The Cat in the Hat (2003)

Director:

Bo Welch

Writers (WGA):

Dr. Seuss (book)
Alec Berg (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Family

Tagline:

Don't mess with the hat.

Plot:

Sally and Conrad are two bored kids whose life is turned up-side-down when a talking cat comes to visit them.

Plot Keywords:

Box Office Flop | Single Mother | Critically Bashed | Imagination | Stylized

Awards:

3 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Mike Myers	...	The Cat
Alec Baldwin	...	Quinn
Kelly Preston	...	Mom
Dakota Fanning	...	Sally
Spencer Breslin	...	Conrad
Amy Hill	...	Mrs. Kwan
Sean Hayes	...	Mr. Humberfloob / Voice of the Fish
Danielle Chuchran	...	Thing One (as Danielle Ryan Chuchran)
Taylor Rice	...	Thing One
Brittany Oaks	...	Thing Two
Talia-Lynn Prairie	...	Thing Two (as Talia Prairie)
Dan Castellaneta	...	Thing One / Thing Two (voice)
Victor Brandt	...	Narrator (voice)
Daran Norris	...	Announcer
Bugsy	...	Nevins

Also Known As:

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild crude humor and some double-entendres.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-3 | Iceland:L | Ireland:PG | New Zealand:PG | France:U | Switzerland:6 (canton of Zurich) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Japan:U | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Sweden:Btl | Taiwan:GP | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #39519) | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The Cat costume is made of Angora and human hair and was fitted with a cooling system. To keep Myers cool during the outdoor shoots, a portable air conditioner was available that connected a hose to the suit between shots. The tail and ears were battery operated.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Quinn walks in and the children stop jumping on the couch, we can see the pillow over the "elephant compartment" sunken in. The pillow is quickly fixed before the next shot.

Quotes:

The Fish: Stop this right now!
Conrad: Who said that?
The Fish: Me! Remember, the fish? Came home in a baggy, loved me for two weeks, and then *nothing*!
Sally: The fish is talking.
The Cat: Well, sure, he can talk. But is he saying anything? No, not really.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Drew Barrymore/Lily Allen (#32.12)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Big Mon

Waste of time!

The only good thing about this unfunny dreck is that I didn't have to pay for it. I saw it for free at college. And if a college student can't find humor in something that was free, it's hopeless.

Stale acting and poor jokes cannot be masked by an excellent, yet bewildering set design (that goes out of its way to market Volkswagon Beetles). I don't know what Michaels Myers was doing in this movie, but I have never seen anything more depressing. This was nothing more than a blatant effort to capitalize on the previous success of the Grinch (which has its opponents, but I enjoyed it very much). It's difficult not to sit through this failure and wonder what better projects were passed over to fund it.

You want a funny Seuss adaptation? Go with the Grinch.