''Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You?'' (renamed ''Pontoffel Pock & His Magic Piano'' for the sing-a-long videocassette release) is an

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

written by

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' DePatie–Freleng Enterprises DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, Inc. (also known as Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng Productions when involved with the Mirisch brothers and Geoffrey Productions, and DFE Films) was an American animation studio founded by former Warner Bros. Car ...

, and completed in 1979 but first aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on May 2, 1980. This was one of the final productions done at DePatie–Freleng as the studio would be sold to

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

and become

Marvel Productions Marvel Productions Ltd., later known as New World Animation, was an American production company owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of News Corporation which was founded in 1981 as the television and film studio subsidiary of the Mar ...

in 1981. The songs are by ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' composer

Joe Raposo Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH (February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American composer and songwriter. He is best known for his work on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', for which he wrote the theme song, and several no ...

. The special was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for "Outstanding Animated Program" the first year that award was given. The story has been noted for its satirical critique of capitalist structures.

Plot

On his first day working at Gickler's

Dill Pickle A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States, Canada and Australia and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been Pickling, pickled in ...

Factory, young Pontoffel Pock is walked through his duty by Gil Gickler where he must push the lever called the "pushum" and pull the rope called the "pullum". After Gickler walks away, Pontoffel accidentally breaks the pushum by pulling it. This caused an alarm to go off as the machinery malfunctions and a dill pickle flood occurs that the other workers had to put a stop to while Pontoffel is shown taking refuge on top of a machinery with Gickler while giving him an "I don't know" gesture. Once the crisis was averted, Gickler angrily fires Pontoffel. Upon returning to his dilapidated home, Pontoffel wishes that he could "get away from it all". He is visited by McGillicuddy, a representative of the "Amalgamated Do-Gooding

Fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

" who grants his wish by giving him a magical flying piano that can take him anywhere in the world. To do so, Pontoffel plays a simple fanfare and then chooses a destination by pressing one of many differently-colored buttons. Pontoffel first goes to a country called Groogen, but gets carried away and starts recklessly flying through the sky, scaring the Groogenites and causing havoc. The magistrate of Groogen rules in that they load up the "Goomy Gun", which fires multicolored paint, to drive Pontoffel away. After being hit by the gun, Pontoffel plummets downward, but is able to send himself home at the last second by using the piano's Homing Pigeon Switch. McGillicuddy confronts Pontoffel for mishandling the piano and causing a scene in the country he flew to, so he calls in two of his fairy associates Humboldt and Higby (who, however are never referred to individually by name) to confiscate the piano, but Pontoffel begs him for a second chance. McGillicuddy arrogantly complies, but decides to pick a random destination for Pontoffel and sends him to Casbahmopolis. In Casbahmopolis, Pontoffel sees a procession for Neefa Feefa, a famous "eyeball dancer", and the two fall in love. Pontoffel follows her to the palace where she dances for the king. Pontoffel promises his piano can take them anywhere, and they are pursued and surrounded by the palace guards, one of whom breaks the Homing Pigeon Switch off the piano upon hearing Pontoffel's attempt of its use for escape. Choosing a random button as an alternative but unsuccessful option to escape, he loses control of the piano as it tilts over upon Neefa Feefa sitting on top of it, leading Neefa Feefa into slipping off of it and into the guards' clutches, without Pontoffel knowing at first. Not remembering which button can take him back to her, Pontoffel starts pushing random buttons, sending him to several different places such as the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

, the

Congo region The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Waikiki,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and others, including Seuss's birthplace of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, in the hope of returning to her. Meanwhile, McGillicuddy gets worried that his superiors will discover what is happening with the piano, and enlists the help of all of his

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

associates (including Humbolt, Higbee, and Heuckendorf) to fly all over the world, looking for Pontoffel. Eventually the Head Fairy sends out all the reserves to locate the piano, but none of them can find it in time. Along the way, Pontoffel ends up in a stormy sky twice which sets the piano on fire with lightning, and later, Pontoffel ends up lost in Japan where there is heavy rain. Finally remembering the right button, Pontoffel goes straight to Neefa Feefa, only to crash-land into the tower where she is being kept prisoner and destroy the piano. Neefa Feefa voices a wish to "get away from it all", just as Pontoffel had earlier, which comes to the attention of the fairies who appear to grant her wish. They are escorted home together, with the fairies having to carry the now-damaged piano with ropes. Gickler rehires Pontoffel and also newly hires Neefa Feefa after hearing about their exploits. Outside Gickler's Dill Pickle Works, a

rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

appears as the fairies are still carrying the worn-out piano away.

Cast

* Ken Lundie - Pontoffel Pock *

- Gil Gickler, Groogen Musician, Groogen Dairywoman, Various Fairies * Wayne Morton - Various Fairies, Factory Workers, Guards * Hal Smith - McGillicuddy, Various Fairies, Good

Fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

-in-Chief, Groogen Cop, Judge Hobart Heinrich Hinklefoos *

Sue Allen Sue Allen (born April 17, 1947) is an American politician. She was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing ...

- Neefa Feefa *

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered voice roles include Scooby-Doo; Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ''The Flintsto ...

- Various Fairies, Little Boy, Guards

Musical numbers

* "Pull on the Pull 'Em" - Gil Gickler and Factory Workers * "I Had Failed" - Pontoffel Pock and Factory Workers * "The House that My Family Had Left Me" - Pontoffel Pock (to the tune of "

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean", or simply "My Bonnie", is a traditional Scottish folk song and children’s song that is popular in Western culture. It is listed in Roud Folk Song Index as No. 1422. The song has been recorded by numerous artists ...

") * "This Wondrous Piano" - McGillicuddy, Humbolt and Higbee * "Welcome to Groogen" - Groogen Townspeople * "I'm Flying Free" - Pontoffel Pock * "Load Up The Goomy Gun" - Groogen Townspeople * "(Neefa Feefa) In Your Eyes" - Neefa Feefa and Pontoffel Pock * "Optic Koptic (AKA The Eyes Song)" - Neefa Feefa and Pontoffel Pock (ending with a brief reprise to "This Wondrous Piano") * "Pontoffel Pock, Where the Heck Are You?" - McGillicuddy, Fairies and Neefa Feefa * "Pull On the Pull 'Em (Reprise)" - Gil Gickler, Neefa Feefa, Pontoffel Pock and Factory Workers

Home media

This special was released on VHS in 1989 by

CBS/Fox Video 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...

under the Playhouse Video label and in 1992 by Random House Home Video. A sing-along VHS was released by CBS Video in 1996 under the title ''Pontoffel Pock and the Magical Piano''. It was released with ''

The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's literature, children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the Biophysical environment, environment and the Lorax, the main character, who "speaks for the trees" and confront ...

'' on both VHS and DVD by

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

in 2003 and again on its Deluxe Edition Blu-ray reprint in 2012 by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

(which also included ''

The Butter Battle Book ''The Butter Battle Book'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published by Random House on January 12, 1984. It is an anti-war story: specifically, a parable about arms races in general, mutual assured destruction and nuclear weapon ...

''). In March 2021, ''Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You?'' was re-released as an extra on digital retailer versions of '' Dr. Seuss on the Loose'' (which was titled ''Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham and Other Treats'' on this release), again along with ''The Butter Battle Book''. Both extras were remastered in high definition exclusively for this release.

References

External links