If you're wondering how the creative minds behind Green Eggs & Ham took the minimal content of Dr. Seuss' classic children's story and adapted it into 13 episodes (and hopefully more), my best advice is to just dive into the new Netflix show. You'll recognize the characters, the colors, even the brush strokes, but this story is an original one, a roadtrip adventure of sorts that takes the conflicting personalities of Sam I Am and Guy Am I on a journey of discovery. That's the heart of the piece, but the overall series comes with many and varied things to enjoy, including some surprisingly dramatic twists and turns.
Part Planes, Trains & Automobiles and part pop-culture fan-fic, Green Eggs & Ham is a love letter to all things Seussian while also fleshing out the very thin story from the original source work. Seuss' 1960 bestseller weighed in at 65 brightly colored pages with sparse text that used only 50 common and nonsensical words; Green Eggs & Ham needed to put some meat on the bones of that skeletal framework--while also including a running gag related to the very silly title--and I'm happy to say it does so with style.
The story follows the two main characters on their own individual paths through life who inevitably collide--Guy, a curmudgeonly inventor in search of his big break, and Sam, an eternal optimist who's just looking for a friend. If you're familiar with the Thanksgiving comedy classic starring Steve Martin and John Candy, then you have an idea of where this one is going. But it's a wild ride nonetheless. The duo will meet friends and allies along the way while also running afoul of imposing Seussian antagonists who will stop at nothing to, shall we say, relieve them of their burdens on behalf of a corporate malefactor. Yep, there's a crime/mystery element to the story, too! And its many layers begin to reveal themselves as the story rolls on to its thrilling conclusion in the Season 1 finale. To find out what may happen in a possible Season 2, listen to our interview with Green Eggs & Ham creator Jared Stern here:
Green Eggs & Ham is obviously a super silly, fun ride by virtue of its source material and younger audience aim, but there's a lot for viewers of all ages to enjoy. The characters reveal surprising depth and have real, dramatic relationships that evolve over the 13 episodes. The visuals alone are stunning. This is the kind of animation you usually only see in big-budget feature films, and it's a nice callback to traditional 2D hand-drawn animation of old. Green Eggs & Ham looks like it has the best of both worlds with cutting-edge computer animation and a personal touch thanks to the artists at work on every frame. Add to that a phenomenal voice cast and bubbly score that pipes up throughout the episodes and you've got a solid Seuss story that takes the beloved book lore to a whole new level.
Featuring the voices of Adam Devine, Michael Douglas, Ilana Glazer, Diane Keaton, Keegan-Michael Key, Eddie Izzard, Jeffrey Wright, Jillian Bell, John Turturro, Tracy Morgan and Daveed Diggs, Green Eggs & Ham arrives on Netflix November 8th. Be sure to add Green Eggs & Ham to your Netflix watch-list if it’s not there already!
Check out the trailer below:
Heroes aren’t born, they’re poached, scrambled, and fried… Green Eggs and Ham, serving November 8, only on Netflix.
The story you know is just the start. This new adventure is off the charts. Hit the road with a whole new crew. There’s Sam, Guy, and a Chickeraffe too.
But how’d we turn this 50-word, Seussian spiel into a 13-episode meal? Our recipe starts “Here” and definitely goes “There.” We added a “Box” full of “Fox”, a “Boat” load of “Goat,” and a “Mouse,” on the “House.” Try it in the “Rain” on a “Train” or go far in your “Car” to find a spot to park and stream it in the “Dark.” Because, in case you were unaware, this show’s miles ahead of “Anywhere!”
And here’s the official synopsis:
The story of Green Eggs and Ham is like a postmodern Planes, Trains and Automobiles through the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss. Sam rescues the rare Chickeraffe from the Glurfsburg Zoo, hides it in a briefcase, and attempts to make his way to Meepville where he can charter a cold air balloon to take the Chickeraffe to his island home.
Guy just flopped his last big chance at being a world famous inventor for the industrial Snerz Co. He packs up his invention in a briefcase and resigns to give up on his dreams and become a paint watcher.
A chance meeting at a diner with Sam, and a switch up with the briefcases results in these two unlikely souls getting mixed up on an adventure that takes them on a journey of self discovery.
Our two mismatched heroes cross paths with overprotective Michellee, whose daughter, EB, desperately wants a pet, and falls madly in love with the Chickeraffe… despite her mother’s fears that it will eat off her face (it won’t). Michellee’s walled up heart also connects with the heart-hardened Guy. And a laborious love story begins.
Our fakakta foursome are also unknowingly pursued by a bounty hunter goat, two bad guys, and a villain who’s out to get the Chickeraffee as his ultimate trophy.