The Cat in The Hat Infuses Merriment, Mayhem and Mindfulness

As a kid, Dr. Seuss books were my favorite things to read.  The covers and the pages were simple, colorful and full of imagination that stimulated my young little mind. So, when the news hit a new feature would be coming our way with Bill Hader in the lead role, my brain simply exploded.

However, this wouldn’t be the first time this story was  brought to life.  In 1971, Allan Sherman voiced a musical television special.  A critically panned feature film hit theaters in 2003 starring Mike Myers and on November 6th, directors Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja are bringing us a new invigorated version leaving joy in your heart and a smile on your face.

In 2026, The Cat in the Hat (Hader) is employed as an agent for the Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, where he’s still spreading joy in the most irreverent, chaotic manner ever!  After accumulating one too many mishaps on the “Mess-o-Meter, ” his boss (Esposito) allows one more chance to get it right with his toughest assignment to date – to cheer up Gabby and Sebastian. The adorable siblings are struggling with their move to a new town and being super salty about adjusting to new surroundings.  Unfortunately, if The Cat in the Hat doesn’t deliver this time, it is clear this effort will be his last.

From the first frame to the last, I was transported back to a little girl, as the characters I witnessed so many times on a book page were coming to life in ways I could’ve never imagined tappnig into themes for a whole new digital, smart phone generation to enjoy.

One of the first things I peeped is that the kids and their Mom (America Ferrera) are Latino and no mention of their ethnicity is uttered- which I absolutely adore.  Dr. Seuss tales have always been about imagination, so the family could be left up to the mind to be interpreted as any race, color or creed and I love that message.  Also, as someone who moved constantly as a military brat, I felt the pain of having to make new friends at a new school repeatedly.  But, watching this on screen in animated form brought me to tears recalling how awkward those years were for me as a little girl.

Not to mention, the ideology of our parents having had fully formed lives before the kids was a welcoming one prompting me to interrogate my own mother about her life prior to my arrival.  Was she a dancer?   Was she shy or a flirt?  Does she ever miss simply being called by her name instead of Mommy?  Yet, most important of all, I loved the idea of jumping into a portal of the past in order to correct the present and affect the future.

Kudos to the animation and music teams, whose creative prowess keeps the energy of Dr. Seuss alive within this film.  A special shout out to choreographer Christopher Scott (“Wicked” and “Wicked for Good”) for that frenetically amusing slap scene with the Things! It some of the best animated moves I’ve seen in a film – so much fun!

 

Bill Hader in the title role provides the right balance of gravitas and vulnerability making this iteration work spectacularly well.  Quinta Brunson, as his supportive bestie Sherrie from HR, is super sweet and you feel her pain of trying to protect her friend by any means necessary.  Everybody needs a Sherrie on their side.

Xochitl Gomez is just a vibrant and flexible voicing Gabby as she is in real life bringing amazingly energetic fun in spades to any space she inhabits. And, in a twist of events, Giancarlo Esposito as Mr. Hoogeboom is ridiculously hilarious showing his unstoppable range and huge departure from his on camera roles this year in “Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother,” “By Any Means” and “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.”

Overall, The Cat in the Hat will bring some much needed joy and escapism, while providing an opportunity of days gone by when families could be entertained with a simple story laden with mayhem and mischief from the world’s most famous cat, a goldfish and a thing or two.