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Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? is an animated television special written by Dr. Seuss, directed by Gerard Baldwin, produced by DePatie-Freleng in 1979 and first aired on ABC on May 2, 1980. The songs are by Joe Raposo.

Plot[]

Pontoffel Pock, recently at Gil Gickler's a local dill pickle factory, accidentally confuses the "Pullem" and "Pushem" controls for a device that places pickles into jars. He pulls the "Pushem" until it breaks. It sprung a leak which caused a chain reaction, wrecking the factory. Gickler denied Pontoffle Pock of work and sends him away.

Pontoffel returns alone to his dilapidated house. He plays basketball casually but by himself. The ball crashes through the floor and later that night, he openly said he wishes that he could "get away from it all". He is immediately visited by McGillicuddy, a representative of the "Amalgamated Do-Gooding Fairies" who says: "Pontoffel Pock, your wish has been heard, and your wish has been granted." He presents his business card as somewhat a travel agent. McGillicuddy and his fairy associates, Humboldt and Higby give Pock a magical flying piano that takes him anywhere in the world (including a "Quick Trip Around The House" demonstration.). To do so, Pontoffel Pock plays these six very simple notes (C, C, C, D, D#, E) and then behind a door chooses a destination by pressing one of many differently-colored buttons, which fly him to his destination. And also insisting that Pock will never want to come back, but if he needs to, he can "Twitch A Homing Pigeon Switch".

The first place he goes to is Groogen, located in the Swiss Alps, and filled with flying Hot-Air "Balloogens". The Groogenites learn of his arrival and immediately welcome him. They throw a welcoming festival that includes a Yodeling song. The love, the singing, and the cheering goes to his head, and he does not watch where he is flying. He accidentally scares a cow which spills the bucket of milk on top of the lady's head. And then he accidentally knocks over a man skating on a frozen volcano. The man shakes his fist at Pock. Later, Pock gains control of the piano and intentionally uses it to fly recklessly until the crowd is forced to run and hide. A large drum and a Floogle-Horn are ruined and the man who crashed through the drum is in tears because of his "Genuine Frugal Stroogle Floogle Bugle" is damaged. The petitioners approach The Magistrate, who clarifies "in self defense" (in the same style as Switzerland). He is shot down by their Goomy Gun which fires multi-colored paint, that turns his piano yellow and causes its motor to lose power.

He plummets downward, but at the last second Pontoffel "twitches the Homing Pigeon Switch" that sends him and the piano home. McGillicuddy is angered that his piano has been damaged and confiscates the piano. After being given a chance to turn things around, McGillacuddy chooses a destination for him.

Pock ends up to Casbahmopolis, located in The Middle East. The citizens there are much more reclusive but Pock managed to be introduced to Neepha Pheepha, a famous eyeball dancer. They both fall in love with each other. Pock quickly follows her to the palace and sneaks in. Neepha Pheepha sings a song about her dislike of her job dancing for the Sultan. The Sultan takes no notice at the insults toward him because he is completely subdued by The Magical Substances From His Vapor Device. Pock whispers to her, and the next song indicates that she is begging for Pock to rescue her. She also notes that she does not find him handsome nor tall (to the annoyance of Pock) but yearns for an opportunity to change her life.

The Sultan is still completely subdued and does not notice Pock until Pock joins in the song. Pock and Pheepha run away but are chased by guards. They surround them seated at the piano. The piano unusually is equipped with a stool, not bench, and Neepha has no choice but to sit on top of the piano. His over-confidence happens again when he yells out the Homing Pigeon Switch. A guard sees it and breaks it in half. Pock then says that they can go someplace else. Unfortunately, Neepha falls off and lands into the arms of one of the guards.

Having lost his sense of direction, Pontoffel starts pushing random buttons, sending him to several different places. At the same time, Neepha is by herself and McGillacuddy is unable to track the piano because the Homing Pigeon Switch is damaged. He asks the two fairies along with Hoikendorf to help find their piano. Eventually, they have no choice but to call others for help and they search the world. They are unable to pinpoint him because he jumps from one dangerous location to the next. In The North Pole, he is confronted by a polar bear. In The Congo, he is chased by gorillas and elephants. In Spain, he is chased by bulls. He even tries to fly the piano by himself and ends up caught in a thunderstorm, setting the piano on fire. He ends up in Japan and finally realizes he needs to push "Violet" to return to Neepha Pheepha. The Good Fairy In Chief has had enough searching and he himself says he is going to "get away from it all". Before he activates his piano, they finally spot him heading for Neepha Pheepha.

He crash-lands into the tower where she is being kept prisoner the piano may be wrecked. So Neefa Feefa voices a wish to "get away from it all", just as Pontoffel had earlier, which comes to the attention of the fairies who appear to grant her wish. The fairies tow them and the piano back to Pock's home and sing the "There's No Place Like Home" song, both because the piano can not do those things any more.

Gickler hears about Pock's rescue of Neepha Pheepha, and believes that "for proving his worth" he deserves another try to set things right. Neepha Pheepha is also hired at the factory and successfully operate the machines and are happy together. Outside, a rainbow appears as the Fairies fly the worn-out piano away.

