'The Cat in the Hat' trailer: Bill Hader, Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang star in animated Dr. Seuss movie
"We're really kind of like doubling down on that commitment to original stories as well as really innovative takes on some of our beloved characters and worlds," Bill Damaschke, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation said ahead of a virtual presentation of The Cat in the Hat trailer to reporters earlier this month. "And for The Cat in the Hat to be our first film just seems like the perfect project, because it's actually all of those things at the same time."
"It's a completely original take on a character that I think a lot of people have a connection to, but as kind of handled and brought to life by our filmmakers and by the very singular actor, it just comes out bigger, better, more amazing and more whimsical."
In the film, set to be released Feb. 27, 2026, the Cat takes on his "toughest assignment" through the Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC (I.I.I.I.), as a pair of siblings are struggling with a move to a new town. But if the chaotic Cat can't prove himself successful in cheering up the siblings, he could lose his magical hat.
"The Cat in the Hat is a very beloved character, and he's classic and iconic, and everyone has a relationship to him, because he's really this sort of wish fulfillment character," co-director and writer Erica Rivinoja said. "We call him this agent of chaos, and it's just sort of what every kid loves and wants is to just have this day of craziness and chaos."
"And we really tried to bring in what people love about the original book, which is, a cat shows up, everybody goes crazy and has fun."
"And then we kind of use the book as more of a jumping point for us, in the sense that the book became a question for us, which is, is this Cat really just out there to have a good time for himself and making a mess? Is there more to it?" co-director and writer Alessandro Carloni added. "We looked at the book and realized at the end of the book, the kid seems to be a little more confident with himself. Could it be that the Cat is actually the greatest child [psychologist]?"
Speaking about taking on the role of voicing The Cat in the Hat, Hader (who played a version of the character on Saturday Night Live) described it as an experience that felt "free" while he was doing it.
"It's actually so exhausting afterwards, because you're essentially just screaming for four hours, and then you're saying the same lines over and over again, and they just start to lose meaning," he said.
Hader stressed how great the script was for the film, in addition to the film layering the comedy in a way where there are elements for kids and adults to enjoy.
"I think a lot of people can think that, oh it's for children, so you have to talk down and make it not sophisticated and smart, but we wanted to make it really, really fun for literally the whole family," Rivinoja said. "There's some sneaky stuff in there for adults. There's really funny physical humour for everyone, because everyone loves it. There's a lot of very classy fart jokes in it."
Back in 2003, Canadian Mike Myers took on the role of The Cat in in the hate for the live-action adaptation.
The Cat in the Hat will be released in theatres on Feb. 27, 2026
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