The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
GenreChildren's television series
Surreal humour
Based onCharacters
by Dr. Seuss
Directed byDavid Gumpel
Creative directorEd Eyth
Presented by
Starring
Narrated by
Theme music composer
  • Joe Caroll
  • Hal J. Cohen
  • David Steven Cohen
Opening theme
  • Wubbulous Street (Season 1)
  • Come on Along (Season 2)
Ending theme
  • Wubbulous Street (Season 1, instrumental)
  • Just Shout Hooray (Season 2)
    • Come on Along (Season 2, instrumental)
Composers
  • Joe Caroll
  • Mark Gray
  • Peter Thom
  • Steve Klapper
  • Hal J. Cohen
  • Zina Goldrich
  • David Steven Cohen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes40 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Jonathan C. Meath
  • David Gumpel
Production locationJim Henson's carriage house (Season 1)[1]
Running time30 minutes
Production companyThe Jim Henson Company
Original release
Network
ReleaseOctober 13, 1996 (1996-10-13) –
May 15, 1998 (1998-05-15)
Related

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is an American children's puppet television series based on characters created by Dr. Seuss, produced by The Jim Henson Company. It aired from October 13, 1996, to May 15, 1998, on Nickelodeon. It combines live puppets with digitally animated backgrounds, and in its first season, refashioning characters and themes from the original Dr. Seuss books into new stories that often retained much of the flavor of Dr. Seuss' own works.

Format

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In many respects, seasons one and two of the program are very different shows. The two seasons have completely different intro and outro credit sequences and songs reflecting their differing orientations. The virtual settings seen in this show are created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Season one

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Each episode is a self-contained story based on Dr. Seuss characters such as Yertle the Turtle and Horton the Elephant. The unifying element is that the stories are introduced and commented on by The Cat in the Hat (performed by Bruce Lanoil) who serves as host of the show. Occasionally, The Cat in the Hat himself appears in the episode, reprising his role as a bit of a trickster, as in his original eponymous books (ex. episode 1.6: "The Simplifier").

Season one is notable for hewing closely to many of the themes of the original Dr. Seuss stories, which often had a strong moral overtone. As a result, some episodes have distinctly dark or sinister elements which, like some Dr. Seuss books, may not be appropriate for younger children.

Season two

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For season two, the show was reworked along the lines of a more traditional children's program. The Cat in the Hat (now performed by Martin P. Robinson) lives in a playhouse with his Little Cats A through Z and the often flustered Terrence McBird (performed by Anthony Asbury). Aside from the residents of the house there are usually visitors based on Dr. Seuss characters. Each episode revolves around a theme (such as family, health, art) and features one or two songs about the theme. A closing song was also added at the end of each episode. The action shifts between The Cat in the Hat and what is going on in his playhouse and shorter related story interludes, which he shows to the audience by means of his "Wubbuloscope". These story vignettes take place in various locations like:

The tone of season two is much lighter, as the result of bringing in a number of comedic writers such as Adam Felber and Mo Rocca. The Cat in the Hat is no longer a trickster and instead has assumed the role of a friendly and enthusiastic host who is helpful, nurturing and sweet. Although this revised format only lasted one season before the show ended, the format was recognizably previously featured in Jim Henson Productions' next children's program Bear in the Big Blue House, which aired on Disney Channel.

Characters

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Main

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Supporting

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Minor

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Episodes

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Series overview

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
120October 13, 1996 (1996-10-13)August 17, 1997 (1997-08-17)
220March 9, 1998 (1998-03-09)May 15, 1998 (1998-05-15)

Season 1 (1996–97)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
11"The Gink"David GumpelBelinda WardOctober 13, 1996 (1996-10-13)105
22"Who Are You, Sue Snue?"David GumpelAnnie Evans (s)
Will Ryan (t)
October 20, 1996 (1996-10-20)106
33"The King's Beard"David GumpelWill RyanOctober 27, 1996 (1996-10-27)103
44"Max the Hero"David GumpelDavid Steven CohenNovember 3, 1996 (1996-11-03)115
55"The Guest"David GumpelCarin Greenberg Baker (s) & Craig Shemin
Will Ryan (t)
November 10, 1996 (1996-11-10)107
66"The Simplifier"David GumpelLou BergerNovember 24, 1996 (1996-11-24)[2]102
77"The Snoozer"John LeoDavid CohenNovember 17, 1996 (1996-11-17)[3]108
88"Mrs. Zabarelli's Holiday Baton"John LeoCraig SheminDecember 15, 1996 (1996-12-15)104
99"The Mystery of Winna-Bango Falls"Scott PrestonAlan Neuwirth & Gary CooperJanuary 5, 1997 (1997-01-05)109
1010"Almost There"David GumpelCraig SheminFebruary 2, 1997 (1997-02-02)111
1111"Oh, The People You'll Meet"John LeoWill RyanFebruary 9, 1997 (1997-02-09)110
1212"The Blag-Bludder Beast"David GumpelPhil LollarMarch 2, 1997 (1997-03-02)112
1313"The Muckster"David GumpelBill MarsiliiMarch 23, 1997 (1997-03-23)[4]113
1414"Norval the Great"David GumpelWill RyanMarch 30, 1997 (1997-03-30)114
1515"The Song of the Zubble-Wump"Scott PrestonDavid CohenJuly 13, 1997 (1997-07-13)101
1616"The Road To Ka-Larry"John LeoCraig Shemin & Will RyanJuly 20, 1997 (1997-07-20)116
1717"Yertle the King"John LeoPhil LollarJuly 27, 1997 (1997-07-27)117
1818"Horton Has a Hit"David GumpelBill MarsilliAugust 3, 1997 (1997-08-03)118
1919"The Birthday Moose"David NebelWill Ryan & Craig SheminAugust 10, 1997 (1997-08-10)119
2020"The Grinch Meets His Max/Halfway Home to Malmaroo"David GumpelCraig Shemin, Will Ryan & David CohenAugust 17, 1997 (1997-08-17)120

