by Gill Pringle in LA
If The Cat in the Hat isn’t enough crazy fun all on their own, then next year’s hugely anticipated animated feature of Dr Seuss’ celebrated book introduces audiences to Pig in a Wig, Yack with a Pack, Ox in a Box, Owl in a Towel, Goat in a Coat, Bug in a Mug, Mouse in a Blouse, Giraffe with a Graph . . . You get the idea.
“But the worst one is Rat with a Bat,” cautions co-writer/director Alessandro Carloni. “And when you complain, ‘Cat in a Hat makes such a mess’, then you don’t want to get Rat with a Bat. Especially with children . . .” Carloni says when we join him and fellow director/writer Erica Rivinoja at the film’s trailer launch.
Expanding Seuss’ universe, we learn that The Cat in the Hat actually has a job. “We follow the cat at the end of the book, and we discover that entertaining children and sad kids on rainy days is his job, there’s a whole corporation with basically an institution to create this,” says Carloni.
Carloni and Rivinoja’s exciting new version also introduces multiple “Things”.
While Bill Hader might be hilarious as the voice of the Cat, he faces some stiff competition from the adorably naughty Things, who have now seemingly multiplied.
“My 10-year-old and her friends saw the film and they are still obsessed with the Things; they’re still doing them,” says Hader forlornly.
“The Things are not well behaved,” agrees Rivinoja. “But I will say that they are consistent with the Things that you meet in the book, but there are many, many more that come up.
“So, the Cat in the Hat is chaos, and the Things are extra chaos on top of that. But they’re so cute too. So, you get all that chaos from them, but you’re still like: ‘Oh, they’re cute,’” she adds.
If The Cat has always seemed like a bit of a loner, then now he has a best friend in “Sherry from HR”, portrayed by Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson.
“She’s hilarious. And just getting to see Bill and Quinta in the room together was amazing – these two comedy icons,” says Rivinoja.
The voice cast also features Bowen Yang, Xochitl Gomez and Matt Berry whom Hader describes as being an idol of his.
Having honed his voice talents on iconic show SNL, Hader has since put them to good use on many animated projects including Inside Out, If, Lightyear, The Angry Birds movies, Toy Story 4, Ralph Breaks the Internet and many more.
A long-time Seuss fan, Hader even portrayed the Cat in the Hat on an SNL sketch. “Like everybody, I remember reading that book as a kid and then reading it to my kids and then, I’ve worked with these guys before on different projects, and I’ve known him forever,” he says of Carloni and Rivinoja whose collective projects include Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, South Park, The Croods and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.
“So, the combination of these two and the chance to play such an iconic character was . . . so yeah, I did chase it,” he adds.
If voicing animated characters might seem like an easy gig, then Hader sets us straight; “People think, like, ‘Oh, you roll out of bed, and you get to go voice a cartoon – and it’s really easy.’ But 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. And then watch me have a full on existential crisis. ‘All right, we’re all just gonna leave, just kind of leave me in the booth.’ They turn the lights off, and I just sit there,” he riffs.
“But I do have to very consciously pace myself, because you get so tired just screaming,” he says.
If you’re a fan of Dr. Seuss, this new Cat in the Hat is definitely one you will want on your radar. Developed by Warner Bros. through their animation division, it’s part of a big push to create new animated adaptations of Seuss classics. The Grinch did so well that the studios realised that there’s real appetite for these colorful, faithful adaptations.
Also, this new Cat in the Hat is not going to be like the much-maligned 2003 Mike Myers live-action version.
2026’s The Cat in the Hat is pitched as much more authentic to the books, with that bright, whimsical, off-kilter Dr. Seuss aesthetic, and humour that is subversive but still truly kid-friendly.
Visually, it has that stylised Seuss look, with hand-drawn-inspired lines and bright, limited colour palettes that make it feel like the book pages came to life – not the hyper-realistic CG you see everywhere else; instead, going for something timeless that adults can appreciate for its artistry while kids just soak up the silliness.
Part of a larger Seuss cinematic universe – Dr. Seuss Enterprises signed a deal to do multiple animated movies based on the books – The Cat in the Hat will serve as a kind of flagship.
There is also talk of spin-offs and even a Thing One and Thing Two movie, plus adaptations of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! and Green Eggs and Ham (already a successful Netflix series).
This is just the beginning of a whole Seuss revival.
The Cat in the Hat is in cinemas March 2026
