The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat
Encyclopedia
The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat is an animated musical television special and crossover starring two of Dr. Seuss
' famous characters, The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat
. It premiered on May 20, 1982 on ABC
and won two Emmys
.
Out to prove himself to his reflection, the Grinch goes out to cause misfortune. Meanwhile, the Cat in the Hat goes on a picnic and soon crosses paths with the Grinch when the Grinch crashes into his car. The Grinch demands that the Cat "get this crate out of my way", but when the Cat willingly and cheerfully agrees to his demands, the Grinch pursues him in a car chase for mistakenly calling him 'Mr. Green-Face'.
Realizing he's upset this person, the Cat returns to his house, but the Grinch tracks him there and messes with his voice using a device he has invented, "my Acoustical Anti-Audio Bleeper, otherwise known as my Vacusound Sweeper", to garble the sounds of anything that gets caught in its waves; in fact, he asserts that it has an effective radius of 50 miles. He is undeniably proud of his invention as he sabotages all other nearby sounds, proclaiming himself the 'Master of Everyone's Ears'. Then the Grinch goes back to his house and builds a "Darkhouse" (saying that he could "create gloom for 100 miles round!") with which to mess with the Cat's sight, proclaiming, "That Cat's gonna suffer like never before!"
The Cat becomes upset with the Grinch's hijinks and has a psychiatry session with him in a thought bubble. Predictably he gets nowhere with the virtual Grinch, so he then decides to go over and have a talk with him, but in the process, the Grinch makes it so dark he can't see where he's going, and he crashes his car when he passes a "Dead End" sign (depicted here as a white octagon, instead of a yellow diamond).
The Cat attempts to hide from the Grinch in a nearby restaurant, but the Grinch's machine continues to mess with reality, and his hijinks result in wild and crazy madness all over the restaurant. The Cat is now furious with the Grinch and ponders to himself how he can change the Grinch, eventually racing through a door and sending himself hurtling into the Grinch's Dimension. There, as he ponders, he has to endure visions of a floating Grinch head of laser lights, a spinning spiral, and getting split into four different-colored outlines - blue, green, red, and yellow, which join together to become a white outline, and he turns back into himself. He soon figures it out and rallies everybody in the restaurant to follow him to the Grinch's house.
There, he leads everyone in a song about the love the Grinch received from his mother while using his umbrella as a conductor's baton; the Grinch, having a soft spot in his heart for his mother, begins to cry when he hears this, and is afterward told by the spirit of his mum that "everything's going to be all right." Touched, the Grinch disassembles his machines and goes through his change of heart again the next morning. But when his reflection tries to revert him back to a grouch, his dog, Max, shuts the mirror up with the Vacusound Sweeper.
's Playhouse Video division, and reissued later in the decade. This release uses its working title The Cat in the Hat Gets Grinched and returning to its normal name to VHS in the 1996 release Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
with CBS Video
and Fox Kids
Video and a later DVD release by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
and cuts out half of the car chase sequence, ending the chase after the Grinch drives into a mud pit.
The special was released again on DVD by Warner Home Video
on October 18, 2011 as part of the Dr. Seuss's Holidays on the Loose! DVD set, along with How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
and Halloween Is Grinch Night
.
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
' famous characters, The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat is a children's book by Dr. Seuss and perhaps the most famous, featuring a tall, anthropomorphic, mischievous cat, wearing a tall, red and white-striped hat and a red bow tie. He also carries a pale blue umbrella...
. It premiered on May 20, 1982 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and won two Emmys
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
.
Plot
The special opens on a morning so beautiful that even the Grinch wakes up in a good mood. But his cheerfulness is soon revoked when his reflection in the mirror talks back to him and reminds him that he's a Grinch and therefore shouldn't be cheerful, by repeating 'the Grinch's Oath' with him.Out to prove himself to his reflection, the Grinch goes out to cause misfortune. Meanwhile, the Cat in the Hat goes on a picnic and soon crosses paths with the Grinch when the Grinch crashes into his car. The Grinch demands that the Cat "get this crate out of my way", but when the Cat willingly and cheerfully agrees to his demands, the Grinch pursues him in a car chase for mistakenly calling him 'Mr. Green-Face'.
