• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
  
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
• Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (48kHz/24-bit), Spanish  (Latino) Dolby Digital 1.0
  
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish (Latino)
  
• Subtitles Color: White
• Region: ABC (Region-Free)
• Rating: Not Rated
• Run Time: 25 Mins.
  
• Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
  
• Blu-ray Release Date: August 7, 2012
• List Price: $24.98

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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Film

[Rating:4.5/5]

As far as adaptations of the Dr. Seuss stories go, there are still no true competitors for these animated editions for television. The Cat in the Hat (1971) may arguably be one of the strongest amongst them. Clocking in at a whopping 25-minutes, it’s just long enough to bear a lifetime of repeat viewings and short enough to not get into no man’s land territory of the big screen features that pad Seuss’ writing with an awful lot of non-related nonsense.

In The Cat in the Hat, Dick and Sally are left at home alone while their mother goes out shopping and they receive a surprise visit from a strange cat in a tall red and white striped hat. Captivated by this mischievous cat, the children help him search their house for his lost “moss-covered, three-handled, family gredunza” and boy, do they make a mess of things. Meanwhile, their cantankerous pet fish Mr. Krinkelbein objects to the cat in the hat being ” about while [their] mother is out” at all! When the cat’s helpmates Thing One and Thing Two make their appearance, things really get messy. How will Dick and Sally ever get their house cleaned up before their mom gets back home?

The Cat in the Hat features a wonderful voice performance by Allan Sherman as The Cat in the Hat and memorable music by Dean Elliott.

Video Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

These Warner animated releases of Dr. Seuss, Peanuts titles, etc. have been getting progressively better, to the point where this is the best looking Dr. Seuss I have seen yet on Blu-ray. While there is a definite layer of grain that remains giving a textured, film-like appearance, it never detracts from the presentation. In fact, the colors look superb while line art is deep, crisp, and three-dimensional.

Audio Quality

[Rating:3.5/5]

Audio is the original monaural soundtrack offered in a DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (48kHz/24-bit) configuration. There isn’t much that can be done with or said about this other than the dialogue, vocals, and music are relatively clean and there’s little crackle.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3/5]

Additional Dr. Seuss tales are offered in standard definition as well as a fun sing-a-long mode for the kids.

The supplements:

• The Cat in the Hat Sing-A-Long Mode – This sing-a-long mode is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, with additional artwork filling up the spaces at the sides, similar to DisneyView mode on some Disney animated titles.
• Daisy-Head Mayzie (1.33:1; SD; Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; 00:23:45)
• The Hoober-Bloob Highway (1.33:1; SD; Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; 00:24:34)

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

This version of The Cat in the Hat is miles above the live action adaptation starring Mike Myers and is fitting for all members of the family, big and small, short and tall. Come one, come all I say, for The Cat in the Hat on Blu-ray.

Additional Screen Captures

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Purchase Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat on Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe

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[amazon-product]B0081Z42L4[/amazon-product]

Purchase Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat on Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

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