The Cat in the Hat (TV special) facts for kids

The Cat in the Hat is a fun animated TV special from America. It first aired on CBS on March 10, 1971. This musical show is based on the famous 1957 Dr. Seuss children's story called The Cat in the Hat.

The special was made by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. It features the voices of Allan Sherman and Daws Butler. This half-hour show takes the original book and adds new songs and scenes.

What Happens in the Story?

A Rainy Day and a Mysterious Guest

The story begins on a very rainy and cold day. Sally and her brother are stuck inside, feeling bored. Their mother tells them she is leaving but will be back at 3:30 sharp. The children have to find something to do while she is gone. They sing about having "Nothing To Be Done."

Suddenly, the mysterious Cat in the Hat appears! He makes a big entrance. The family's goldfish, named Carlos K. Krinklebein, tells the Cat to leave. But the Cat ignores him. He starts a game called "Up, Up, Up, With a Fish." He puts the fishbowl on top of a stack of bubbles.

The Missing Gredunza and a Messy Search

The children notice the Cat is making the house messy. The brother remembers their mother will be home soon. The Cat pretends to be sad and says he will go to Siberia, Russia.

But right after leaving, the Cat bursts back in! He claims someone stole his "moss-covered three-handled family gredunza." The Cat blames Krinklebein, the goldfish. He sings a song about losing his special item, called "Family Gredunza."

The Cat then leads the kids on a search for the gredunza. He uses a method called "Calculatus Eliminatus." This involves drawing random numbers and letters everywhere they look. This makes the house even messier! Krinklebein again tells the Cat to leave.

Things One and Two Join the Fun

The Cat sings a sad song called "I'm a Punk" to get sympathy. But Krinklebein doesn't feel sorry for him. So, the Cat sings a lullaby, "Beautiful Kittenfish," to put the goldfish to sleep.

After feeling better, the Cat brings out Thing One and Thing Two. They are supposed to help find the gredunza. The Cat sings that they can find "Anything Under the Sun." But the Things just play sports using Krinklebein's fishbowl. They say that "there’s always some fish who doesn’t like fun."

Krinklebein gets frustrated. He says the Cat isn't a real cat and his hat isn't a real hat. The Cat gets upset and sings his name in many languages. Everyone, even Krinklebein, joins in. They tell the Cat that in Russian, he is a "chapka in a shlyapa."

Cleaning Up Before Mom Comes Home

As the song ends, they hear a car horn. Krinklebein sees the kids' mother coming home. Thing One and Thing Two quickly go back into their box. The Cat leaves right away. The house is a huge mess, and the kids wonder how they will clean it in time.

The Cat quickly returns with a special vehicle. It cleans everything up very fast. After the house is tidy, he leaves again. He hints that he might come back someday, singing "Sweep Up the Memories."

Just as the Cat leaves through the back door, the mother walks in through the front door. She asks the kids about their day. She mentions seeing a cat in a hat "going down the street with a moss-covered three-handled family gredunza." This means the gredunza was never really lost. The Cat just wanted an excuse to have more fun! The children watch the Cat walk off to his next adventure.

Who Are the Voices?

• Allan Sherman as The Cat in the Hat and the Narrator
• Daws Butler as Karlos K. Krinklebein (the goldfish)
• Tony Frazier as The Boy
• Pamelyn Ferdin as The Girl
• Gloria Camacho as the Mother
• Thurl Ravenscroft as Thing One
• Lewis Morford as Thing Two

How Was the Special Made?

The idea for this special started at Chuck Jones' MGM Animation/Visual Arts studio. This was in the late 1960s. That studio had just finished another Dr. Seuss special, Horton Hears a Who!.

Around 1970, MGM stopped making animated films. Also, Dr. Seuss wasn't happy with how Chuck Jones had directed his previous TV specials. So, the production moved to DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. This was their first Dr. Seuss TV special.

Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie ran DePatie–Freleng. They were both famous animators. Chuck Jones and Dr. Seuss (using his real name, Ted Geisel) were still involved as producers. However, Jones did not work on any more Seuss projects after this one.

DePatie–Freleng created a new logo for "Cat in the Hat Productions" for this special. This logo was used in the next three Dr. Seuss specials. Many people thought that Allan Sherman wrote some of the songs, like "Calculatus Eliminatus." This is because they sounded like his other funny songs. But only Dr. Seuss is officially credited for the music.

How Is It Different From the Book?

The TV special's story is quite different from the original book.

• In the book, the Cat balances many objects while standing on a ball. He then falls down. This part is not in the TV special. Instead, the special has the fishbowl and bubbles scene.
• Thing One and Thing Two also have a different role. In the book, they just show how much fun the Cat can bring. But in the special, they help the Cat find his "moss-covered three-handled family gradunza."
• The words used in the TV special are a bit more advanced than in the book. However, it still uses Dr. Seuss's famous rhyming style.

Where Can You Watch It?

The special has been released on different home video formats over the years.

• It first came out on VHS in 1989.
• Later, it was part of a "Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics" collection in the mid-1990s.
• It was released on DVD on October 7, 2003.
• You can also find it on Blu-ray and DVD, released on August 7, 2012.

The Cat in Other TV Shows

The Cat in the Hat character has appeared in many other Dr. Seuss TV specials and series.

• In 1973, Allan Sherman returned as the Cat in Dr. Seuss on the Loose. Here, the Cat introduced three other Dr. Seuss stories: The Sneetches, The Zax, and Green Eggs and Ham.
• In 1982, in The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, the Cat (now voiced by Mason Adams) meets the Grinch. He tries to make the Grinch a nicer person.
• In 1995, the Cat, voiced by Henry Gibson, narrated Daisy-Head Mayzie. This special was based on a Dr. Seuss book published after he passed away.
• A Muppet version of the Cat appeared in The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss in 1996. He was voiced by Bruce Lanoil and Martin P. Robinson.
• The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! is an educational animated series that started in September 2010. In this show, Martin Short voices the Cat.

See also

In Spanish: El gato con sombrero (programa especial) para niños