''The Hoober-Bloob Highway'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

written by

Theodor Geisel Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
''

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (also known as Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng Productions when involved with the Mirisch brothers and Geoffrey Productions; and DFE Films) was an American animation production company that was active from 1963 to 1 ...

. The special first aired February 19, 1975 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

, and was the last Dr. Seuss special produced for that network. Geisel also composed the song lyrics, which were set to music by

Dean Elliott William Lorenzo Bunt (May 11, 1917 – December 31, 1999), known professionally as Dean Elliott, was an American television and film composer. Career Elliott was born William Lorenzo Bunt on May 11, 1917 in Sioux City, Iowa to George Leroy Bunt ...

. Mr. Hoober-Bloob, a

dispatcher A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical s ...

of newborn children from some location in space, is preparing to send a new child down his

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, but first, he gives the child a chance to decide for himself whether he wants the life of a human. Mr. Hoober-Bloob shows him the realistic problems and pleasures that people face in life. The story suggests that while things may be pretty bad, there is always something to be thankful for.

Plot

The titular highway is a long and winding road that leads to

from an area high up in space where newborn babies come from. The plot revolves around a newborn child, referred to as "Bub", as he tries to decide what he wants out of his life, or even if he wants to go at all, before being sent down the Hoober-Bloob Highway to be born. Mr. Hoober-Bloob, with the help of a

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

with arms and legs that often breaks into fast-paced solos (to the annoyance of Mr. Hoober-Bloob), explains to Bub what to expect in human life. His explanations are often accompanied by musical

vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

of Bub, depicted as a pre-adolescent boy, in an unusual situation that accompanies the song (such as being placed in front of a long and quickly scrolling tape with checkboxes on it and being expected to check the boxes quickly in the "Answer Yes or No" segment). Eventually, Bub makes the decision to depart for the world below, and Mr. Hoober-Bloob excitedly pushes his carriage down the Hoober-Bloob Highway at last.

Cast

* Bob Holt – Mr. Hoober-Bloob, Snail Race Announcer * Hal Smith – Narrator

Credits

* Animation: Bob Richardson, Don Williams,

Norm McCabe Norman McCabe (February 10, 1911 – January 17, 2006) was an English-born American animator who enjoyed a long career that lasted into the 1990s. Early career McCabe was born in England and raised in the United States. He soon developed a ...

, Warren Batchelder, Nelson Shin,

Bob Matz Robert H. Matz (July 8, 1912 – March 28, 2003) was an American animator. He worked on various animated shorts, films, and television projects, such as Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, '' The Pink Panther'', ''Peanuts'' Cartoons, and '' The Tran ...

, Bob Bemiller, Brenda Banks, Bob Bransford, Ruth Kissane, John Freeman * Backgrounds: Richard H. Thomas, Gloria Wood * Layout: Dick Ung * Sequence Director:

Gerry Chiniquy Germain Adolph Chiniquy (pronounced "chin-a-KEE"; June 23, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was an American animator known for his work with Friz Freleng, at both Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Chiniquy joined Freleng's animation ...

* In Charge Of Production: Lee Gunther * Camera: John Burton, Jr., Hogan-Lee Images * Film Editing: Rick Steward * Music by:

* Teleplay & Lyrics by: Dr. Seuss * Production Design by: Roy Morita * Storyboard by: Rosemary O'Connor, Chris Jenkyns *Sound by: Producers' Sound Service Inc. * Directed by: Alan Zaslove * Executive Producer: David H. DePatie * Produced by: Ted Geisel and Friz Freleng

Reception and presentation

''The Hoober-Bloob Highway'' was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, but it lost out to ''Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus''. It, along with ''

Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? ''Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You?'' (renamed ''Pontoffel Pock & His Magic Piano'' for the sing-a-long videocassette release) is an animated musical television special written by Dr. Seuss, directed by Gerard Baldwin, produced by DePatie–Freleng E ...

'', is one of the least acknowledged Dr. Seuss animated specials, due to having not been a book adaptation. It was also broadcast on

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

25 Days of Christmas Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chann ...

on December 1, 2008.

Home media

''The Hoober-Bloob Highway'' was first released on VHS by Playhouse Video in 1985, in a double feature with ''

The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, a business magnate who cause ...

''). Playhouse Video also distributed it individually on VHS in 1989. A sing-along version was distributed on VHS by CBS/Fox Video in 1994, as part of a four-tape package called "Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics". It was also included as a bonus special on the 1998 VHS reprint of ''

The Cat in the Hat ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by the American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow ...

'', both the 2003 VHS and DVD releases of ''

The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat ''The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat'' (also known as ''The Cat in the Hat Gets Grinched'') is a 1982 American Emmy Award-winning animated musical television special and crossover starring ''The Cat in the Hat'' and The Grinch. It premiered o ...

'', and the 2012 Deluxe Edition

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

release of ''The Cat in the Hat'' (the latter on which it was included along with ''Daisy-Head Mayzie''). In all cases, the special was remastered from its original broadcast (in low audiovisual quality), and was not yet genuinely remastered until its inclusion as an extra on streaming releases of ''The Cat in the Hat'' in 2021, on which it is again paired along with ''Daisy-Head Mayzie''. Both extras were remastered in high definition exclusively for this release.

Soundtrack

''The Hoober-Bloob Highway'' features a number of songs, centered on the decisions the newborn must make about his future life. All the lyrics are written by Dr. Seuss, all music by Dean Elliott. * The Hoober-Bloob Highway * ...And That's the Way It Is, Bub * West Watch-A-Ka-Tella * This Is Your Life * Among the Daisies * That's Just the Beginning * Things You Have to Know * I Know the Way You Feel, Bub * On the Other Hand, Though * It's Fun to be a Human * What Do You Do? * Answer Yes or No * You're a Human The soundtrack was referenced by rapper

Danny! Daniel Keith Swain (born August 18, 1983), known mononymously as Danny!, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and composer. Swain rose to prominence after his debut performance on '' Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', where he premiered ...

through a track titled "This Is Your Life (In West Watch-A-Ka-Tella) (instrumental)" off of his album '' Where Is Danny?'' The Japanese version of this record, released via

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

, replaces the aforementioned track with another instrumental titled "...And That's the Way It Is, Bub", also in reference to the soundtrack.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoober-Bloob Highway 1970s children's fantasy films 1975 television specials 1970s American television specials 1970s animated television specials Television specials by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises CBS television specials Television shows written by Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss television specials Musical television specials Films scored by Dean Elliott 1970s English-language films