by Nathaniel R
The children's book author Dr. Seuss (also known as Theodore S. Geisel) is such an icon part of popular culture that he's even had his own postage stamp. But did you know he was also a screenwriter? In addition to the screenplay of the fantasy family film The 5000 Fingers of Dr T (1953) he wrote the script for the Oscar winning documentary Design for Death (1947) which was a documentary about Japanese and what led to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Far outside the wheelhouse that was! But mostly when it comes to the screen when we think of Dr Seuss we think of the once-perennial TV airings of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
The bulk of screen adaptations of Dr Seuss's work have been in the short film format which makes sense, given the short visual books he wrote. Of the many shorts based on his work the following were all nominated for Oscars: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1943), And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1944), Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950 - OSCAR WIN), and Gerald McBoing! Boing! on Planet Moo (1956). One short based on his work, Daisy Head Mayzie (1995), was Emmy nominated.
But with the release of The Grinch (2018) today, let's look back on all the feature films (and the three most prominent TV specials) that are Dr Seuss related. How many have you seen and will you be seeing The Grinch? The posters are after the jump...
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR T (1953)
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966)
THE CAT IN THE HAT (1971)
IN SEARCH OF DR SEUSS (1994)
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000)
THE CAT IN THE HAT (2003)
HORTON HEARS A WHO (2008)
THE LORAX (2012)
THE GRINCH (2018)
How many have you seen and what was your favorite Dr. Seuss book as a child (or adult)?