The Cat in the Hat

Is the worst thing, in your opinion, to be bored? I've heard for a lot of people it is. But, have you heard the old saying- if you're bored, then you're boring? I never much paid attention to it most of my life but when I hear people say certain movies are boring, and I decide to respond to that, this rings in my ears. I don't know whether or not I'm boring, but I am almost never bored. So, The Cat in the Hat is about 2 bored children who need entertainment on a rainy day because rainy weather just bums some people out. That lame starter is a good indication of how weak this made-for-television special will be. The problem could be the source material (the only thing I remember being an annoyance in the book was the entire Thing 1, Thing 2 sequence), but I wouldn't go that far. I mean, this adaptation may stick unbelievably close to the (very short) children's book. But this version of the story relies heavily on getting the cat to stay in the house which itself results in cartoon calamity- the reason these filmmakers see as being why you'll want to stick around.

As he first begins to leave, he gets his foot in the door by angrily (then tearfully) claiming that one of the children or their pet fish have stolen a piece of his property in the 2 minutes he's been there. Now, I understand logic has very little to do with a Suess story, but it's nonetheless hard to accept this when we know there's no way the kids or fish could have taken anything from the cat. And despite the logic excuse, there is actually a little emotion in the characters as the cat annoyingly whines and the children actually react to this by suspecting the fish of foul play. The children really are great, aren't they? They're kind enough to go all out in helping the cat look for his missing item but not thoughtful enough of their mother as they begin running around the house writing all over everything with markers. Did they even stop to say "that's wrong"? No. But forget all that, this special really goes to hell when Thing 1 and Thing 2 show up. Even the cat busts a gasket and can only say "they can find anything, anything, anything under the sun" even though what they're doing has nothing to do with finding something. Instead they ignore the cat's dilemma and terrorize the fish.

Since I'm not going to convince anyone of anything by trying to take logic apart, let's look at the artistic aspects of the movie. How's the music? Well scored. It's good music. But vocally and lyrically, the songs are not good (although the international language-learner "Cat Hat" comes close). Take out the words, sung by singers I wouldn't care to hear from again, and I'd love to hear the music in a better animated short. But the performers are entirely, well- underwhelming at best (except for Thurl Ravenscroft- the one voice you'll recognize from Disney's Haunted Mansion theme, the classic "Grim Grinning Ghosts"). Especially Allan Sherman as the cat, who rushes through most of his lines. However, Cat in the Hat is not all bad. In fact, the animation is pretty darn good at times. Especially during the Cat's song about how he's no good and the "Cat Hat" song.

As of my writing this, I've seen all 9 of the DVD-released Dr. Suess specials and this is easily the weakest of all of them.

The latest member of the family to succumb to this wonderful bit of silly fun is our 3 year-old. He rarely speaks, but has most of the lines to this one memorised and loves it to bits. Who can blame him? Alan Sherman's portrayal of the Cat is a fine piece of voiceover work, as are all the characters in this one, and the songs never leave your head WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!I really wish that Viacom, or whoever holds the rights to this one, as well as the other Dr. Seuss titles originally released by Fox would hurry up and get them out on DVD, because our tapes are nearly worn out! Definitely recommended, if you can find it.

With Dr. Suess you're WAY better off with SHORT cartoons then live action. My favorite part is the language lesson very cool. The cartoon at least is more faithful to the book and the Dr. Suess spirit. I also hope it gets released on DVd soon. Along with The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat.

Scary thought- What if those people who made the live action films do THAT story next???????????

Dr. Seuss and his stories are not very familiar here in Holland and although the Jim Carrey version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' was a pretty big hit it hasn't changed that very much. Still, I saw this animated version of 'The Cat in the Hat' and let me start by saying that it is so much better and funnier than the Mike Myers version.

When the mother (voice by Gloria Camacho) of a girl (voice by Pamelyn Ferdin) and a boy (voice by Tony Frazier) leaves on a rainy evening the kids are very bored. A cat in a hat (voice by Allan Sherman) enters the house to cheer them up. The fish (voice by Daws Butler) is not very fond of that because they are making a huge mess. Everything must be clean before mother comes home.

The first half with the arrival of the cat is not that great. It has some nice songs though. The second half, especially the part where the cat explains how he is called in other countries, is great and very funny. I understand why stories like this are very popular. Kids just have to like it and for adults it must be a nice memory from their childhood.

I have seen The Cat in the Hat since the 70s and I think it's the best written cartoon on TV between the runs of Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Simpsons. The line I remember the most was the song that went "Hey! I'm a punk. A gratunculous shlunk." I also remember that the cat was messing up the house looking for his moss covered, three handled, three family gradunza. That would definitely be a Dr. Seuss line.

Allan Sherman, in one of his last TV roles before his death in 1974 was sensational as the voice of the cat. I would also like to add that Gloria Camacho was the voice of the kid's mother.