The new Universal Studios film “The Cat in the Hat” is intended as a children’s movie. But comedian Mike Myers turns Dr. Seuss’ fun loving and troublesome cat into a neurotic character with a potty mouth, and the adult jokes that director Bo Welch tries to sneak in are not appropriate for kids. The character and plot changes from the book left me wondering whether Dr. Seuss would have let his book be made into this movie.
“The Cat in the Hat” marks the second attempt to adapt a classic Seuss book to the big screen. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” starring Jim Carey, came out three years ago. Both movies create an exciting and believable interpretation of Seuss’ imaginary landscapes. But Mike Myers’ comic brilliance does not fit the character of the Cat, which calls for more physical humor than the sarcastic character creations Myers is best known for.
In the movie, Conrad (Spenser Breslin) and Sally (Dakota Fanning) are stuck at home while their mother (Kelly Preston) is at work. Although the children are old enough be home alone, their mom is forced to get a babysitter when Conrad is caught surfing down the stairs on a cookie sheet while using bags of popcorn as pads.
One day when the babysitter is napping, the Cat in the Hat suddenly appears. This mischievous fast-talking cat sells the kids the idea that they can have fun and that he’ll protect them from any trouble, which turns out to be not entirely true. The only way for things to end happily is for Conrad and Sally to learn the importance of teamwork and to prove to their mother that her fianc? Lawrence (Alec Baldwin) is no good. Oh yeah, they also have to leave the house spotless, and with a troublesome cat around this will not be easy.
It’s a shame that the child actors are only part of the supporting cast, because they both give quite good performances. Breslin plays the role of a misunderstood child who in today’s society would most likely be prescribed Ritalin to control his outbursts. Dakota Fanning is equally good — her smile and charm work well in the part of an overachieving third grader. Unfortunately, Myers’ overwhelmingly poor take on the Cat detracts from the two young actors’ performance.
Even Myers’ choice of the walk for the Cat does not work. In the book, the Cat seemed to glide across the page, filled with joy because of a new discovery or the trouble he was about to unleash. But Myers remembers the books differently, and he acts more like a rabid bunny rabbit who is on his way to push some cigars on kids at the playground. Myers puts too much of the devil into the Cat.
The movie does have some good scenes. “Thing One” and “Thing Two,” two creatures the Cat in the Hat releases on the kids, will make almost anyone laugh. In their first scene they destroy half the children’s house, and the kids chase them down with nets. The live action rendition of this part of the book is inspirational — well, at least it was to two of the five year olds at the Nickelodeon Cinema this past Sunday. Just after Thing One and Thing Two jumped and bounced around the screen these two kids decided do the same in the aisle next to me. But the two Things’ roles in the movie are even more minor than Breslin’s and Fanning’s roles, and not nearly enough to balance out Myers’ poor performance.
Fans of Dr. Seuss will leave this movie wondering what happened to the happy go lucky world that Dr. Seuss created, and why was it replaced with a Dr. Evil view of the Cat and his world. After an hour and 22 minutes, “The Cat in the Hat” turns out to be only more proof that “the book is better than the movie.”
Michael McAllister can be contacted at [email protected]