''In Search of Dr. Seuss'' is a 1994 American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

chronicling the adventures of a news reporter, Kathy Lane, (

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), '' Hope Floats'' ( ...

), who enters the world of

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

David Paymer David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as '' Mr. Saturday Night'', ''Quiz Show'', ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', '' City Slickers'', ''Crazy People'', '' ...

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

Andraé Crouch Andraé Edward Crouch (July 1, 1942 – January 8, 2015) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music profess ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

, and

Eileen Brennan Eileen Brennan (born Verla Eileen Regina Brennen; September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the satire '' Divorce American Style'' (1967), followed by a supporting role in Peter Bogdanovich's ''The ...

Plot

Kathy Lane, a reporter, goes to Theodore Geisel's

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

home and meets a strange character. Kathy tells him the editor for ''The Ferncast Times'' demands her an article on Dr. Seuss. When she uses him as a source, the character reveals himself to be the Cat in the Hat. Kathy finds a magical book labeled "Open a book, open your imagination", which pulls her into the world of Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat shows Kathy a political cartoon which would later become The Sneetches. The Cat then leads Kathy to a door which leads to a beach. On the beach, they read '' The Sneetches''. The Cat then tells Kathy about Seuss being a target during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She then ends up into a kitchen where she meets Mr. Hunch from Hunches in Bunches. They eat lunch and learn more about his childhood. Then Mr. Hunch shows her a book based on his childhood: ''

McElligot's Pool ''McElligot's Pool'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published by Random House in 1947. In the story, a boy named Marco, who first appeared in Geisel's 1937 book ''And to Think That ...

''. Kathy notices

Horton the Elephant Horton the Elephant is a fictional character from the 1940 book ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' and 1954 book ''Horton Hears a Who!'', both by Dr. Seuss. In both books and subsequent media, Horton is characterized as a kind, sweet-natured and naïve e ...

and ends up in a jungle. She reads ''

Horton Hatches the Egg ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published in 1940 by Random House. The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's ...

''. The Cat in the Hat appears, and explains to her about Seuss in the 1920s. Kathy then wanders into "The World of Advertising". The Ad Man and the Ad Woman explain about Dr. Seuss in the advertising business. The room rocks and Kathy is transported to Mulberry Street where she meets Marco. She helps Marco come up with a story to tell his father after he walks home from school. The story changes as Kathy and Marco add exciting things to it. The story starts out as a horse pulling a cart. But it soon turns into a tale with an elephant, the mayor, planes with confetti, a

Rajah ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

, a band playing music and more. Marco keeps the story as a horse pulling a cart. He leaves. Sgt. Mulvaney brings Kathy to a

revolving door A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a central shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient as they, acting as an airlock, prevent drafts, thus de ...

that is shown to represent the way people rejected Dr. Seuss' first book for publishing. The Sergeant disappears through the door. Kathy follows but ends up in a hall with the Cat in the Hat. The Cat explains to Kathy about some of Dr. Seuss' dark

political cartoons A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...

. An alarm goes off and he disappears. Kathy walks into a room and meets The Voice of America. The Voice of America then shows Kathy the documentary, ''

Hitler Lives ''Hitler Lives'' (also known as ''Hitler Lives?'') is a 1945 American short documentary film directed by Don Siegel, who was uncredited. The film won an Oscar at the 18th Academy Awards in 1946 for Documentary Short Subject. Earlier the same y ...

'', which was made by Geisel and his wife. The Voice of America further reveals that Dr. Seuss' initial drawings of Yertle the Turtle depicted the character with a Hitler-esque mustache and a Nazi uniform. A live action version of the story is then shown in a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

like song. Kathy meets back up with the Cat in the Hat, who tells her his own origin story as told by a father reading to his two daughters. After the story, Kathy ends up in the story of ''

Green Eggs and Ham ''Green Eggs and Ham'' is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2019, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The story has appeared in several adaptations, starting with 1973's '' Dr. Seuss on the Loos ...

'' where she is chased by multiple Sam-I-Ams who try to get her to eat green eggs and ham. After that, Kathy ends up in the mountains where

the Grinch The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss. He is best known as the main character of the 1957 children's book ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' He has been portrayed and voiced by many different actors, including Boris Karloff, ...

had lived. A woman reads her ''

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...

'' Next, Kathy shows up at the Street of the Lifted Lorax where the Cat tells her that while

was successful for Dr. Seuss professionally, his personal life wasn't and explains what happened to Seuss during the late 1960s. She then put in a payment (15 cents, a nail, and the shell of a great, great, great grandfather snail) written on paper in a bucket after which The Once-Ler hoisted up the bucket with all those things, collected them, brought down a speaker and told the story of ''

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 ...

''. After planting a new Truffula Tree, marching music sounded, indicating a butter battle which represents ''

The Butter Battle Book ''The Butter Battle Book'' is a rhyming story 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, mutually assured destruction and nuclear wea ...

''. Kathy and The Cat in the Hat visit the library where they sing ''

Oh, the Places You'll Go! ''Oh, the Places You'll Go!'' is a book written and illustrated by children's author Dr. Seuss. It was first published by Random House on January 22, 1990. It was his last book to be published during his lifetime. The book concerns the journey of ...

'' after which are transported back to Dr. Seuss' house. The film ends with a quote from Dr. Seuss: "I hope for the children a world of peace and they would never lose their sense of wonder and discovery. From there to here, from here to there. Funny things are everywhere".

