The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is an American live-action/puppet television series based on characters created by Dr. Seuss, produced by The Jim Henson Company. It aired from October 13, 1996, to December 28, 1998, on Nickelodeon. It is notable for its use of live puppets with digitally animated backgrounds, and in its first season, for refashioning characters and themes from the original Dr. Seuss books into new stories that often retained much of the flavor of Dr. Seuss' own works.

Format
In many respects seasons one and two of the program are very different shows. The two seasons have completely different intro and outro credit sequences and songs reflecting their differing orientations. The virtual settings seen in this show are created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Season One
Each episode is a self-contained story based on Dr. Seuss characters such as Yertle the Turtle and Horton the Elephant. The unifying element is that the stories are introduced and commented on by The Cat in the Hat (performed by Bruce Lanoil) who serves as host of the show. Occasionally The Cat in the Hat himself appears in the episode, reprising his role as a bit of a trickster, as in his original eponymous books (ex. episode 1.6: "The Simplifier").

Season one is notable for hewing closely to many of the themes of the original Dr. Seuss stories, which often had a strong moral overtone. As a result, some episodes have distinctly dark or sinister elements which, like some Dr. Seuss books, may not be appropriate for younger children.

Season Two
For season two the show was reworked along the lines of a more traditional children's program. The Cat in the Hat (now voiced by a much less gravelly sounding Martin P. Robinson) lives in a playhouse with his Little Cats A through Z and the often flustered Terrence McBird (performed by Anthony Asbury). Aside from the residents of the house there are usually visitors based on Dr. Seuss characters. Each episode revolves around a theme (such as family, health, art) and features one two songs about the theme. The action shifts between The Cat in the Hat and what is going on in his playhouse and shorter related story interludes, which he shows to the audience by means of his "Wubbuloscope." These story vignettes take place in various locations like:


 * Seussville – A contemporary city where Sarah Hall Small and her family live.
 * Jungle of Nool – A jungle that is home to Horton the Elephant, Morton the Elephant-Bird, Jane Kangaroo, Junior Kangaroo, Yertle the Turtle, the Wickershams, and the Sneels.
 * Kingdom of Didd – A Renaissance-like kingdom that is ruled by King Derwin.
 * Mount Crumpitt – Home of the Grinch and his dog, Max.

The tone of season two is much lighter, no doubt the result of bringing in a number of comedic writers such as Adam Felber and Mo Rocca. The Cat in the Hat is no longer a trickster and instead has assumed the role of a friendly and enthusiastic host who is helpful, nurturing and sweet. Although this revised format only lasted one season before the show ended, the format was recognizably previously featured in Jim Henson Productions' next children's program Bear in the Big Blue House which was aired on Disney Channel.

Main

 * The Cat in the Hat – (performed by Bruce Lanoil in Season 1 and Martin P. Robinson in Season 2) – The main character and host of the series. He starts out as a trickster, then becomes a more nurturing host.
 * The Little Cats – They debuted in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.
 * Little Cat A (performed by Kathryn Mullen in Season 1 and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph in Season 2) – Seen as one of the Cat in the Hat's sidekicks.
 * Little Cat B (performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) – Seen as one of the Cat in the Hat's sidekicks.
 * Little Cat C (performed by John Kennedy) – Seen as one of the Cat in the Hat's sidekicks.
 * Little Cat F (performed by Pam Arciero) – Seen in Season 2 at the Cat in the Hat's playhouse.
 * Little Cat N (performed by Pam Arciero) – Seen in Season 2 at the Cat in the Hat's playhouse.
 * Little Cat P (performed by Tim Lagasse) – Seen in Season 2 at the Cat in the Hat's playhouse.
 * Little Cat S (performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) – Seen in Season 2 at the Cat in the Hat's playhouse.
 * Little Cat Z (performed by Anthony Asbury) – Seen in Season 2 at the Cat in the Hat's playhouse. He is the smallest of all.
 * Little Cat Fleep (performed by Kevin Clash) - An indifferent little cat who only speaks in fleeps.
 * Terrence McBird (performed by Anthony Asbury) – A bird that joins the main cast in Season 2.

