Horton Hatches The Egg...

[Crazy Tom]

Another positive response for kids. The WB classic Horton Hatches The Egg (1942) was the film I showed to all of my Performing Arts classes this week...I don't think that was a bad choice. I was surprised that half of the 1st grade never heard of Dr. Suess!

By chance, are there any other Dr. Suess classics that were classic cartoons like Horton, or is that the only one (this is, away from the actual Dr. Suess specials)?

[lislebartman]

I really don't know if this would be lumped under the 'classic' category, but I think it was Chuck Jones who produced a half-hour special in the late 1960s/early 1970s based upon another Dr. Seuss book - "Horton Hears A Who". Depatie-Freleng Enterprises also made specials out of the Dr. Seuss books, such as "The Cat In The Hat", "The Lorax", "The Sneetches" and some others. Then again we can lump Jones's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" into the classic category.

By the way, did you show your class the unedited version of "Horton Hatches The Egg"?

[Jack]

There's "Gerald McBoing Boing," a UPA cartoon that Suess wrote. It was published as a book a little while after the cartoon was made (I think). It's pretty good.

BTW, did you show the kids the edited, or unedited verson of Horton?

Jack:D

[BobChief]

"Hatches" is AFAIK the only short that is still in active distribution. There were others, one for George Pal, allegedly a couple for Paul Terry, several UPA "Gerald McBoing-Boing"s, and the Private Snafu of course, but none else that are readily available.

[Brent]

"Seuss" wrote the Private Snafu cartoons.

(Written as the preceding was being posted; sorry for the redundancy.)

[Sogturtle]

As noted above there are the 4 UPA McBoing outings (though I don't classify Bob Cannon in the same league as Bob Clampett, soooo "classics" is a matter of taste).

Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951)
Gerald McBoing-Boing's Symphony (1953) )
How Now McBoing-Boing (1954)
Gerald McBoing-Boing on Planet Moo (1956)


There is also the George Pal Puppetoon "500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins".

The total Seuss input to Private Snafu has never been properly explored, some earlier ones do feature his characteristic rhyming verse.

[Crazy Tom]

Originally posted by lislebartman and Jack
By the way, did you show your class the unedited version of "Horton Hatches The Egg"?

Don't worry folks, I am safe. I did show the unedited version, which includes the fish shooting himself. Nothing to worry about, because I remind all the kids in that scene that it's only a cartoon and should be treated as just that only--NOT in real life. All the teachers understood what I was doing, and when the kids comment about the fish shooting himself, I tell them to cut it right away because that behavior is not necessary. I always mention a disclaimer for anything I show if any material is deemed questionable.

[Nelson]

Back in 1931, WB released two Dr Seuss cartoons, but I don't even know if there is any kind of film fragments that still survive.