Since there are only 50 words in Dr. Seuss’ Classic Green Eggs and Ham, we wonder how is it possible to create a TV series based on the story of a character who “refuses to eat green-hued cuisine in a house; with a mouse; on a boat; with a goat, in a box; with a fox.”
The series‘ creator and showrunner Jared Stern makes it look quite effortless. Stern cites Chris Miller and Phil Lord who translated Cloudy with Chance of Meatballs and Legos into full-length films. “It helps to have talented people,” said Stern about adapting the book to a TV series. “They took something very simple and used the essence of it to make it magical. That was my intent [with Green Eggs and Ham] — it’s about trying new things and never judging a book by its cover.”
The series will follow inventor Guy and his friend Sam-I-Am as they embark on a voyage which “tests the limits of their friendship.” In the book, the character Sam-I-Am tries to feed his friend green-colored or spoiled food in different locations.
Helen Kalafatic serves as a producer of the series, while John Anderson serves as the storyboard artist. Actor Adam DeVine gives his voice to Sam I Am, one of the characters. Ellen DeGeneres will also serve as a producer. The series goes back to 2-D animation, which is not often seen in computer graphics, and each one of the characters is hand-drawn and computer animation is added.
DeVine, Stern, Kalafatic, and Anderson talked about how the Dr. Seuss books positively affected their childhood. In fact, Kalafatic and Stern learned to read from them and DeVine was raised with them. “When you read one of his books you fell asleep and dreamed in technicolor,” said DeVine. “They are timeless — more now than ever.”
Cincy Holland, VP of original content at Netflix, announced the project, channeling Dr. Seuss’ well-known meter:
“We think this will be a hit
Green Eggs and Ham is a perfect fit
for our growing slate of amazing stories
available exclusively in all Netflix territories.
You can stream it on a phone.
You can stream it on your own.
You can stream it on TV.
You can stream it globally.”
The 13-episode season is set to premiere on Netflix in the fall. Each animated episode will air for 30 minutes.