The Cat in the Hat (TV special) After MGM stopped animation production and closed down its animation department for good in 1970, production was moved to DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (marking the company's first Dr. Seuss television special), which was run by Jones' fellow Warner Bros. Cartoons alumnus Friz Freleng and WB's last original production executive David DePatie. Although Chuck Jones and his staff were retained by DePatie–Freleng in the production of the special, Jones left the studio and did not work on any other Seuss projects after "The Cat in the Hat". Other staff members that have worked with Jones such as Dean Elliott and Maurice Noble eventually
The Cat in the Hat words he found that rhymed. The words he found were "cat" and "hat". The book was met with immediate critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised it as an exciting alternative to traditional primers. Three years after its debut, the book had already sold over a million copies, and in 2001 "Publishers Weekly" listed the book at number nine on its list of best-selling children's books of all time. The book's success led to the creation of Beginner Books, a publishing house centered on producing similar books for young children learning to read. In 1983, Geisel said, "It is the book