Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

 

   When I was little, I learned to read at a young age. The book that helped me.... was "Cat in the Hat" (as well as "Go dog Go" and "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" All of them written by Dr. Seuss who would be celebrating his 120th birthday today. Who was he, and why were some of his books recently banned, and what was considered the worst movie based on his books that his widow would not allow another one of his books be made into live action? Well.... here are some answers. 

 Born Thedore Seuss Gisel, Dr. Seuss lived a normal life. His father used to run a brewery until prohibition forced for his father to close the brewery. His mother was mostly a homemaker. He started drawing since back in the prohibition days, there wasn't much to do as well as the stock market crashing around that time as well.

 The first book he wrote was: "And to think I saw this on Mulberry Street."

  Recently, they have been banning some of Seuss' books with that one being one of them. There were others banned as well like "Scrambled Egg Supper", "If I ran a Zoo", "And to think I saw this on Mulberry Street." and many more. Back when I was little, they were just wholesome books. Sure, I never read the ones that were banned (except for the first one) but it seems a lot of people these days are becoming more sensitive, and many books are being banned. Thank God I was a child back in the 80's and 90's.

  Dr. Seuss has written many children books over the years. He sadly passed away of jaw cancer in 1991. His now deceased wife has kept his stories as well as having March 2nd be the day known for his birthday. It's also known as "Read Across America Day" a day, mostly in schools, where teachers take the day to read books (mostly by Dr. Seuss) to the kids.

   Now.... time to talk about the movies. First off, I don't think Dr. Seuss had any desire to have one of his beloved books be turned into a movie. A few had cartoons that followed the book formula. From Cat in the Hat to the Lorax. Soon, Ron Howard, decided it was best to make the Grinch into a live action Movie starting Jim Carrey. 

   Well.... it wasn't the worst, but it didn't seem as if it was needed. Jim Carrey portrayed the Grinch. He did fine, but the make-up seemed a little... too much. 

  But it wasn't the worst, just not needed. A few years later, Mike Myers decided to portray a live action Cat in the Hat and that movie bombed! Big time! That was the movie that made Dr. Seuss' widow outrage saying that no other Dr. Seuss books should become live action movies. I guess that worked, but it didn't mean some companies would go for a cash grab on making one into a 3-d animated movie with celebrity voices people can recognize.

    One monstrosity was.... The Lorax.

   One of my favorite books when I was little, and they made a small 30-minute cartoon that stuck to the message of the story. That greed is not good, and that bad people will make bad decisions. This one makes it more about jokes and selling merchandise. The polar opposite of the Lorax would do. Danny DeVito, who I like, voices the orange furball and well... the movie is a total mess. If you have ever read the book, stick to the small 30-minute cartoon that came out around the sixties. You'll love that one more than whatever Sony dished out.

   I don't want to badmouth all Seuss movies that came out. There might have been one that isn't that.... horrendous. It isn't good, but out of all the other movies, it somewhat stuck to the book without damaging Dr. Seuss' reputation like all the other movies have. It's called "Horton hears a Who." An elephant, voiced by Steve Carell, hears something so small that it's sits on a flower. 

  It's ok. There are some things in the movie that didn't need to be added but compared to the Lorax or the live action Cat in the Hat, it's worth seeing.

 Whether it's in the books, the cartoon or the not needed movies, Dr. Seuss has not died on us. I will still continue to enjoy his stories as well as the cartoons, and I guess movies. Happy heavenly birthday to one writer who will be remembered by children young and old. Even if the movies aren't as great as the book or cartoons are.... it doesn't mean we won't stop reading or watching them anytime soon.