The Cat in the Hat (2003)

Two bored children have their lives turned upside down when a talking cat comes to visit them.

Director:

Bo Welch

Writers:

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

Stars:

Mike Myers, Spencer Breslin, Dakota Fanning

7 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 C. Ryan	...	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

Storyline

Conrad and Sally Walden (Spencer Breslin and Dakota Fanning) are home alone with their pet fish. It is raining outside, and there is nothing to do. Until The Cat in the Hat ('Mike Myers') walks in the front door. He introduces them to their imagination, and at first it's all fun and games, until things get out of hand, and The Cat must go, go, go, before their mother gets back, but their pompous neighbor has bigger plans for them.

---

Plot Keywords:

cat | talking cat | dr seuss | party | fancy party | 

---

Taglines:

The Cat is Back!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild crude humor and some double-entendres

Did You Know?

Trivia

The downtown area outdoor shots were filmed along a Pomona, California street, where several antique and gift shops are located. The community decided not to redecorate after filming ended, so the surreal paint scheme, and some of the signage, can still be seen as it appears in the movie.

---

Goofs

When the real cat piñata is thrown to Conrad and Sally, it is sealed. However, after the Cat is hit with bats, the piñata is open, and after the Cat is hit in the crotch with a baseball bat by one kid, Conrad throws candy so the kids won't hit the Cat anymore.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: There are gajillions of stories of mischief and fun, but to keep things simple, let's start with just one. About a mom and two kids and a house and a hat - that, oddly enough, was worn by a cat. But soon enough we will get to all that.

---

Crazy Credits

The Universal Pictures, DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment logos are animated in Dr. Seuss's artwork. Furthermore, the Universal world morphs into the star ball, the Cat is fishing in the moon of the DreamWorks logo, and the Fish can be seen darting into the water in the Imagine logo.

---

Alternate Versions

On some prints, the DreamWorks logo is played before the Universal logo meaning that the Universal music (which is different in this film) plays during the DreamWorks logo and vise versa. Also the opening credits are different depending on which logo is played first (meaning that if the Universal logo is played first then it will say Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Imagine Entertainment Present) and the word Dr. Seuss' is added above the title.

---

Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic Real Thoughts: The Smurfs (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Welcome
Written by R. Parkes
Performed by Ultima
Courtesy of Ultima USA Inc.

User Reviews

Holds the distinct honor of being one of two movies in the theater I've ever walked out on.

Don't get me wrong, I assumed this movie would be stupid, I honestly did, I gave it an incredibly low standard to meet. The only reason I even saw it was because there were a bunch of girls going (different story for a different time). As I began watching I noticed something, this film was terrible. Now there are two types of terrible, there's Freddy vs. Jason terrible, where you and your friends sit back and laugh and joke about how terrible it is, and then there is a movie like this. The Cat in The Hat failed to create even a momentary interest in me. As I watched the first bit of it not only was I bored senseless, but I felt as though I had in some way been violated by the horrendousness of said movie. Mike Myers is usually brilliant, I love the majority of his work, but something in this movie didn't click. One of the things that the director/producers/writers/whatevers changed was that they refused to use any of the colors of the original book (red, black, white) on any character but the Cat. Coincidentally or not, they also refused to capture any of the original (and i hate to use this word, but it fits) zaniness of the original. The book was like an Ice Cream Sunday, colorful and delicious, and the movie was about as bland and hard to swallow as sawdust.

Avoid this like a leprous prostitute.

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$109,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$38,329,160, 23 November 2003

Gross USA:

$101,149,285

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$133,960,541

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1