When the live-action movie adaptation of “The Cat in the Hat” came out in the early 2000s, most of us were just children, oblivious to the film’s many dirty jokes. We took delight in its colorful chaos, the musical numbers, and the whimsical comedy. Well, many of us Gen-Z’s have grown since then and have likely forgotten about the movie, or, if you’re a Cat in the Hat hater, wish you had forgotten it.
The whole premise of the story is quite nightmarish: two children are left under the watch of a narcoleptic babysitter when an anthropomorphic feline breaks in, wreaking havoc on their lives, destroying their home and forcing them to have “fun” against their will (in terms of accuracy to the book, this is probably the only thing that the movie got right). From the many reviews that I’ve read pertaining to this movie, it’s clear to see that it didn’t live up to many people’s expectations. Movie critics at the time hoped for something more wholesome, more nostalgic than a foul-mouthed cat. Some critics claimed the movie to be an artistic nightmare, laden with lifeless CG, and completely corrupted by Hollywood. According to critics, “The Cat in the Hat” was inappropriate, an insult to Dr. Seuss. In fact, the movie was considered such a failure that Audrey Geisel, the widow of Dr. Seuss, banned all future live-action adaptations of her husband’s work as a result of it. Yes, it was that bad.
But let’s get real here, these criticisms were made by adults who probably have no business watching a children’s movie anyway. I speak for the generation who grew up with this absurd movie and loved it.
There are a number of elements that add up to make the cinematic masterpiece that is “the Cat in the Hat”. First is the cat, who is so unnecessarily difficult and unpleasant that it’s comical. Though chaotic, he proves to be a dynamic entertainer, going out his way to bring fun (or at least his idea of fun) to two bored kids. He comes prepared for anything, from costume changes to breaking out into song to Kupkake-inator infomercials. He even has his lawyers on hand at all times, and switches from a New York accent to a Manchester accent with ease. He can make jokes about “drunken clowns with hepatitis” as easily as he can sew his tail back together after chopping it in two. He’s also a pro at physical comedy; a scene that comes to mind is the one where Cat gets batted in the balls so hard that he has psychedelic visions because of it.
Aside from the cat, the characters added on to the movie version of the story make it all the more intriguing. Joan, for example, is a single mother working hard as a real estate agent, struggling to keep her house under control due to her ill-behaved son, Conrad. She also struggles to please her boss, Mr. Humberfloob, who is a germaphobe. We also get to know Larry, Joan’s love interest, a gold-digging bum disguising himself as a hard-working man, who also plans to ship Conrad off to military school once he secures the bag with Joan. And who can forget the beloved Mrs. Kwan, who manages to stay asleep throughout 90% of the movie? With the addition of these quirky characters alongside the original characters from the book, the story feels more complete.
The movie is filled with absurdities that will make you laugh and question your sanity. For instance, somehow the children’s house is turned into an amusement park, where Mrs. Kwan not only goes on a rollercoaster ride while unconscious, but she becomes the rollercoaster ride. The chase scene is also quite hilarious. While the 4 year old me may have found it funny, the 20 year old me questions, “Why are they going into an underground rave? This is a children’s movie! And why is Paris Hilton there?”
Much like the book itself, the movie was never meant to be taken seriously, and so I find the upset reactions towards it to be a bit baffling. Yes, it may have a few adult jokes here and there, and yes I may be biased in my opinion because I fell in love with this movie when I was four and had no taste in cinema. But in the end, it is a movie that was made for 2000s kids like me, and not for middle-aged film critics. So love the movie or not, there is a valuable lesson to be taken away from it, which is to have fun, and lighten up a little.