The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat

The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat is an American animated musical television film and crossover starring Dr. Seuss' famous character, The Cat in the Hat being antagonized by The Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. It premiered on May 20, 1982 on ABC and won two Emmys.

Plot
On a morning so beautiful, even the Grinch wakes up in a good mood. But his cheerfulness is soon revoked when his reflection in the mirror prompts him to repeat the "Grinch's Oath" and prove himself a Grinch. Meanwhile, the Cat in the Hat goes on a picnic. Paths crossed between the Grinch and the Cat escalate into a fierce car chase.

The Cat returns to the safety of his house, but the Grinch follows him there and messes with his voice using a device he has invented, the "Vacusound Sweeper", in the process sabotaging other sounds within a 50-mile radius. The Grinch then proceeds to his "darkhouse", a lighthouse that spreads darkness, to mess with the Cat's sight.

The Cat becomes upset with the Grinch's hijinks and has a psychiatric session with him in a thought bubble to find out what makes him so mean-spirited. Predictably, he gets nowhere with the imaginary Grinch, so he then decides to go over and have a talk with him, but the Grinch makes it so dark he can't see where he's going and he crashes his car when he passes a "Dead End" sign.

The Cat attempts to hide from the Grinch in a nearby restaurant, but the Grinch's machine continues to mess with reality, making the restaurant and everything with it literally come crazily to life, and his hijinks result in confusion all over the restaurant. The Cat is now furious with the Grinch and ponders to himself how he can change the Grinch, eventually racing through a door and sending himself hurtling into the Grinch's Dimension. He soon figures it out and rallies everybody in the restaurant to follow him to the Grinch's house.

There, he leads everyone in a song to remind the Grinch of all the love he received from his mother and implore him to change his ways ("Deep down in your brain, must you give her more pain? / Please soften your heart, make Mom happy again"). The Grinch cries when he hears this, disassembles his machines, and continues his change of heart into the next morning. When his reflection tries to convert him back to his old self, though, Max drains out his voice with the Vacusound Sweeper.

Voice cast

 * Mason Adams as The Cat in the Hat
 * Bob Holt as The Grinch
 * Frank Welker as Max / Waiter / Additional voices
 * Joe Eich as Chef

Musical numbers

 * 1) "A Beelzeberry Day" - The Cat
 * 2) "Relax-ification" - The Cat
 * 3) "Master of Everyone's Ears" - The Grinch
 * 4) "Most Horrible Things" - The Grinch
 * 5) "Psychiatry Song" - The Cat
 * 6) "Remember Your Mother" - The Cat, Chef, Musicians and Waiters

Awards
1982 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.

Production notes
Both the Grinch and the Cat in the Hat were recast with different voice actors than the ones used in previous specials, all of whom had died. Bob Holt voiced the Grinch (Hans Conreid, who voiced the Grinch in Halloween Is Grinch Night, died a few months before the special aired; Boris Karloff, the original voice of the Grinch, had died in 1969), while Mason Adams took over voicing the Cat in the Hat from the late Allan Sherman, who died in 1973. Since then, Friz Freleng was absent from the production in The Pink Panther in: Pink at First Sight due to his departing from DFE to return to Warner Bros. Animation, this was the only other Friz Freleng cartoon to be produced by Marvel and one of the last DFE cartoons to be involved with Freleng.

Home media
The special was first released on VHS in the mid-80s via CBS/Fox Video's Playhouse Video division, and reissued later in the decade. This release used its working title The Cat in the Hat Gets Grinched. The special retained its normal name on VHS re-releases (including Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with CBS Video and Fox Kids Video). It was also re-released on VHS in 2000 by Paramount Home Entertainment. It was later released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The DVD cuts out half of the car chase sequence, ending the chase after the Grinch drives into a mud pit.

The special was released again on DVD by Warner Home Video on October 18, 2011 as part of the Dr. Seuss's Holidays on the Loose! DVD set, along with How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and Halloween Is Grinch Night.