First of all, this is a great value in childrens’ entertainment. My kids love these cartoons, having watched them each several times. I personally had not watched these on TV, and was not even aware that they had been created, so it was fun for me to watch them too.

However, I’ve got two issues over which I deducted a star.

First, the menus are a mess. The main menu is based on the cover, and the four features on the cover are easy to find, but we were clicking in and out of menus for a long time trying to make sure we’d watched everything on this DVD. There was no need to nest some of the cartoons within submenus of other cartoons that they had nothing to do with. Very confusing.

Second, I was shocked at the twisted adaptation of the Cat in the Hat. In all the other cases where I’d read the corresponding book, the stories and characters remained constant while a lot of filler was added to take up the time necessary to have a cartoon broadcast in a 30 minute time slot.

However, the Cat in the Hat seemed a very different character from the one in the book. In the book, the cat shows up, invites himself in, has a little mischevious fun trashing the house and causing the fish some distress, but then the kids decide that enough is enough and they capture Thing One and Thing Two. The cat cleans up before Mother gets home.

The cartoon begins just like the book. The two kids are all alone and bored in their house during a rain storm. The cat invites himself in, is immediately confronted by the fish, has some mischevious fun at his expense, but is soon voted out of the house by the united front of the fish and the kids. The cat reluctantly but gracefully submits to the will of the majority. But not for long.

Immediately the cat returns to the house fuming with rage because his “moss covered three handled family credunza” has been stolen. Since the Cat “knows” that the thief is in the house he invites himself back in and sings a mournful tune of woe and loss that ends with a direct accusation against the fish, and this convinces the kids that the fish is guilty of theft. (Ironic because the fish is the one of the three in the house who could never have stolen it due to his physical limitations).

The cat proceeds to sing another tune while drawing with a marker all over the house in an effort to conduct a thorough search. The kids don’t object anymore because now the are on the side of the cat, having been brainwashed through music to think that their fish is guilty of theft.

The fish never admits guilt, but does continue to protest the cat being in the house. The cat then launches into another show tune. This one a fit of self-loathing set to cleverly rhyming lyrics.

The fish is not impressed and still wants the cat out of the house. So, the cat decides that the fish needs a “small tranquilizer”, which turns out to be another show tune, but the reference to drug use is as obvious as it is out-of-place.

Now that the moral minority fish has been “tranquilized” to sleep, the cat unleashes Thing One and Thing Two for the purpose of helping the cat find his missing “credunza”, but immediatly the two Things begin torturing the fish as retribution for opposing the cat. (Unecessary since the fish was asleep)

For several minutes, the cat sings that the Things are finding his “credunza” while the Things are doing nothing of the sort, but continuing to torture the “reactionary” (a classic slur against those who oppose leftist ideologies) fish, having cut the phone lines to the house so the fish can’t get help from the FBI. According to the Things, the fish “doesn’t like flying kites in the house”, but niether the Things nor the cat have even done that yet.

The kids rescue the fish from the Things; the fish gets to kick the cat and vent a bit, and then we’re subjected to an interminable and dumb show tune about how the word “cat” is said in many different languages.

Now Mother is sighted, and the Things bolt into their box (they are not captured by the children as in the book); the cat cleans up the house, and Mother comes in the house saying she saw a cat going down the street in a “moss covered three handled family Credunza”. So the cat lied in the first place about it being stolen!

So, in summary, here is the lesson taught by the Cat in the Hat cartoon version.

First, if the opinion of the majority is against you, lie to gain victim status.

Second, once you’re a victim and have the moral authority that comes with victimhood, accuse your moral opposition of a crime without any evidence, and even a crime that they could never have possibly committed. Once presumed guilty, you can terrorize them with impunity. No trial necessary; just get the children on your side.

Indulge in self-loathing to gain pity.

Brainwash children against your opposition through music so they reach conclusions without thinking.

Try to “tranquilize” your opposition and lull them to sleep.

Bring in enforcers and sing about the justice they’re seeking while they’re torturing your opposition.

The bottom line is that in the book the children are protective of the interests of their family and eventually put a stop to the chaos before Mom gets home. In this cartoon the children are converted to the side of chaos, leaving only a grumpy “reactionary louse” fish to oppose the chaos, which for some strange reason ends itself before Mom gets home. The children have changed sides, and perhaps this is intentionally or not, quite an accurate commentary on politics since the late 1960′s.

Classics, good stuff, lots of stuff on there but the only good ones are:

Sneetches

Lorax (excellent!)

Green Eggs and Ham

and maybe

Cat in the Hat

Lots of other kinda lousy ones on there, but for the price, getting those is great. I like it because you can give kid 20 minutes of fun, then stop, instead of brain-freezing them for a full 2 hours with a Disney (depends on what kind of parent you are, doesn’t it?).

I love the Lorax….I watched when I was a kid, now my son is watching it.