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The Cat In The Hat
Dr. Seuss had a wonderful imagination. He was one of the world's best childrens' authors and no doubt an inspiration to fellow childrens' author Roald Dahl. Making films based on his work therefore makes sense. There is clearly a built-in audience for it given how much his stories are adored by children and families worldwide. Unfortunately his stories have proven hard to adapt to the big screen and The Cat In The Hat is a good example of that.
The film follows the story of two kids - Sally (Dakota Fanning) and Conrad (Spencer Breslin) - who are being babysitted by Mrs Kwan (Amy Hill) after their mother Joan Walden (Kelly Presten) is called back to her role in the office at Hank Humberfloob of Humberfloob Real Estate. When Mrs Kwan falls alseep, they find the over-sized Cat (Mike Myers) of the title in their house who along with his Things (Danielle Chuchran, Taylor Rice, Brittany Oaks, Talia-Lynn Prairie, Dan Castellana) teach the children how to have fun.
The production of this film accurately displays the fun of a Dr. Seuss title. In fact, it's the production design that's the best thing about this movie. J. André Chaintreuil's set design perfectly evokes the zaniness that many of Dr. Seuss's stories possess. If the movie was as good as the production design, then it would feel more like a faithful adaptation. It's clear that more effort has been put towards how the film looks rather than the style and substance of the film itself.
The main problem with the movie itself is that it feels too geared towards kids. Now Dr. Seuss's books were for children but a good kids movie does not pander towards them but instead aims at a broader family audience. This should be a film that all ages can enjoy, whether you are two or one hundred and two. Instead it is only likely to entertain very young children. And I mean very young. This film feels like it was aimed at idiots; it frequently talks down to kids and doesn't credit them with the intelligence that most children possess.
At the same time, certain dialogue doesn't feel as though it is entirely appropriate for kids. Alec Berg's screenplay features lines such as 'Son of a...' and 'Dirty hoe' alongside others like 'How much is that canine American in the window' and 'Why am I sneezing?',
'That'd be me. BOO!'. The former don't feel as though they were written for another film and a drunk Alec Berg accidentally wrote it in the Cat In The Hat screenplay. Maybe there's a screenplay for an R-rated comedy somewhere that featured a 'knock knock' joke? It wouldn't surprise me because these jokes feel awkward in a kids movie alongside patronising kiddy stuff about 'How much is that dog in the window?'.
The movie is generally well cast however. Mike Myers is a good choice for the Cat. He is suitably eccentric for a Dr. Seuss adaptation and gives a performance that reminds me a lot of Johnny Depp's more recent characters. If this movie were made now, it would probably be Johnny Depp playing the Cat. The kids aren't annoying either; Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin are good casting for their characters. They feel like they come from a Dr. Seuss tale, especially Dakota Fanning. Dakota Fanning is a star and I am surprised she hasn't become a more well-known name. Perhaps she would have done had this been a better movie?
The strangest thing about this film is despite its $109 million budget it feels more like a TV Movie than a big budget Hollywood release. The production design is brilliant as previously mentioned but some of the sets look cheap and the mise en scene including Dr Seuss's car look unconvincing. Nothing in this world feels true or believable; it's hard to suspend your belief when everything looks as though it will fall apart with a big gust of wind. Maybe that's the look they wanted to achieve but it doesn't work for me and takes me somewhat out of the film.
Overall, The Cat In The Hat shows just how hard Dr Seuss's work has proven to be adapted to the big screen. The production design is authentic but despite its $109m budget the production values look terrible. The film is aimed too much towards kids and not enough to families in general; any parents watching this with their kids will find themselves bored waiting for it to end. As for Alec Berg's screenplay, it has a weird mix of kiddy jokes and jokes that don't feel entirely appropriate for children. It's almost like he was writing an R-rated comedy at the same time and forgot which one he was writing when he inserted lines like 'Dirty hoe'. The Cat In The Hat would likely have fared better as a Saturday morning cartoon than a Hollywood movie. Hopefully nobody will ever let the cat out of the hat for a film again.
