Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham and Other Stories Blu-ray Movie Review

Warner does right by another Dr. Seuss animated TV special. The special itself? Read on...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 26, 2012

Three classic Dr. Seuss books, three classic stories, and a host of classic characters. How could Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham and Other Stories not be as essential a purchase as the 1966 television adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Filler, filler, filler... that's how. On the printed page, "The Sneetches," "The Zax" and family-favorite "Green Eggs and Ham" are indispensable, unforgettable and, above all, great fun. As envisioned by animation house DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, director Hawley Pratt and composer Dean Elliott in 1973, though? Alas, too much of that patented Theodor Geisel magic is lost in sing-songy translation. Don't get me wrong, Dr. Seuss On the Loose isn't a blasphemous travesty by any means. It's quite faithful to Seuss' original stories and still has the ability to mesmerize young kids. But compared to Chuck Jones' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears a Who (1970), and even DFE's The Lorax (1972), this 25-minute three-decker doesn't stack up.

Oh, at the edge of each ocean you'll always find beaches, beautiful, glorious, florious beaches! When I meander on peacefulish beaches, I frequently find myself thinking of Sneetches!

Originally published in 1961, "The Sneetches" -- or "Dr. Seuss Tackles Discrimination" -- tells the deceptively simple tale of two rival groups of yellow creatures called Sneetches: a group that has green stars on their bellies and one that does not. The starred Sneetches naturally think themselves better than their starless cousins, and shun them accordingly. The starless Sneetches, meanwhile, accept their lot in life and go about their daily routines in the throes of inferiority. That all changes, though, when an amoral opportunist named Sylvester McMonkey McBean (voiced by Bob Holt) arrives with a machine that can give the starless Sneetches stars... and remove stars from the starred Sneetches, creating a market for anything that might elevate one Sneetch above another. The result? Economic equality of the penniless sort. DFE's animated short retains the message, the moral and much of the magic, but does so by turning "The Sneetches" into a stilted musical of sorts. The story is intact and the Sneetches are perhaps even more memorable in motion than lying flat on the page, but the flow and fluidity of Seuss' original story is upended and undone by out-of-place bursts of song. Children ages 2-7 (8 tops) will thoroughly enjoy themselves. Everyone else will adore the animation, narration and voicework while glancing at the clock, wincing at the songs, and itching for a copy of Dr. Seuss' "The Sneetches and Other Stories."

Oh, beyond the last mountain, the very last mountain, beyond the last zynica-zanica tree. Beyond the last woomf bush, the very last woomf bush, there is a vaculous, vacant prairie. The prairie of Prax and the tale of The Zax!

"The Zax" (or "Dr. Seuss Takes On the Perils of Pride") isn't as well known a tale, but it too hails from Seuss' "The Sneetches and Other Stories." It's just so short compared to "The Sneetches" and "Green Eggs and Ham" that its inclusion feels like yet another time-filler. (In which case DFE should have dropped the songs, shortened the first and third animated short, and added a fourth story to hit the 25-minute mark. But I digress.) The tale itself can be summed up in a sentence: a northbound Zax (Hans Conried) runs into a southbound Zax (Bob Holt) and the two, locked in a never-ending battle of wills, refuse to budge. "The Zax," despite being the most inconsequential and uneventful short of the three, is the 1973 television special's best for a number of reasons. One, it drops any notion of making "The Zax" a mini-musical, two, allows the poem to speak for itself, and three, doesn't wander in circles. It gets to the point and gets there without delay. And if you're adapting "The Zax," there just isn't a better way. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Oh, I frequently think every now and then of the glorious fruit of the noble hen: eggs! Eggs! E-double-G-S eggs! And thinking of eggs reminds me of Sam whose favorite dish is Green Eggs and Ham!

