The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat is a fictional cat created by Dr. Seuss. He appears in two of Seuss's rhymed children's books.

Adaptations

Television

A 30-minute animated musical adaptation of The Cat in the Hat was produced for television in 1971.

Related Topics:
Animated - Musical - Television - 1971

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One of the producers was Friz Freleng and co-written by Chuck Jones, who also produced the animated adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.

Related Topics:
Friz Freleng - Chuck Jones - How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

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Allan Sherman provided the voice of the Cat. It was produced at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.

Related Topics:
Allan Sherman - DePatie-Freleng Enterprises

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The special loosely follows the shell of the book's plot, but throws in some new material to fill out the show's 26-minute time slot. After the Cat makes his entrance and fools around a bit, the kids request that he leave. He does so, but then comes back in, claiming that his "moss-covered three-handled family gredunza" has been stolen, and he accuses the Fish, who is given the name Karlos K. Krinklebine in the special. The Cat sings a ballad about the loss of his treasured keepsake and then tries to describe it to the kids, even though they don't understand what he's talking about. The Cat then leads the kids on a search through the house, using his method of "Calculatus Eliminatus" (better known as the process of elimination), which involves writing marks on every place they've already checked. This makes a mess of everything, and Mr. Krinklebine demands that the Cat leave, but it only prompts the Cat to sing another song, this one about feeling negative. Then he proceeds to put the cynical fish to sleep by singing a lullaby. Once that's done, he brings out Thing One and Thing Two, singing to the kids that "they can find anything under the sun", all the while the Things play sports using Mr. Krinklebine's fishbowl as the ball/puck. (According to them, every house they visit has a pessimist fish.) Mr. Krinklebine then accuses the Cat of not being a real Cat ("Whoever heard of a six-foot cat?!"), and his hat of not being a real hat. This cues the wackiest song in the special, where the Cat sings out his name in practically every other language. The song becomes so catchy that everyone, even Krinklebine, joins in. Just as they finish up the song, though, they hear the mother coming home. The Cat then proceeds to clean up the house, just like in the book. Just as he leaves, the mother returns, telling the kids that she just saw a Cat in a Hat "going down the street with a moss-covered three-handled family gredunza."

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The special is currently available on DVD.

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Although the original book's sequel did not receive an animated adaptation, the Cat went on to appear in several more Dr. Seuss specials. In 1973, there came Dr. Seuss on the Loose, where Allan Sherman reprised his role as the Cat. Here, the Cat appeared in bridging sequences where he introduced animated adaptations of three other Seuss stories - The Sneetches, The Zax, and Green Eggs and Ham. Then, in 1982, there came The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, where the Cat, now voiced by Mason Adams, meets the title character of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and sets out to reform his new green adversary. Later, in 1995, the Cat appeared again, this time with the voice of Henry Gibson, to narrate Daisy-Head Mayzie, a special based on one of Dr. Seuss' lost works. (It was later adaptated into a book.) Most recently, in 1996, he starred on the Muppet-like kids' show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, where he was voiced and puppeteered by Bruce Lanoil.

Related Topics:
1973 - Dr. Seuss on the Loose - The Sneetches - Green Eggs and Ham - 1982 - The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat - Mason Adams - How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - 1995 - Henry Gibson - Daisy-Head Mayzie - 1996 - The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss - Bruce Lanoil

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Film

Long after Dr. Seuss's death, his widow Audrey Geisel authorized a very different filmed version, released in late 2003. This was a live-action movie, produced by Brian Grazer, directed by Bo Welch, and starred Mike Myers as the title role of the Cat in the Hat and Dakota Fanning as Sally. The film filled out its 82 minutes by adding new plot and characters quite different from those of the original story, and the script strongly emphasized sexual and scatological humor.

Related Topics:
2003 - Brian Grazer - Bo Welch - Mike Myers - Dakota Fanning

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This filmed Cat in the Hat was flayed by critics, receiving an average grade of D+ from critics in the interpretation of Yahoo's film website (see link below). A characteristic evaluation was that of Ty Burr, writing in the Boston Globe: "The big-screen Cat represents everything corrupt, bloated, and wrong with mainstream Hollywood movies." A number of critics also said that the MPAA should have given the film a stricter rating than "PG".

Related Topics:
Boston Globe - MPAA

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The film was also disliked by ordinary viewers. Web data suggest that the most harshly negative opinions were held by individuals who knew Seuss's book and felt that the film was a desecration. However, the film did receive some A+ ratings, notably from fans of scatological humor and of Mike Myers's previous work. Fans say it should be watched with a lighthearted attitude and without expecting it to be the same as the books.

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Box office receipts for the film topped all competition for the first two weekends, then plummeted. U.S. box office receipts ultimately failed to match production costs, although it appears likely that the film will turn a profit once foreign receipts and home video sales are factored in.

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Articles

There is a website which contains several parodies of Dr. Seuss's works, especially The Cat in the Hat. The link is The Dr. Seuss Parody Page.

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