Cast

as Kathy Lane *

Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...

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 b ...

as Mr. Hunch *

Graham Jarvis Graham Powley Jarvis (August 25, 1930 – April 16, 2003) was a Canadian character actor in American films and television from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Early years Jarvis was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Margaret Biddulph (Scratche ...

as The Farmer * Brady Bluhm as Marco (McElligot's Pool) * Frank Welker dubbed the voices of

, Mayzie the Bird, Morton the Elephant-Bird, Chief Yookeroo, Van Itch, and re-dubbed Hitler Lives Narrator *

as the Ad Man *

as the Ad Woman *J. D. Daniels as Marco (Mulberry Street) *

as Sgt. Mulvaney *

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

as Radio Voice (The Voice of America) *

as Yertle the Turtle *Bright Eyes as Mack *

as The Father *

Zelda Williams Zelda Rae Williams (born July 31, 1989) is an American actress, director, producer, and writer. She is the daughter of actor and comedian Robin Williams and film producer and philanthropist Marsha Garces Williams. As a voice actress, she is bes ...

and Eleanor Columbus as The Daughters * Howie Mandel as Sam I Am Voice-Over *

as Who-Villain *

Malachi Pearson Malachi Pearson (born June 12, 1981, in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States) is a retired American actor. He is known for having performed the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost in the film, ''Casper''. Filmography *1986 – 1987 ...

as Additional Voice-Over *Terry Lindholm as Once-ler (hands) * Kay E. Kuter as the voice of Dr. Seuss

Uncredited

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, humanitarian, inventor and ventriloquist whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Paul Winchell S ...

as some of the Sneetches (voice, archive footage) *

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

as the Grinch (voice, archive footage) *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

as Cindy Lou Who (voice, archive footage) * Bob Holt as the Once-ler, the Lorax, Sylvester McMonkey McBean, and some of the Sneetches (voice, archive footage) *

Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...

as Grandfather Yook (voice, archive footage and redubbed lines) *Joseph Cousins as Grandson (voice, archive footage)

Stories featured

The film features many of Dr. Seuss's stories, though they are re-edits of older adaptations, while some of the adaptations are newly created live-action versions. It also includes some of his political work, including excerpts of his short subject ''

''. # '' The Sneetches'' (originally from DePatie-Freleng Enterprises's special, '' Dr. Seuss on the Loose'' and was re-edited; 1973) # '' Hunches in Bunches'' (live-action) # ''

'' (live-action) # ''

'' (originally a '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon produced by

Leon Schlesinger Productions Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was an American animation studio, serving as the in-house animation division of Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, it was ...

in 1942 and directed by Bob Clampett; this cartoon is not only re-edited, but re-dubbed by Frank Welker) # ''

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street ''And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street'' is Theodor Seuss Geisel's first Children's literature, children's book published under the pen name Dr. Seuss. First published by Vanguard Press in 1937, the story follows a boy named Marco, who ...

'' (originally a 1944

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

Puppetoon Puppetoons is a series of animated puppet films made in Europe (1930s) and in the United States (1940s) by George Pal. They were made using replacement animation: using a series of different hand-carved wooden puppets (or puppet heads or limbs) for ...

''; not only re-edited, but re-told by J. D. Daniels) # ''

'' (short documentary by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in 1945; not only re-edited, but re-dubbed by Frank Welker) # '' Yertle the Turtle'' (live-action) # ''

'' (live-action) # ''

'' (originally the famous Chuck Jones television special created in 1966; this cartoon is not only re-edited, but the story is re-told by

, while

and

remain the voices of The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who.) # ''

'' (originally created by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in 1972; the present-day scenes of the Once-ler are re-created in live-action.) # ''

'' (originally created by

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

in 1989; some of the verses that were omitted from the special, or were not said the correct way for the telling of the book, are added in this version and voiced by

, who reprised his role as the grandfather, Frank Welker and

.) # ''

'' (live-action)

Home media releases

Nearly two months before the television premiere on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

Turner Home Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

released ''In Search of Dr. Seuss'' directly to VHS on September 14, 1994, and also re-released it on June 6, 1995, the same date as the home video releases of

's ''The Butter Battle Book'' (1989) and Hanna-Barbera's ''

Daisy-Head Mayzie ''Daisy-Head Mayzie'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and illustrated in his style. It was published in 1995, as Seuss's first posthumous book. It was republished on July 5, 2016, with Seuss's original text and drawings. Plot The book ...

'' (1995). At the same time, Turner combined these films on a single LaserDisc release with an exclusive distribution by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

. On November 18, 2003, the film arrived on DVD for the first time, distributed by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

. And on March 4, 2008, ''In Search of Dr. Seuss'', ''Daisy-Head Mayzie'', ''The Butter Battle Book'', and the 1942 '' Merrie Melodies'' short ''

'' were included as bonus features on the Deluxe Edition DVD release of

MGM Animation/Visual Arts MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an American animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman and animator Ken Harris as Sib Tower 12 Productions. Its productions include the last series of ''Tom ...

' ''

Horton Hears a Who! ''Horton Hears a Who!'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss. It was published in 1954 by Random House. This book tells the story of Horton the Elephant and his adventures saving Whovi ...

'' (1970).

References

External links

*
''In Search of Dr. Seuss'' on Behind the Voices
{{Dr. Seuss American films with live action and animation 1994 films 1994 television films Films about journalists Films based on works by Dr. Seuss TNT Network original films Horton the Elephant The Cat in the Hat