If you have ever been a child, like most of us have, it is likely that your parents, guardians or kidnappers read you the famous Dr. Seuss book “Green Eggs and Ham.” If you are not familiar, the book is basically just several pages of a man being accosted in different locations by an insistent goblin named Sam-I-Am who pleads with him to try the titular verdant entrée. It is simple, it is wacky, it is Dr. Seuss. Let us see what Netflix gave viewers.

In the animated series, the protagonists are essentially the same as in the book, with some upgrades for the sake of the format. Sam-I-Am (Adam DeVine, “Pitch Perfect”), is now a wildlife liberator and steals a zoo animal in order to set it free. His hapless victim, now named Guy-Am-I (Michael Douglas, “Fatal Attraction”), is a failed inventor with a cynical attitude. When their paths cross, they set off to free the animal, a rare Chickaraffe, before it can be caught by the evil Mr. Snerz (Eddie Izzard, “Ocean’s Twelve”).

There is also Michellee (Diane Keaton, “The Godfather”), a literal bean counter and overprotective mom and her fun-seeking daughter E.B. (Ilana Glazer, “Broad City”). Since this is set in a Dr. Seuss-inspired world, there are a lot of wacky touches that tend to come off as more charming than annoying, particularly in regards to the world design, which incorporates a lot of oddball geometry. There are some good jokes, particularly with Snerz and his rich cronies, who play up their diabolical nature enough to make it enjoyable. The animation is relatively dynamic and engaging, though it comes off as a bit too clean and artificial for something inspired by Dr. Seuss. 

However, the nice touches do not outweigh the flaws. For starters, the theme song is unbearable and the narrator adds nothing but forced rhymes and awkward jokes. The main concept of the show is the friendship that develops between Sam and Guy, but it becomes increasingly difficult not to get annoyed with Sam, who is extremely self-centered and often puts the two of them in danger. Guy’s reasonably angry or hesitant reactions to his psychotic companion are treated as grumpiness and Sam is rarely ever held accountable. The whole world is so mean-spirited, with everyone treating Guy like garbage and then wondering why he is so mad. The show has the emotional consistency of a feral cat. Each episode faces pretty much the same problem in different clothes, Sam does something stupid, Guy quits, they make up. Also, sometimes Michellee is there and she is mad at Guy, but then forgives him because she has no standards, but then gets mad at him again. All-in-all, the actual writing is pretty lazy and it becomes especially noticeable if you binge watch it. If audiences like Dr. Seuss’ style, they might get some enjoyment out of this, but overall it becomes pretty tiring to watch. 

Image from Netflix via YouTube