SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "The Cat in the Hat" is a half-hour television special from 45 years ago and it was written by the famous Dr. Seuss and directed by Hawley Pratt who has been one of Warner Bros' most prolific filmmakers in earlier decades. Anyway, there is some fun during this movie. It makes totally sense that a fish (the voice of reason) is not too amused by a cat stranger entering the house, but all he really wants is spending a fun time with the children. After it looks like the cat is thrown out quickly, the cat returns equally quickly and stays for the rest of the movie. Lots of music, lots of jokes, lots of wordplays and lots of general weirdness. But all of this cannot make up for the lack of a story in this one. I found something pretty creepy about these two children actually. From Dr. Seuss' works (and Pratt's directions), I absolutely prefer the Lorax to this one here, because that one actually has a story and a great message. Pretty surprised that "The Cat in the Hat" is so famous. The two Things were actually two very bad characters that made me think that the filmmakers behind this just didn't know what to include anymore to achieve the runtime they had agreed on. I wouldn't recommend watching it. Don't know about the live action version with Mike Myers which got so terrible reviews all along, but somehow I cannot imagine it to be worse than this 1971 original.

TheLittleSongbird I love Dr Seuss's stories, they are just so witty, fun and charming, and Cat in the Hat is quite possibly my favourite of them all. When I was a kid, this was the story I quoted most, and to this day I still find myself reciting the "green eggs and ham" bit. Anyway, being a huge fan of the 1966 animated Christmas classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I looked forward to Cat in the Hat, and prayed it would be better than the live action film with Mike Myers, which I found absolutely awful.And guess what, it is infinitely better. Whereas the Mike Myers version replaced the wit and charm of the story with vulgar, unfunny and somewhat inappropriate toilet humour, this remained true to the playful spirit of the story, and it was fun and charming as a result. Plus it has everything going for it, whereas the Mike Myers film had only the colourful sets and Dakota Fanning as its sole saving graces. Anyway I am not going to compare anymore, in my eyes this is the only Cat in the Hat version, though I have yet to see The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat. Is there any comparisons to the 1966 version of the Grinch? Well, I can only say this, both of them are timeless classics so I cannot choose which is better; if I had a marginal preference probably the Grinch because I am more familiar with it.The rest of the review is going to detail why I loved this version of The Cat in the Hat so much. The animation is terrific, bright, vibrant and colourful, and all the characters are drawn really well. I also loved the music, the incidental music is delightful enough but the songs are surprisingly catchy, upbeat and memorable. The dialogue still maintains the wit and charm of the story, and is very funny, the jokes are really clever and sophisticated, and the Cat himself is a revelation of a title character, really mischievous and charismatic. The fish is a really funny character as well, his dialogue is hilarious, and the children weren't bratty but appealing, a major plus in my book.The story is still intact, and has many memorable scenes, especially the language lesson. I loved how faithful this was too, I am not a person who says a film/adaptation has to be word from word, as long as it keeps to the spirit of the book/story, something the live action version didn't but this version did. The special is quite short at 30 minutes or so, but it moves very quickly and doesn't in any way feel draggy or rushed. The voice work is spot on, Allan Sherman is perfect as the Cat, and Daws Butler is a riot as the fish. Overall, classic Dr Seuss, and just perfect. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Eric Endres Having read the Cat in the Hat book many nights to my little girls, I was interested to see this version and also the new Mike Myers film. I returned the DVD of the Mike Myers film the next day after watching it, and this animated version I sought out to buy a copy of after borrowing it from the library. That should say it all.This is only a half hour program, but it is packed with wit, character and a lot of very memorable songs with tremendous melody and sophistication. They've fleshed out the original story with a lot of new jokes and an added twist of the cat looking for his "moss-covered, three-handled family grudunza". All of the choices were inspired, as it captures the spirit of the book and also adds much spirit to it.This "Cat" has a great cast of voice actors, great music, and great fun! 10 out of 10.

SpazmanianDevil This song-filled Dr. Seuss classic should be shown on network television at least twice a year! The musical numbers are pure fun; as a bonus, they managed to sneak in a quick foreign languages lesson. The newest home video release of this favorite has the words on the screen, which is even better. Listen during the song performed with Thing 2 and Thing 1. You'll hear the booming baritone of Thurl "Tony The Tiger" Ravenscroft. I have watched this special over 100 times on home video, and never want to stop.