Trivia[]

  • A Vapor Device is being used by the Sultan.
  • The moral of the story explores the topic "Is The Grass Greener On The Other Side?".
  • This is the second (third if you count Halloween is Grinch Night) DFE Dr. Seuss special not to have been based on any of Geisel's books, and rather the only one at the time to consist of all original content (with no characters and elements borrowed from any of the books). However, the special somewhat later inspired the book "Oh, The Places You'll Go!", given by some of the special's elements being carried into Pages 10-11, Pages 12-13, Pages 24-25 (with the characters doing similar musical activities) and Pages 30-31 of that book.
  • A real world location of Casbahmopolis is Kazakhstan, a place that is commonly spoofed in fiction.
  • Likewise, Groogen is located in the famous Swiss Alps. Groogen has a similar culture and dialect as both Switzerland and Germany as the German language was adopted in Switzerland.
  • On the "Sing Along" VHS release, the lyrics are erroneously plastered in front of the screen blocking the view.
  • The title on some VHS reprints, such as the Sing Along Classics version, was changed to "Pontoffel Pock And His Magic Piano".
  • The original opening credits contains edited footage that appears later in the special.
    • One edit shows the fairies flying but then skips ahead as they are closer in view.
    • The second edit is where Pock knocks over the ice skater. Pock and the piano are removed from this scene and as a result the skater appears to fall by himself. The animation of him shaking his fist at Pock was treated as rather waving at the audience.
      • However, the "Sing Along" VHS edition edits the opening sequence by using clips from the special itself, due to the title being changed to "Pontoffel Pock & His Magic Piano" and also to change the font to the one used for the sing-along text. This results in a goof showing Pock knocking over the skater as he did in the special.
  • This special and Halloween is Grinch Night use a similar production design to The Hoober-Bloob Highway, but with the characters' signature shiny eye pupils reinstated and less background painting detail much like the The Cat In The Hat, The Lorax and Dr. Seuss on the Loose.
  • This special is in between two specials involving the Grinch.
  • This special re-used its 2003 Universal remaster when included on the 2012 Deluxe Edition re-release of The Lorax and the Hats Off to Dr. Seuss: Collector's Edition 2013 DVD, as none of the Dr. Seuss specials that were not a book adaption were not remastered in high definition at the time. The special was finally remastered in high definition when included on digital retailer releases of Dr. Seuss on the Loose (which was titled Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham and Other Treats in this case) in 2021.
    • However, as said, the high-definition remaster appears only on the streaming releases but not on current copies the DVD/Blu-Ray versions of said special for reasons unknown.
  • The special is still in marketing circulation, despite having negative depictions of people and cultures (which six of Dr. Seuss’ books were banned for since March 2021) and also alternating color/light flashes (which notoriously causes epileptic seizures for younger viewers).

Production Notes[]

  • This was one of the final cartoons done at DePatie-Freleng as the studio would be sold to Marvel Comics and become Marvel Productions in 1981.
  • Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? is the final Dr. Seuss story production where David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng are credited together on the same time as executive producer. DePatie returns as sole Executive Producer with Freleng and Giesel paired together at the same time (for the first time) as just producer.
  • This is the last time Friz Freleng is credited as Executive Producer. Freleng retired shortly after his work on The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat.
  • This is the second and last Dr. Seuss special to be directed by The Smurfs' cartoon director Gerard Baldwin, as Bill Perez took over as director for The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat in 1982.
  • Some animated cels that were sold for donation had the characters oddly overlayed on the wrong backgrounds.

Goofs[]

A fence with large gate is seen at the beginning and spans only the front of the factory and not the cliff. When Pock gets thrown out of the factory, the fence has gone entirely.

Voices[]

  • Ken Lundie - Higby
  • Joe Raposo - Mr. Gil Gickler, Senior Fairy, Groogen Musician, Groogen Dairywoman
  • Wayne Morton - Pontoffel Pock, Narrator
  • Hal Smith - McGillicuddy, Good Fairy In Chief, Groogen Cop, Groogen Citizen
  • Sue Allen - Neepha Pheepha
  • Don Messick - Humboldt

Songs[]

Home Media[]

The special was first released on VHS by Playhouse Video in 1985, in a double feature along with the next special. In 1989, Playhouse Video reprinted it individually, under the title Pontoffel Pock. In 1992, it was released by Random House Home Video on VHS under the title Pontoffel Pock & His Magic Piano. It was also released on VHS by CBS Video through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in 1996 under the same title as the 1992 VHS. In 2003, the special was released as a bonus special on the VHS and DVD release of The Lorax from Universal Studios Home Entertainment under its original title (though the packaging and menu still referred to it as Pontoffel Pock & His Magic Piano) and again on said special's 2012 Deluxe Edition reprint by Warner Home Video (along with The Butter Battle Book). On February 19, 2013, the special was re-released on DVD by Warner Home Video under Hats Off to Dr. Seuss: Collector's Edition, along with The Hoober-Bloob Highway, The Butter Battle Book, and Daisy-Head Mayzie which were also included as bonus specials. In 2017, the special was released again as a bonus cartoon (once again along with The Butter Battle Book) on streaming releases of Dr. Seuss on the Loose (which was titled Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham and Other Treats in this case), this time remastered in high definition.

Gallery[]

Video[]

See also[]

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