Review: Green Eggs & Ham on Netflix

Should you watch when it rains? Could your kids watch it while you're on a train? I'll stop now, I don't want you to complain. KIDDING! I'm done now, for real. I promise. I'm just so excited about Netflix's new show, Green Eggs & Ham!

If you know me at all, you know I love all things Seuss! We took a trip to the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, my baby shower was Seuss themed and I happily celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday each year taking in as many commemorative events as I can. That's why I was thrilled (and quite frankly, surprised) when Netflix dropped a trailer for their new show, Green Eggs & Ham.

About Green Eggs & Ham

Fun fact alert! The original works of Green Eggs & Ham uses only 50 different words. Now the book has been turned into 13 episodes! Dubbed a modern day Planes, Trains & Automobiles, the show features Sam (I Am) and Guy on an adventure to save a Chickeraffe. After a chance meeting and a briefcase switch, the unlikely duo teams up with a mother/daughter pair while avoiding a bounty hunter and a team of bad guys. Don't worry, Sam gobbles up green eggs and ham along the way.

Netflix's Green Eggs & Ham Has a Star-Studded Cast

The voice cast for Green Eggs & Ham is STACKED! Adam Devine, Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton, Keegan-Michael Kay and Tracy Morgan all lend their voices to the new Seuss show.

Green Eggs & Ham Review

Adam Devine is an absolute joy throughout the series. Keegan-Michael Kay was a great pick for narrator (but he rhymes more than me so if that's a problem, probably best to avoid.) The whole show isn't in rhyme, which I'll admit would have been too much.

Each episode is aptly titled with one word; "Rain", "Box", "Mouse", "Fox" - do you see where they're going with this? All throughout the literature Sam I Am asks, the then unnamed character if he could eat green eggs and ham in a box, with a fox, on a train, in the rain, with a mouse, and in a house.

The animation of the series is definitely a great play off of the classic Seussian illustration and the storyline created here is very clever. Netflix's Green Eggs and Ham gives depth to two characters we knew nothing about. Throughout the 13 episodes they go through ups and downs and they challenge each other to be better people in very different ways. They learn from each other and they grown together. 

Is Green Eggs & Ham Toddler-Friendly?

Netflix labeled this show as Y-7 and I can understand why. This show isn't violent by any means but there are some dark moments. The news around the missing Chickaraffe depict it as a monster (though we quickly learn that isn't true), there is a "bad guys" duo following them around, though it is your classic buddy-comedy duo of a grumpy, big guy and smaller, not as inept partner. That being said, they do bring with them some intense moments.

There are also some questionable creatures encountered by our main characters in the woods that had me looking to my toddler to see if it was too much for her. She actually wasn't showing very much interest in the show as it were so I don't even think she noticed that they were being chased by some scary looking Seussian animals. 

I had this on for my toddler (okay, for me, but she was in the room) and while she was interested in what Sam was doing it didn't hold her attention for long periods of time.

Her response to Green Eggs and Ham is in stark contrast to the other Seuss based show, The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That. This title features a song in each adventure and has two stories inside of the 30 minute block with a break in between.

Each episode of Green Eggs & Ham is about 28 minutes long and are a bit hard to follow for toddlers. The storyline carries through from each episode, even ending with cliff hangers! Which made it fun for me but it also made it even more advanced for my toddler. Shows geared towards toddler usually feature a a problem and a solution all inside of one stand alone episode and nothing ever carries over.

There are jokes and movie references written into the show that will go over the heads of toddlers, and possibly even some older kids but parents will definitely get a chuckle out of them. All in all I'd say This isn't for toddlers per say, but if you have an older child who likes Seuss I don't see why your toddler couldn't be in the room while it was on the TV. Chances are they'll perk up when Sam is speaking because Adam Devine just has the kind of captivating voice but other than that they'll most likely focus on another activity. 



Green Eggs & Ham is streaming NOW on Netflix.