The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss

***The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss*** premiered on PBS Kids on January 13, 2002 The show features puppet versions of the classic Dr. Seuss characters.

The entire series can currently be purchased and rented via the iTunes Store, and for a time was seen on Hulu and "Jim Henson Family TV" on YouTube. As of 2017, it can now also be seen on Starz and Amazon Prime.

## Format

All seasons of the show are vastly different in terms of format and tone. The first season is presented in an anthology format, featuring different stories each week featuring at least one recognizable character from the Dr. Seuss library (such as the Grinch and Horton the Elephant). The Cat in the Hat and his Little Cats served as hosts of the series, bookending each story while occasionally interfering with the events.

## Production

The series came about when Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the company handling Geisel's estate and legacy, began looking into creating a television series based on the Seuss books. Michael K. Frith, who previously worked on several Seuss books, acted as a liaison between the Jim Henson Company and the Seuss folk. A short pitch reel was created featuring a puppet version of Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose and Marvin K. Mooney.

The series is shot at Jim Henson's carriage house in New York City. The entire series is shot entirely in front of blue and green screens and used mainly computer-generated backgrounds. The series was unique in that the CG backgrounds were animated in real-time, allowing for such things as the scenery moving as the characters moved and objects moved when interacted with.

## Cast

* Bruce Lanoil as The Cat in the Hat , Fox in Socks
* Anthony Asbury as The Grinch, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, Yertle the Turtle
* John Kennedy as Horton the Elephant, Little Cat C, Mr. Knox
* Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Jane Kangaroo, Max, Little Cat B
* Leslie Carrara as Little Cat A, Morton the Elephant Bird
* Tim Lagasse as Junior Kangaroo

Guest or background/assistant puppeteers included Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Bill Barretta, Camille Bonora, Kevin Clash, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner, Jim Kroupa, Joey Mazzarino, Brian Muehl, Jerry Nelson, John Tartaglia, and Nikki Tilroe.

## Notes

* The utility puppets used for the series, akin to the Anything Muppets and Whatnots, were referred to as "Whozits."

## Credits

* Executive Producer: Michael K. Frith, David Steven Cohen, Brian Henson
* Produced by: Lauren Gray, Bob Stein, David Gumpel
* Directors: David Gumpel, John Leo, David Nebel, Scott Preston
* Writers: Carin Greenberg Baker, Lou Berger, David Steven Cohen, Gary Cooper, Annie Evans, Adam Felber, Phil Lollar, Bill Marsilii, Allan Neuwirth, Will Ryan, Craig Shemin, Belinda Ward
* Consulting Producer: Will Ryan
* Production Designer: Ed Eyth
* Music: Joe Carroll, Peter Thom, Mark Gray, Glen Daum, John Lissauer
* Songs: Bob Golden, Jack Feldman, Rusty Magee, Joe Carroll, Mark Gray, Peter Thom, Russ Irwin, Bill Marsilii, Rich Mendoza, Steve Klapper, David Steven Cohen, Hal J. Cohen, Zina Goldrich, David Kinnoin, John Hoke, Bob Stillman, Will Ryan, Craig Shemin
* Puppet Captain: John E. Kennedy
* Technical Director: Tom Guadarrama

## See also

* Episode Guide
* Videography