Masterful Movie

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I think I saw just a bit of this made-for-TV movie on TV when I was around eight years old (around the time it was released, or shortly after), but didn't know it was called "In Search of Dr. Seuss". I remember so many Dr. Seuss stories from my childhood, both books and animated cartoons, but don't recall seeing much of this biography film. After fifteen years or so, I've finally seen the entire film on DVD. By the time that happened, I knew the lead character was played by Kathy Najimy, and knew her as the voice of Peggy Hill in "King of the Hill", and the role of Beverly "Bev" Pear in "Rat Race". I was also familiar with several other cast members. If I had seen the entire film as a kid, it probably would have been more entertaining, but it was still interesting.Kathy Lane is a news reporter who comes to the home of the late Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) to get as much information as possible for a report on the famous children's author, information she couldn't find anywhere else. The first character she meets turns out to be the Cat in the Hat, one of Seuss's famous characters! She then sees a book entitled, "Open a book, open your imagination," and opens it, which takes her on a magical adventure through the world of Seuss, full of surprises, with the Cat as her tour guide! Many of the author's famous stories are included on this adventure, and Kathy finds herself taking part in them! She also gradually learns about his life, career, the inspiration for some of his stories, etc. She gets some information from the Cat in the Hat, and some from other characters she meets in different places on her adventure.There's lots of humour in this film, but it certainly didn't make me laugh much. With Christopher Lloyd, Andrea Martin, and Robin Williams all in the cast, it could have been so much funnier than it is, at least for adults. There are parts I found mildly amusing, but not many. This was the most disappointing aspect for me. For the most part, the humour is very kiddish, and it might not just be the humour, as the sets often look like they're from a low-budget kids' show, though I'm sure that was intentional. However, it is an interesting biography on Dr. Seuss, focusing on different parts of his life and sometimes showing documentary footage. There are also some pretty good presentations of Dr. Seuss stories, sometimes with edited versions of animated cartoons, and it's also good that the morals of these stories are mentioned. The author was well known for those. The film is informative in a way I've never seen before.I don't know if I should be rating this film 8/10, and I'm definitely not doing so because of how entertaining I personally found it. I would usually have to find a movie more entertaining than this to even give it a 7. I don't think I could exactly say I found most of "In Search of Dr. Seuss" that entertaining, especially with the lack of laughs. Still, it's an interesting way of telling viewers about the life of Dr. Seuss, and to me, there is something charming about it. I'm sure many kids would like it a lot, and I'm sure the humour would probably be more appealing to them, though I don't recall liking the part of the film I saw as a kid. Also, if you're an adult who grew up with Dr. Seuss, then this is probably worth watching for information on the influential author (though you may wish it were presented in a different manner), and you could find more entertainment value than I did.

This is a great biography movie. I learned a lot about Dr. Seuss watching this movie and still think this is a great movie. I like to watch it again & again. I would recommend it for kids aged 6 and up. Even adults might like this movie. This is probably the best TV movie ever. A reporter (Kathy Najimby, Sister Act) wants to find out more about Dr. Seuss so she goes to his house who finds a strange man who turns out the be the Cat in the Hat (Matt Frewer, Honey I shrunk the kids). Now the reporter is on for the ride of a lifetime learning about Dr. Seuss, reading some of his stories & singing some songs. Special Appearances by Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Howie Mandel (Later to be known as the Host of Deal or No Deal) & David Payner. This is a really great movie an I highly recommend it.

I'd never caught this on TNT when it was on. On impulse, when I was at Seuss Landing at Universal Islands of Adventure, I picked up a copy of the DVD. (Since, y'know, I hadn't spent NEARLY enough money after four days on Disney parks and two on Universal parks ;-).)I was charmed beyond belief! First of all, there's Matt Frewer, who I've liked since the eighties and "Max Headroom." He just projects that aura of likability...and, with much more understatement and ten pounds less facial makeup, projected a more endearing Cat in the Hat than Mike Myers ever did or could. (Sorry, Mike...you fell flat in that one.)It's quite impressive how much this covers, for a "light-hearted" kid-friendly documentary. It covers Theodore Geisel's war work, with clips from a newsreel he made. (A Private Snafu cartoon is a DVD extra.) It does gloss over a few things...it mentions that Geisel's first wife died, but leaves out the fact that she committed suicide. Which is understandable enough...younger kids won't understand it, and older kids can always see the A & E Biography or some such for further detail.There's a strong emphasis on Geisel's desires to effect social change, focusing on the endings of "The Lorax" and "The Butter Battle Book." Good ways to lead kids into the books, and open discussions.The supporting actors are all excellent, from Kathy Najimy as the reporter who goes "in search of Dr. Seuss," to Patrick Stewart with a humorous Irish accent as "Mulberry Street"'s Sgt. Mulvaney (but he could read the telephone book and I'd hang on every word), to Robin Williams as a dad who reads "The Cat In The Hat" to his kids. (Not to belabor the point, but Robin's simple reading of the story conveys it ten times better than the full-length movie with all its trimmings!) Most importantly of all...everyone involved seems to be having such a good time...a major plus!Interspersed throughout are clips from many animated specials based on Seuss books. Most interesting of all are bits from a stop-motion animated cartoon based on "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street!" Unfortunately, all we get are clips. I wish they'd have included the whole cartoon as a DVD extra as they did with the Snafu short. The songs are quite catchy, especially the title song and the Kathy/Cat duet "Oh, The Places You'll Go!"But the most heart-melting moment comes at the end. This being a documentary, we must come to the moment of Dr. Seuss's death. The Cat shows Kathy a poem that Dr. Seuss wrote in his later years, "How Did It Get So Late So Soon?" She reads it..."How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December's here before it's June, My goodness, how the time has...floon! How did it get so late so soon...?"And the sadness that flickers across Matt Frewer's face as he recites the last line along with Kathy is so genuine, you wonder if it's coming from Matt-as-Cat or from Matt-as-Matt. After all, Matt must have grown up with the Seuss books and read them to his own kid. It's how everyone who'd grown up with Dr. Seuss felt when we learned of the great man's passing.This funny, sweet documentary is a superb way to introduce kids to the remarkable life of Theodore Seuss Geisel...and adults will enjoy it just as much! "From far to near, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!"

Before I watched the movie, all I knew about Seuss was that his books are funny. After I watched it, however, I was enlightened by the mind-numbing amount of information about the "Good Doctor", from his early years to the present. The movie is well written (though the background design are rather cheesy and the film looks like it's colored in "Technicolor"), performed and directed. Whether you're a bookworm, Dr. Seuss fan, a college student doing a research on Dr. Seuss, or just plain couch potato, this movie's one you cannot miss! I give it 2 thumbs up!