Animated Cat in the Hat expands Seuss story into adventure

The animated feature The Cat in the Hat expands Dr. Seuss’s short book into a 107-minute adventure about the Cat’s work cheering children, a family’s move and a magical journey. The film, directed by Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni, stars Bill Hader as the Cat. It is scheduled to open in theaters November 6, 2026. In the film, the Cat works for an organization that sends him to lift children’s spirits. After his chaotic methods cause trouble, he is assigned to help siblings Gabby and Sebastian, who are adjusting to a move with their mother, Carmen. The story takes the family through imaginative worlds linked to their moving boxes, widening the book’s rainy-day premise into a larger adventure. Carloni said the filmmakers used the book’s opening as a starting point, then explored what the Cat does after leaving the children’s home. The directors also built out colleagues for the Cat, including a Pig in a Wig, voiced by Ryan Gaffney, the film’s head of story. Rivinoja said the team selected Gaffney for the role. The film brings back Thing One and Thing Two and adds more Things. Carloni said the directors chose to keep them silent, using rhythmic body percussion and...