Realizing he's upset this person, the Cat returns to his house, but the Grinch tracks him there and messes with his voice using a device he has invented, "my Acoustical Anti-Audio Bleeper, otherwise known as my Vacusound Sweeper", to garble the sounds of anything that gets caught in its waves; in fact, he asserts that it has an effective radius of 50 miles. He is undeniably proud of his invention as he sabotages all other nearby sounds, proclaiming himself the 'Master of Everyone's Ears'. Then the Grinch goes back to his house and builds a "Darkhouse" (saying that he could "create gloom for 100 miles round!") with which to mess with the Cat's sight, proclaiming, "That Cat's gonna suffer like never before!"
The Cat becomes upset with the Grinch's hijinks and has a psychiatry session with him in a thought bubble. Predictably he gets nowhere with the virtual Grinch, so he then decides to go over and have a talk with him, but in the process, the Grinch makes it so dark he can't see where he's going, and he crashes his car when he passes a "Dead End" sign (depicted here as a white octagon, instead of a yellow diamond).
The Cat attempts to hide from the Grinch in a nearby restaurant, but the Grinch's machine continues to mess with reality, and his hijinks result in wild and crazy madness all over the restaurant. The Cat is now furious with the Grinch and ponders to himself how he can change the Grinch, eventually racing through a door and sending himself hurtling into the Grinch's Dimension. There, as he ponders, he has to endure visions of a floating Grinch head of laser lights, a spinning spiral, and getting split into four different-colored outlines - blue, green, red, and yellow, which join together to become a white outline, and he turns back into himself. He soon figures it out and rallies everybody in the restaurant to follow him to the Grinch's house.
There, he leads everyone in a song about the love the Grinch received from his mother while using his umbrella as a conductor's baton; the Grinch, having a soft spot in his heart for his mother, begins to cry when he hears this, and is afterward told by the spirit of his mum that "everything's going to be all right." Touched, the Grinch disassembles his machines and goes through his change of heart again the next morning. But when his reflection tries to revert him back to a grouch, his dog, Max, shuts the mirror up with the Vacusound Sweeper.
Production notes
- This is the last Dr. Seuss ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television special produced by Marvel ProductionsMarvel ProductionsMarvel Productions Ltd. , last called New World Animation, was a television and film studio subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group , based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, then New World Entertainment and News Corporation/Fox...
. - This is also the last Dr. Seuss television special produced by DePatie-Freleng Productions.
Home media releases
The special was first released on VHS in the mid-80s via CBS/Fox VideoCBS/Fox Video
CBS/Fox Video was a home video company formed and established in 1982, as a merger between 20th Century Fox Video, formerly Magnetic Video Corporation, and CBS Video Enterprises....
's Playhouse Video division, and reissued later in the decade. This release uses its working title The Cat in the Hat Gets Grinched and returning to its normal name to VHS in the 1996 release Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
with CBS Video
CBS/Fox Video
CBS/Fox Video was a home video company formed and established in 1982, as a merger between 20th Century Fox Video, formerly Magnetic Video Corporation, and CBS Video Enterprises....
and Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
Video and a later DVD release by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
and cuts out half of the car chase sequence, ending the chase after the Grinch drives into a mud pit.
The special was released again on DVD by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
on October 18, 2011 as part of the Dr. Seuss's Holidays on the Loose! DVD set, along with How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a 1966 American animated television special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the homonymous children's book by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away Christmas from the townsfolk of Whoville below his mountain hideaway...
and Halloween Is Grinch Night
Halloween is Grinch Night
Halloween Is Grinch Night is a 1977 25-minute TV special and prequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. It won the 1977 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. It premiered on ABC on October 29, 1977...
.