Rating: 
Summary: Mad Genius Shines Through
Review: The undeniable brilliance of Dr. Seuss' wordsmithing is most evident in this darkly comic fantasy. The songs are cute and clever, with "The Dressing Song" standing out as the high-camp highlight of the show; a hoot of a salute to cross-dressing. This movie was way ahead of its time, and the sets and costumes are nothing short of magnificent given the year in which it was produced. This new DVD edition has its little flaws, but they are only reproduced from whatever original was used, and overall it's a lovely digital transfer. I don't believe this was meant to be a children's movie at all, though Dr. T is a rather benign villain. The good doctor (Seuss) tries to add a bit of social relevance with a poke at the evils of atomic power, but all in all there are more serious psychological and homoerotic overtones that should worry parents of 4-8 year olds. I'll be watching this film over and over again to pick up the myriad avenues of fantasy that are employed. For adults, this is a great flick and definitely earns a spot on my "top ten" list.
Rating:
Summary: Don't worry, your kids won't get it.
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite movie musicals; the spartan sets capture the look-and-feel of Dr. Seuss's drawing style to a T (ahem), though much more darkly than his classic children's books, and at times most decidedly eroticly and often as not, homoeroticly. Dr. T as played by Hans Conried is one of the most deliciously evil queer villains ever to appear on the big screen.The dungeon sequence is just *fabulous*, complete with mincing pink-pawed piano players, and femininely shaped cello-creatures being repeatedly speared by the bow-wielders. The dressing scene near the end, where Dr. T. sings "come on and dress me dress me dress me in my do-me-do duds" to his cadre of dancing male dressers, is a regulation scream. Perhaps Dr. Seuss nee Theodor Geisel knew he was writing a song about dressing up in women's clothing, perhaps he just like the way "snood" etc. sounded and had no idea what any of the clothing items in the lyrics actually were. I will grant the critics' complaints that there's little meat to the amazingly oedipal story of a boy and his mother, kidnapped by his loathed piano teacher and locked up in a cage and under a mysterious mind-control spell, and agree with the point that the plot suffers from brutal chainsaw style editing. I enjoy it as a garbled transliteration of one of Seuss's nightmares. The music, the lyrics, the visuals, are just so damned flamboyantly *wonderful* that you will either love this move in spite of it's flaws, or be completely baffled by what the heck anyone sees in it.
Rating:
Summary: BIZARRE!!!!!!!
Review: This is one of the strangest and most entertaining movies you and you're kids will ever watch. I recommend this film to music teachers for classroom viewing - perfect for grades K-6. There is a scene with the most unique "band" you've ever seen. A must see!
Rating:
Summary: Very Seussian
Review: This movie is an excellent movie if you enjoy Dr. Seuss. It does much better than either "The Grinch" or "The Cat in the Hat" in being Seuss-like, and has a pretty good story. Some parts are highly illogical, but what do you expect? I loved it. Oh, and I'm 13, not 12.
Rating:
Summary: YOU MUST SEE THIS
Review: This was my favorite movie as a little kid... and it still is. Its musical peices are fun for children and devilishly clever for adults. The insanity of its plot puts a smile on my face and makes me laugh even though I've seen it so many times. This is a timless classic that is good for people of all ages and is sure to make you laugh. This is just one of those films that you have to see.
Rating:
Summary: Beware the two versions!
Review: This was one of my favorite films as a boy and its imagination and camp, crazy vision still enchants as an adult! Hans Conreid turns in the most wonderfully demented, camp villain performance since Ernest Thesiger's prim and fussy Dr. Pretorius in "Bride of Frankenstein"! "Do Me Do Duds" is a scream! The song of the Terwiliker Institute, "Hurray For Us!" is a riot! And, yes, the song, "You Have No Right," is touching and poignant. The one sure to give little ones nightmares will most likely be what I call "The Elevator Song." I don't know who the S&M Dungeon Master/Elevator Operator is, but BOY can he belt out a scary little ditty. One word of warning to those who care about the quality of the print of your films, the video reviewed here is an excellent restored print, apparently taken from the original negative. The Technicolors are vibrant and alive, BUT there's a clamshell packaged version floating around out there you should avoid at all costs. The print used for this version is washed out and lifeless and even turning the color control up on your TV won't compensate for a poor quality print. Apparently, when Columbia/Tristar labeled the film for their Family Collection, they figured most families must be color blind and wouldn't notice. So remember, if it says clamshell packaging, avoid it! The ONLY reason to buy the clamshell version would be if you needed the closed-caption feature, but what a rip off! The deaf are being cheated out of a great visual experience with this truly horrible print.
| 