Supporting

 * The Grinch (performed by Anthony Asbury) – He appeared in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. He likes to dampen other people's fun and pleasure.
 * Max the Dog (performed by Kathryn Mullen in Season 1 and Stephanie D'Abruzzo in Season 2) – He appeared in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Max is the Grinch's long suffering dog.
 * Fox in Socks and Mr. Knox (performed by Bruce Lanoil in Season 1 and Tim Lagasse in Season 2 and John Kennedy respectively) – They came from Fox in Socks. Fox is lively and Knox is moody and easily annoyed. The only episode where Fox appeared without Knox is "The Sounds All Around."
 * Yertle the Turtle (performed by Anthony Asbury) – Yertle is a turtle who tries to be king of anything, and usually uses other characters to his advantage.
 * Horton the Elephant (performed by John Kennedy) – He appeared in Horton Hears a Who! and Horton Hatches the Egg. He is a steadfast, humble, and friendly animal who often receives ridicule for believing in things that no one else does.
 * Morton the Elephant-Bird (performed by Kathryn Mullen in Season 1 and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph in Season 2) – He is Horton's half-bird son who appeared in Horton Hatches the Egg.
 * Jane Kangaroo (performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) – She appeared in Horton Hears a Who!. She is a very strict and snobbish marsupial who is portrayed in this series in a more sympathetic light than her book counterpart.
 * Junior Kangaroo (performed by Kathryn Mullen in Season 1 and Tim Lagasse in Season 2) – He appeared in Horton Hears a Who! and is the son of Jane Kangaroo. By season 2, he and Morton have become friends.
 * Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (performed by Anthony Asbury) – A moose who is very loving and sweet. In this show, Thidwick is also the uncle of Morton the Elephant-Bird as seen in "The Birthday Moose." Thidwick was later dropped from the show at the end of Season 1.
 * The Wickersham Brothers (performed by John Kennedy, Anthony Asbury, and Bruce Lanoil) – A family of apes who come from Horton Hears a Who! and are often employed by Jane Kangaroo and/or Yertle the Turtle.
 * Sarah Hall Small (performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) – A girl who is a resident of Seussville. She debuted during the second season.
 * Sam-I-Am (performed by John Kennedy) – He appeared in Green Eggs and Ham. He appeared in Season 2 where he would often lend a hand to the Cat in the Hat.
 * Sue Snue (performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) – A girl who is a resident of Seussville and appeared in season 1.

Minor

 * Mayor Stovepipe (performed by Kathryn Mullen) - The mayor of Seussville who appeared in season 1.
 * Matthew Katroom (performed by Anthony Asbury) – A boy who is a resident of Seussville and is good friends with Sarah Hall Small.
 * The Birthday Bird (performed by John Kennedy) He appeared from Happy Birthday to You! He Lives in Katroo and loves birthdays.
 * Sally Spingel-Spungel-Sporn (performed by Camille Bonora in "The Muckster" and Stephanie D'Abruzzo in "Max the Hero" and "Horton Has a Hit") – She is a news reporter who came from The Cat in the Hat Song Book.
 * King Derwin (performed by Anthony Asbury) – The King of the Kingdom of Didd who came from The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.
 * Princess Tizz (performed by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph) – The daughter of King Derwin.
 * Norval the Fish (performed by John Kennedy) – Norval would appear in different roles in the show. Around Season 2, Norval would work as an advisor to the King Derwin of the Kingdom of Didd.
 * Pam-I-Am (performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) – A female counterpart of Sam-I-Am and expert repair girl. The Cat in the Hat often uses the Pam Phone to call on her.
 * Milo (performed by John Kennedy) – A boy who resides in the Kingdom of Didd and serves as King Derwin's page.
 * The Yapper-Nap (performed by John Kennedy) – A monster likes to takes nap in Seussville.
 * Snark (performed by Fran Brill) – A pink bird that appears and lives in the Jungle of Nool. She is seen in Season 2. Snark is a recycled version of Shirley from The Muppet Show.
 * Sneels (performed by Kathryn Mullen, Heather Asch, Bruce Lanoil and Stephanie D'Abruzzo) – A race of green and pink furry creatures that live in the Jungle of Nool. They were previously used as background cave creatures in Fraggle Rock, but had different eyes here.
 * Mick Maputo Bird (performed by Anthony Asbury) – An Elvis Presley-themed bird that lives in the Jungle of Nool who is also seen in season 2. He sings "Out in the Jungle" in the episode "The Cat in the Hat's Indoor Picnic."
 * Lester McBird (performed by Joey Mazzarino) - Terrence McBird's twin brother who is very sensitive towards things he doesn't like and speaks in an upper English accent.

Home video releases
The series was never systematically issued to home video on either VHS or DVD. Current DVD releases contain three episodes per disc and are a mix of episodes from the first and second seasons.

In 2015, the whole series was released on DVD from Shock Entertainment in Australia.

Syndication
Nickelodeon aired the series from October 13, 1996 to December 28, 1998, with reruns airing until February 6, 2000.

Starz Kids & Family began carrying reruns of the series in 2018.

Later appearances

 * The puppet used for Annie DeLoo was later used for Billy in episode 17 of Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony and later used in Puppet Up! alongside the Flitzpizzle and another Whatnot from this show.
 * Each of the Whozits have appeared as different characters in Mopatop's Shop.
 * The puppet used for one of the Wickershams used for Nascount Greasemonkey from Episode 4154 of Sesame Street.
 * The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is currently airing reruns on Semillitas.