What is something that this blog hasn't really done in something? Yes, Dr. Seuss! Guess it's time to rectify that. (That and the title of the post gives it away) This time we look at special based off the good doctor's 1984 book of the same name ,"The Butter Battle Book". I'll get to what the book and the special are about soon, but keep the Cold War in the back of your mind there. In 1989, TNT (Turner Network TV) aired this special. November 13th ,1989, also something else important coming up, also later. This special was animated by Ralph Bakshi (yes that one) the narrator is Charles Durning. This was the last special with any Seuss media made while he was still alive. (He died in 1991)
Let's get started. The special starts with showing a long wide wall that seems be separating something. A child and his grandfather are standing near the wall and the grandfather explains that they are the Yooks (pronounced Yukes ) and on the other side are the Zooks (pronounced Zukes, hey that rhymes with oh) he goes on to explain the Zooks like to eat their bread with the butter side down. (What? ) Then he explains that they Yooks eat their bread with the butter side up. Infact, they go to bread buttering school. (What?) Grandfather explains that Zooks must be watched in fact, his job is watch for Zooks. Then he explains everything was going fine until a Zook named Van Itch (don't question it) disarmed Grandfather. (which seemed to have ruined his whole day)
Keep on the butter side of life./ Copyright Turner
Editor's note: I am just gonna call him Grandfather , even though it's past events in the story being told by him in present since he doesn't have any name.
So the grandfather goes to the chief Yookaroo who explains that the switch wasn't modern compared to their sling shots. So, a newer more modern weapon must be made and used. That being a "triple sling-jigger" (three slingshots put together on some poll thing). Grandfather goes back to the wall and threatens the Zooks and machine scares them away. But, the Zooks have found a new more modern weapon called, Jigger Rock Snatchem, that will catch the rocks from the sling thing and send them back.
This is why Dumbo quit/ Copyright Turner
You know the Yooks need a even even more modern weapon. This was called the "Kick-A-Poo Kid" which looks like a gun that is propped on a dog named Daniel who is a spaniel. (that was unnecessary) That works until guess what? It doesn't. The Zooks created an" Eight-Nozzled Elephant-Toted Boom Blitz" it shoots cherry stone pits. Time for a even even even more more modern weapon. They made Grandfather a general and a new weapon that's a vechile called the "Utterly Sputter". It drops blue goo. Oh yeah, the Zooks have another weapon to stymie the Yooks weapon.
Mutually assured destruction /Copyright Turner
They need something even more more even modern as a weapon. So there's a song never heard a song for a weapon being created before. This weapon is a bomb called "Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo",which looks like a small red ball with electrical noises coming from it. The chief tells Grandfather to drop the bomb on the Zooks while the Yooks hide underground. The Zooks also are going underground, I wonder why. It leads up to Grandfather with the grandson as he is about to drop the bomb. Van Itch has the same bomb too. The grandchild wonders who will drop the bomb first and the special zooms over the Grandfather and Van Itch standing on the wall , he says "we'll see" then it cuts to saying "The End (maybe)" or a cliff hanger.
more after the jump
Remember when I said keep the Cold War in the back of your mind as I wrote about the special? This special and the book is about that. It's more about the arms race that happened during the Cold War period where America and the U.S.S.R. were trying to gather as much weaponry including nukes as away to keep the other at bay. (Mutually Assured Destruction) The story also strikes up Cold War's most known symbol a giant wall between two sides like the Berlin Wall.
Since this work is more political than most of his books , there was something also brought up as a criticism that the story (again the book and special are the same story) had a moral equivalency where it could be seen as saying that conflict was something simple like where butter goes on the bread. America's main position was to see Communism as a threat to liberty that Communism had to be contained and , in their hopes- ended. Which, sure could be seen from that. Another way it could be looked at is that both sides saw that their bread buttering was the right way and the other was the wrong way much like those in the USSR and United States saw their ways as right and the other's as wrong. The wall was like the Berlin wall where it was mean to keep people in and other's out. There's always a different way to read this special but I think the more anti war message is at least clear.
The animation is great, the quality you expect from Ralph Bakshi and Ted Turner's company splashed some money for this to look good. Plus it captures the styling of those in the books very well. It is adapted straight from the book , though I will say most of the specials with Seuss' direct involvement do more follow the books compared to the later movies or something.
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