The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

    While I cannot say the The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T was the strangest movie I have ever seen, it was definitely up there on the list, along with The Yellow Submarine and 2001: A Space Odyssey. But, seeing as this was a Dr. Seuss movie, with Dr. Seuss himself playing a large role in the making of it, that is only to be expected. If anyone can be called the King of Imagination, it has to be this man. If it could be dreamed up, he wrote it down and provided pictures to help transport his readers into the world inside his head. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T was a typical Dr. Seuss story, but illustrated on-screen in live action, bringing this young boy’s bizarre dream, and the Seuss’s imagination, to life.

   
    Dr. Seuss stories have always reminded me a bit of my own dreams, and, like dreams, are believable in a fantastic way when in the medium we are used to it being in. What made this movie so strange was that it was a story brought to life. It was Dr. Seuss being lived. I feel like it would be the same strange feeling if I saw one of my own dreams or stories from my imagination occurring in front of my wakeful eyes. Utterly strange. But at the same time, could be simply wonderful.

    Imagination always has that quality of wonder. It is what we encourage and nurture in children, and is the base for every gripping story ever told, written, drawn, recorded, or filmed. Stories are all about getting what is in your head in a place for others to experience as you imagine it. Imagination stories often take this principle and add to it fantastic qualities and events that make the imagination of the audience soar. The video, A Shadow of Blue, does just that. It takes a situation that is believable and yet a fantastic event happens, and a shadow story full of wonder and adventure begins. I loved how they used shadows in order to portray the fantastic elements and the aspect of imagination.

    It also showed how nightmares are part of imagination. Not all dreams are as beautiful as Wonka’s Chocolate Room. Some are are frightening as the imagination can come up with, like in Pan’s Labyrinth. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T contained the fears of Bart Collins, and they were terrifying for him. He was chased, thrown in a cage, and had his mother being taken away from him by the man he despised most. Yet, in a dreamlike fashion, was able to take control of the situation. His imagination was what made him victorious, with his atomic noise-nullifier. Oh, man, that part made me laugh so hard!