I'll answer that myself.For the money of course. But otherwise there's no reason to turn Suess' books into feature length films. They just don't work in that format. I think the reason the 30 minute animated versions work so well is because they're short, well written,voice acted, and the animation is pretty much the same as the books. In other words, they are pretty faithful in spirit to the beloved source material, unlike these big budget crapfests.

Recognizable "star" actors voicing or starring in thesse movies degrades the material in my mind by virtue of how these guys make no noticable attempt to not sound like themselves. And lets be honest here. No kid cares who the voice talent is anyway. In fact it's distracting to know. I've seen the previews which show Jim Carrey and Steve Carell side by side their CGI characters as the clip shows them reading their lines. Wow, how imagniative. Thanks movie studio. Can you also show me the outtakes from the negotiating sessions to get the high caliber talent. Because what I want to be thinking every minute of the film is: Hey that's Jim Carrey and Steve Carell's voice. How cool. And what were the producers thinking getting those guys in the same movie again. Didn't they see the abysmal and laughless Bruce Almighty. Did they want to prove that it wasn't a fluke, and that they could screw up a perfectly decent Dr. Suess story too. Nice job too all.

Rampart said-Did you hear about the Tripp Isenhour vs. Hawk business. What a schmuck.

I'm surprised that hasn't been turned into a sport. Think about it. You get the hunting enthusiasts and the golf fans. I'm shocked corporate america hasn't jumped on this idea. I'm sure the ratings would be terrific.

It was usurped by detached irony.

Cuddly Toy" was a truly cheesy song.

I completely disagree, but I get where most people think that. It sounds cheesy because of the arrangement, but listen to those lyrics by Harry Nilsson. Only The Monkees could get away with singing these lyrics.

You're not the only cuddly toy

That was ever enjoyed by any boy;

You're not the only choo-choo train

That was left out in the rain

The day after Santa came.

Youre not the only cherry delight that was left out in the night

And gave up without a fight.

I respect your opinion and research Brad. I think the interesting thing about both Madonna and The Monkees is that they both have a lot more fans than people know but because of their rep's a lot of people are afraid to admit it.

Mister Marker- a few things of note about your letter. It was Mickey Dolenz, not Mike Nesmith who Frank Zappa invited to be in TMOI. Don Kirshner didn't assmeble The Monkees. They were cast by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider. Kirshner assembled the writers and musicians that played on The Monkees first two albums.

You say Peter Tork remains "seriously weird."How did you form this opinin? Have you met him? I have, and he seemed pretty normal to me. He seems to also be very comfortable with his legacy as a Monkee as he regularly performs from their catalogue along with originals at the show I saw.

You infer Davey Jones was a stage musical hack. Shortly before he joined The Monkees he was touring the world as the original Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver. Don't see how that makes him a hack, but o.k.

Their "reunion" tour in '85 was a national joke- Really, I believe it was the top grossing tour that year garnering mostly positive reviews. I guess a lot of people weren't in on the joke.

You mention there was a "VERY popular t-shirt" around that time that I can tell you I have never seen nor heard about until you mentioned it in your letter. However since your so credible I'll take your word for it that it exists and that it was no doubt huge.

"The one thing you can say about The Monkees is that they are all still very much alive. And on a simply human level that's something to celebrate." Finally something we can agree about.

Monkees trivia- Davey Jones performed on The Ed Sullivan Show the same night as the Beatles did their famous first time.