Season 2 (1998)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
211"The Cat in the Hat Takes a Nap"Emily Squires & David GumpelStephanie SimpsonMarch 9, 1998 (1998-03-09)
222"The Cat in the Hat Cleans Up His Act"David GumpelAdam FelberMarch 17, 1998 (1998-03-17)
233"The Cat in the Hat's Big Birthday Surprise"Emily Squires & Kathy MullenMo RoccaMarch 10, 1998 (1998-03-10)[5]
244"The Sounds All Around"Steve Feldman & David GumpelJay MartelMarch 11, 1998 (1998-03-11)
255"Make Yourself at Home in the Cat's Playhouse"Steve Feldman & David GumpelJonathan GreenbergMarch 12, 1998 (1998-03-12)
266"The Cat in the Hat's Flower Power"Jim Martin & Rick VelleuMo RoccaMarch 18, 1998 (1998-03-18)
277"The Feed You Need"Jim Martin & David GumpelAdam FelberMarch 16, 1998 (1998-03-16)
288"The Cat in the Hat's First-First Day"David GumpelJay MartelApril 7, 1998 (1998-04-07)
299"The Cat in the Hat Gets a Package"Jim Martin & Kathy MullenAlana BurgiMarch 13, 1998 (1998-03-13)
3010"The Cat in the Hat's Indoor Picnic"Emily Squires & Rick VelleuMo RoccaMarch 31, 1998 (1998-03-31)
3111"There Is Nothing To Fear In Here"David GumpelAdam FelberApril 20, 1998 (1998-04-20)
3212"The Cat in the Hat Builds a Door-a-Matic"Emily Squires & Rick VelleuJay MartelApril 2, 1998 (1998-04-02)
3313"A Bird's Best Friend"David GumpelAdam FelberApril 23, 1998 (1998-04-23)
3414"The Cat in the Hat's Art House"Emily Squires & Kathy MullenMo RoccaApril 27, 1998 (1998-04-27)
3515"Lester Leaps In"Emily Squires & Kathy MullenAdam FelberApril 10, 1998 (1998-04-10)
3616"A Bird's Guide To Health"Emily Squires & Kathryn MullenMarcello PiconeMay 1, 1998 (1998-05-01)[6]
3717"Talkin' with the Cat"Kathy Mullen & Emily SquiresMo RoccaMay 4, 1998 (1998-05-04)
3818"Walkin' with the Cat"David Gumpel & Rick VelleuAdam FelberMay 7, 1998 (1998-05-07)
3919"The Cat in the Hat Helps a Friend"David Gumpel, Dean Gordon & Anthony AsburyMichael BernardMay 13, 1998 (1998-05-13)
4020"Cat's Play"David Gumpel & Kathy MullenStephanie SimpsonMay 15, 1998 (1998-05-15)[7]

Puppeteers

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Home video releases

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The series was never systematically issued to home video on either VHS or DVD. Some VHS tapes were distributed by Columbia TriStar Home Video in 1999. Current DVD releases contain three episodes per disc and are a mix of episodes from the first and second seasons.

In 2015, the whole series was released on DVD from Shock Entertainment in Australia.

Syndication

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Nickelodeon aired the series from October 13, 1996, to 1998, with reruns airing until February 6, 2000.

Starz Kids & Family began carrying reruns of the series in 2018.[8]

Later appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "4/2/1984 - 'Bought 225 East 67th St.'". April 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois on November 24, 1996 · Page 270". Newspapers.com. November 24, 1996. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  3. ^ "Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois on November 17, 1996 · Page 285". Newspapers.com. November 17, 1996. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  4. ^ "The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida on March 23, 1997 · Page 176". Newspapers.com. March 23, 1997. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  5. ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  6. ^ "May 1, 1998". Newspapers.com. May 1998. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "May 15, 1998". newspapers.com. May 15, 1998. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Starz Expands, Promises 40% Larger Content Library, More Kids Shows By Year-End". TechCrunch. July 10, 2017.
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