classics. this movie the 5,000 fingers, wa made when hollywood, still had some moral restraint, and understood that children where children, not little ones deprived of deviant behavior, bathroom humor and other such poor taste inputs.
share[deleted]
Just saw it for the 1st time. Freakin' awesome!
share[deleted]