The Best of Dr. Seuss

Mike Myers is happily nowhere in sight in this collection of Seuss shorts that's mostly a delight. First, and least, is the disappointing "Daisy-Head Mayzie," based on Theodor Geisel's posthumous story about a young girl who confounds--and then captivates--the world after a daisy sprouts from the top of her head. What might have been an affecting story about individuality and tolerance is instead much ado about love being more important than fame (sporting bland animation that cannot hope to keep up with the [Chuck] Jones's). Better by far is "The Butter Battle Book," based on the cautionary Cold War-era tale about the escalating arms race between the Yooks, who prefer bread butter-side up, and the Zooks, who insist on butter-side down, with animation supervised by Ralph Bakshi. This disc concludes with a special treat, "Horton Hatches the Egg!", the 1942 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, a felicitous pairing of Seussian whimsy and Warner Bros. looniness (although parents should perhaps be alerted about the sight gag in which a Peter Lorre-esque fish shoots himself). Overall, I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, I recommend this about 90 percent. [Note: In Search of Dr. Seuss is also newly available on DVD at the same price.] Aud: P. (D. Liebenson)