Which brings us to the centerpiece of Dr. Seuss On the Loose and the story that headlines Warner's Blu-ray release: "Green Eggs and Ham" (or "Dr. Seuss' Try New Things.") Sadly, one of the most beloved Dr. Seuss books is turned into one of the most hit-or-miss animated Seuss shorts to date. On the one hand, Sam-I-Am (Paul Winchell) and his poor, soon-to-be-enlightened, eggs-n-ham-hating neighbor (Hans Conried) are captured perfectly. On the other hand, Elliott tinkers, teeters and tanks the adaptation with irritating bits of song at every turn. (Imagine more than a dozen variations of "he doesn't like, he doesn't like green eggs and haaaam!") But I'm getting ahead of myself. For the two or three of you not in the know, "Green Eggs and Ham" follows a bouncy Seussian creature who's determined to get a curmudgeonly, Grinch-like old man to sample a new dish. The story and subsequent rhymes and repetition are a delight, as they should be. The constant interruptions by Elliott's singers? Not so much. Filler once again takes its toll and leaves an otherwise solid animated short struggling to stay the course. And therein lies the problem. On the whole, Dr. Seuss On the Loose is decent. A good bit of fun even. But it never really seals the deal, slipping and sliding from start to finish.

Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham and Other Stories Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dr. Seuss On the Loose shows its age; all thirty-nine years of it. Print blemishes abound, telecine wobble is present, and every broadcast budgetary constraint is more visible than ever. But that shouldn't frighten anyone away. Like previously released animated Seuss specials, Warner has treated this one with a surprising amount of tender, loving care. Colors have been rejuvenated, black levels are rich and inky, and grain and every last hand-drawn imperfection is intact and on display. Detail is terrific, rendering each brushstroke, fine line, and flick of the pen with ease. To top it all off, artifacting, banding and other unsightly oddities don't show up and spoil the proceedings. "The Sneetches," "The Zax" and "Green Eggs and Ham" may not look as if they were animated yesterday, but short of a cost-prohibitive, frame by frame restoration of the original elements, I doubt DFE's 1973 animated television special could look much better than it does here.

Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham and Other Stories Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Green Eggs and Ham and Other Stories features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that, barring the obvious single-channel source limitations, doesn't disappoint. Never mind the fact that every voice sounds as if it was captured in a recording booth in 1973 -- Surprise! It was. -- the special's narration, vocal performances and song lyrics are clean and clear, without much in the way of hiss or air noise. Elliott's music is given plenty of room to breathe too, mono mix or no, and none of the audio elements compete with each other. Don't lament the lack of LFE support or rear speaker activity either. Would it really elevate the experience? Would a 5.1 remix offer anything substantial? Not without undermining the original sound design. For all intents and purposes, "The Sneetches," "The Zax" and "Green Eggs and Ham" sound quite good. Again, none of it sounds as if it were produced recently, but for a 1973 television special, there's little to complain about.

Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham and Other Stories Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Four interactive puzzles are included for the kiddies: two for "Green Eggs and Ham," one for "The Sneetches," and one for "The Zax." The mechanics are extremely simplistic -- match puzzles pieces to their place on a nearby puzzle board -- as are the six-piece puzzles themselves. Children are rewarded with a short clip from the corresponding story upon completion.

Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham and Other Stories Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Three classic Dr. Seuss stories, three not-so-classic animated shorts wrapped in a not-so-classic triple-decker DFE-produced television special. Dr. Seuss On the Loose -- dubbed Green Eggs and Ham and Other Stories by the powers that be at Warner -- isn't bad, it just isn't as pitch-perfect as it could have been had someone asked Elliott to tone down the quick-hit musical numbers. That said, Warner's Blu-ray release will please Seuss completists and kids of all ages with its faithfully remastered video presentation and DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track. The extras are extraneous, sure, but a shrug of the shoulders should fix that. If you love all things Dr. Seuss, add this one to your collection. If you have yet to pick up How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (or Horton Hears a Who! and The Lorax), start there first.