Netflix partners with Dr Seuss on animated preschool series, specials

Netflix has teamed up with Dr Seuss Enterprises on five animated preschool series and specials based on the latter’s iconic IP.

Dr Seuss’s book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish will be adapted into a 2D animated series of seven-minute episodes and two-minute music videos. The series will follow the adventures of two loveable fish who are different in every way, consistently finding themselves in comedic situations that allow them to introduce oppositional vocabulary to preschoolers.

Also being adapted into a series is Wacky Wednesday, which will take the form of a mixed-media animation comprising episodes of 11 minutes in length. Set in an otherwise perfectly normal town where things suddenly get wacky on Wednesdays, the series follows a 10-year-old ‘Wacky Expert’ who knows that humour inspires creativity and never fails to solve every wacky problem with an equally wacky solution.

The final series is based on Horton Hears a Who!, which follows a young Horton as he explores the Jungle of Nool with his two best friends, going on daring adventures, helping their community and learning how to stand up for what’s fair. The 3D animated series will comprise episodes of 11 minutes in length.

Meanwhile, The Sneetches is being adapted into a 45-minute 3D animated special. The film follows two groups of ‘Sneetches’ – the Star-Bellies and the Moon-Bellies – who, up until now, have lived separate lives. But when two young Sneetches form an unlikely friendship, they teach their communities that differences don’t need to be avoided, they can be celebrated.

Also being adapted into a 45-minute 3D animated special is Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, which follows a grumpy moose leader who calls upon sweet Thidwick to help him become the happiest moose in the pack. As the unlikely duo embark on a comical adventure, Thidwick discovers that the key to happiness is being kind to others.

Executive producer Dustin Ferrer will showrun the projects, with additional showrunners to be announced in the coming weeks.

The deal follows the launch on Netflix in 2019 of an animated series based on Dr Seuss’s book Green Eggs & Ham, which is due to premiere its second season next month.