Dr. Seuss had a wonderful imagination. He was one of the world's best childrens' authors and no doubt an inspiration to fellow childrens' author Roald Dahl. Making films based on his work therefore makes sense. There is clearly a built-in audience for it given how much his stories are adored by children and families worldwide. Unfortunately his stories have proven hard to adapt to the big screen and The Cat In The Hat is a good example of that.
The film follows the story of two kids - Sally (Dakota Fanning) and Conrad (Spencer Breslin) - who are being babysitted by Mrs Kwan (Amy Hill) after their mother Joan Walden (Kelly Presten) is called back to her role in the office at Hank Humberfloob of Humberfloob Real Estate. When Mrs Kwan falls alseep, they find the over-sized Cat (Mike Myers) of the title in their house who along with his Things (Danielle Chuchran, Taylor Rice, Brittany Oaks, Talia-Lynn Prairie, Dan Castellana) teach the children how to have fun.
The production of this film accurately displays the fun of a Dr. Seuss title. In fact, it's the production design that's the best thing about this movie. J. André Chaintreuil's set design perfectly evokes the zaniness that many of Dr. Seuss's stories possess. If the movie was as good as the production design, then it would feel more like a faithful adaptation. It's clear that more effort has been put towards how the film looks rather than the style and substance of the film itself.
The main problem with the movie itself is that it feels too geared towards kids. Now Dr. Seuss's books were for children but a good kids movie does not pander towards them but instead aims at a broader family audience. This should be a film that all ages can enjoy, whether you are two or one hundred and two. Instead it is only likely to entertain very young children. And I mean very young. This film feels like it was aimed at idiots; it frequently talks down to kids and doesn't credit them with the intelligence that most children possess.
At the same time, certain dialogue doesn't feel as though it is entirely appropriate for kids. Alec Berg's screenplay features lines such as 'Son of a...' and 'Dirty hoe' alongside others like 'How much is that canine American in the window' and 'Why am I sneezing?',
'That'd be me. BOO!'. The former don't feel as though they were written for another film and a drunk Alec Berg accidentally wrote it in the Cat In The Hat screenplay. Maybe there's a screenplay for an R-rated comedy somewhere that featured a 'knock knock' joke? It wouldn't surprise me because these jokes feel awkward in a kids movie alongside patronising kiddy stuff about 'How much is that dog in the window?'.
The movie is generally well cast however. Mike Myers is a good choice for the Cat. He is suitably eccentric for a Dr. Seuss adaptation and gives a performance that reminds me a lot of Johnny Depp's more recent characters. If this movie were made now, it would probably be Johnny Depp playing the Cat. The kids aren't annoying either; Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin are good casting for their characters. They feel like they come from a Dr. Seuss tale, especially Dakota Fanning. Dakota Fanning is a star and I am surprised she hasn't become a more well-known name. Perhaps she would have done had this been a better movie?
The strangest thing about this film is despite its $109 million budget it feels more like a TV Movie than a big budget Hollywood release. The production design is brilliant as previously mentioned but some of the sets look cheap and the mise en scene including Dr Seuss's car look unconvincing. Nothing in this world feels true or believable; it's hard to suspend your belief when everything looks as though it will fall apart with a big gust of wind. Maybe that's the look they wanted to achieve but it doesn't work for me and takes me somewhat out of the film.
Overall, The Cat In The Hat shows just how hard Dr Seuss's work has proven to be adapted to the big screen. The production design is authentic but despite its $109m budget the production values look terrible. The film is aimed too much towards kids and not enough to families in general; any parents watching this with their kids will find themselves bored waiting for it to end. As for Alec Berg's screenplay, it has a weird mix of kiddy jokes and jokes that don't feel entirely appropriate for children. It's almost like he was writing an R-rated comedy at the same time and forgot which one he was writing when he inserted lines like 'Dirty hoe'. The Cat In The Hat would likely have fared better as a Saturday morning cartoon than a Hollywood movie. Hopefully nobody will ever let the cat out of the hat for a film again.