While not credited as a designer, the designs of the show are so very Suessian, and are reminicent of his Midnight Paintings more than anything else. Stunningly rendered in 3-dimensions as the charcters crawl all over surreal Escher landscapes, some covered in shag carpeting. This is the most dream-like I have ever seen a movie set, especially with how everything stretches far above their heads and staircases are just slightly too tall to comfortably climb. Most of the set was built from fabric flats, which give it that matte finish.
The script went through many revisions. After an early test-screening, 11 of the 24 songs written for the movie were cut. Many of these songs still survive in archive recordings, and this pre-cut script can be found floating around online. Unsurprisingly, the version of the movie before all these cuts was much more cohesive, plot-wise and thematically. Some of my favortie cut songs include "Money" "Grindstone" and "I Will Not Get Involved", as well as the last verse of the Dungeon Song. While some audio persists, and multiple scripts archived, the scrapped footage is lost.
Implied before, the movie is strongly anti-authoritarian and shows a world where everyone goes along with the fascist dictator - who believes the piano to be the purest instument and throws other musicians in the dungeon - until the kid comes along to start a revolution. My favorite and most sorely missed part of the script are the characters of the mother and the plumber (they have names). Both are complacent adults, each for their own reasons.
The mother Mrs. Collins obeys structure and order above anything else. Her cut song "Many Questions" is so good.
"Sure I know you want to ask me, why do children suffer such pain? Well when it comes to such things, it isn't easy to explain. It's no good to try, it's no good to lie, many questions have no answers, I just can't tell you why."
The plumber Zabladowski sees through the sham, but as a blue-collar worker can't afford to take risks that could cost him his job. "I get involved, I lose my job" is a mantra for him, established early when Mrs. Collins asks him to comment on Bart's dicipline. Later it's used to refuse to stand up against the evil Dr. T. Zabladowski has a full song dedicated to the line: "I Will Not Get Involved".
"This earth has 20-trillion kinds of problems to be solved. It's nothing new, so let it stew, I will not get involved. Let the old pot stew, let the old pot stew, I will not get involved."
"A plumber is a plumber! A plumber is NOT a children's aid society! A plumber is NOT a helping hand association! A plumber is NOT a publicbenefaction-assistance-movement, incorporated! A plumber is a plumber!"
