"The hilarious Mike Meyers, who made eye-candy out of those Austin Powers movies, would seem a natural choice to bring Dr Seuss's wonderful pearls of wit to life on the big screen. But sadly, this Cat in the Hat is lame, I do not know who is to blame, but it's a bore just the same." Diana Saenger REEL TALK "Small kids should love it, and parents may find themselves pleasantly amused." Tom Long DETROIT NEWS "It's not exactly the story you love, but at least it's a story you'll recognize." Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS

What The Critics Say

"The Addams Family-Beetlejuice-Monkey Bone loving lot of you should RUN to this spectacular outrageously brave kaleidoscopic colorburst of a mindtripilous film. Not for kids..." Emily Blunt BLUNT REVIEW "The cat in the hat I grew up with was a lively, loveable, spirited creature. The Mike Meyer's version is one I'd like to slap around the whiskers and kick right in the nuts. Pity they hadn't catnapped this load of soiled kitty litter before it got to the screen. It's a bloody disgrace." Marty King THE MOVIE PAGES "The movie has some mildly amusing moments, but it completely lacks the wild glee and irresistible rhythm of the book." Mary Brennan SEATTLE TIMES

Cat In The Hat Trivia Bytes From it's pastel coloured houses to its town centre and the S.L.O.W mobile, there are many interesting fun facts to discover about the making of "The Cat In The Hat" film. Here are some bytes of "The Cat In The Hat" trivia............
THE TOWN OF ANVILLE.
Contains 24 stores. 1700 cubic metres of styrofoam was used to create the storefronts. 1890 litres of paint was used painting them. The Hot Dog was 7.9 metres long. The Bride and Groom were 4.25 metres tall. The Lollipop was 3 metres tall.
THE SUBURB.
24 house and 22 garages were built. Each house is approx 8 metres by 8 metres in size. The height to the chimney is 15.9 metres. Approx 1750 litres of Lilac paint was used on the houses. 1.6km of fence was built and 26.5 million litres of water was used to keep the area green during the production period of the film. The Seussian trees were made of pencil steel. All cars used are the Ford Fous.
THE CAT SUIT.
There are three cat suits made from a mixture of angora wool and human hair. Each suit weighs approx 1.4kg. It took Mike Meyers 10 minutes to get into the suit. The tale and ear movement is powered by a battery pack built into the suit.
S.L.O.W.
The Super Luxurious Omnidirectional Whatchamajigger is 22 feet long weighs 1600kg and can reach a speed of 75kph. It was designed by a team led by Harold Belker who created the futuristic cars seen in the film "Minority Report". It is powered by a dozen 12 volt batteries. When in the vehicle the driver sees where the vehicle is heading thanks to a monitor which is connected to a camera disguised as a rear vision mirror. The flames, smoke and gears are controlled by another person outside the vehicle.
D.I.R.T.
Dynamic Industrial Renovating Tractormajigger! has three wheels and is powered by motors used on electronic wheelchairs. The D.I.R.T machines were operated by remote control. The arms actually work.
PHUNOMETER.
It took two months to design and build. It contains hundreds of moving parts. It has a telescoping unit which is made from machined, gold plated aluminium that can extend 80cm.
At A Glance The 1957 Theodore S Geisel book "The Cat In The Hat" is now a big screen adventure starring Mike Meyers. Commissioned by Random House and Houghton Mifflin Geisel was to create a primer for school children using 220 new reader vocabulary words. Unfortunately it didn't get the reception from educators they expected but the public did pick it up and the success of "The Cat In The Hat" is now a part of history. Generations of children since have enjoyed the wonderful tale by the man who soon became known as Dr Seuss. Producer Brian Grazer had no trouble obtaining the rights to put the story on the big screen after all, the stewards of Dr Seuss Enterprises were impressed with both Grazer and Academy Award winning director Ron Howard who had transformed The Grinch from the pages of a book to the larger than life character we all got to see in theatres. "When I realized I had a chance to convert first "The Grinch" and then, "The Cat In The Hat", into movies I was willing to do anything to bring them to the screen," Grazer said. His dream would come true, but this time round, not with Ron Howard who turned it down. For this adventure Grazer would join forces with Bo Welch who makes his directorial debut and felt that the project was right up his alley. Welch says about the project, "There's just a silliness and a joy to it that we worked to capture in every aspect, from the acting to the design. Every aspect has to fit into Seuss' immaculate universe." And the centre of this universe is a cat. "I can honestly say I wanted to play the Cat my whole life," says Mike Meyers. "My earliest memories of Dr Seuus are the bookmobile in Toronto, this travelling library, where we would check out his books. My mother was an actress in England, and she would read the book to me and other kids who came by to listen because she was so good at it." And your earliest memory? "My earliest memory of Dr Seuss is The Cat In The Hat, which I loved, he said. "It's my favourite book. I love the illustrations, and my mum read it with a liverpool accent. That's why it's my favourite book of all time." And that cat? "He's such a great character," he says. "You'd think he's an anarchist at the beginning and then you realize he's actually a teacher. So what was it like working with Spencer Breslin and Dakota Fanning? "I loved working with these kids so much," says Meyers. "Spencer is a genius, he's hilarious, and Dakota's a great actress and so sweet." And there was a twist to the saying 'parting is such sweet sorrow" when it came to filming one scene, wasn't there? "During filming the end scene where the cat has to say goodbye to Conrad and Sally, I didn't want to," he explained. "I was enjoying myself with these great kids and our world was so much fun." Both young actors also impressed director Bo Welch. "Both of the kids stunned me with how focused they were during the day. Typical kids, like my kids, are easily distractible, but these two never forgot their lines and never had a false moment on-screen," he said. Welch had seen Dakota Fanning in "I Am Sam" and "was blown away how this little blond girl held her own going toe to toe with Sean Penn". Equally Spencer Breslin was impressive during his audition. "He talks to you like an adult, with no shyness whatsoever, and he's got a great, distinct voice and looks like a typical kid." Besides the two children and a cat there's another Seuss creation that impresses in "The Cat In The Hat". A talking fish. The voice for the fish is supplied by the star of "Will and Grace", the recipient of two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Golden Globe nominations, Sean Hayes" who recently appeared in the delightful film "Pieces of April" and will be seen again in "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton". Hayes who also supplies the voice for Joan's boss Mr Humberfloob says, "The hardest part is not seeing what you're speaking to, so you end up doing 50 different screams for the fish just to give the director options on which way he wants the character animated." Finally there's the town of Anville and its suburbs. Bright and colorful they give an impression of being right out of a cartoon. The filmmakers chose a rural valley near Simi Valley in California. Some interesting facts: There are 24 houses. All have 4 windows. All are Lilac with blue roofs. All are extactly the same size. One mile of fencing was used, 20440 square metres of sod was laid down and the 18 acres surrounding the set was seeded to provide the lush green colour. The estate was so bright it could be seen on a freeway miles away, attracting the attention of many Southern Californians. Thinking a new housing estate had sprung up, they flooded Simi Valley real estate offices with offers to buy into the 'new developement'. Cast and Crew Bytes "THE CAT IN THE HAT" was .................
Directed by Bo Welch [ Academy Award nominee for "Men In Black, "The Little Princess" and "The Bird Cage"],
Produced by Brian Grazer ["Apollo 13", "Liar Liar", "Backdraft" and "A Beautiful Mind"],
Edited by Don Zimmerman ["Fatal Beauty", "Little Big Man", "Patch Adams" and "Heaven Can Wait"],
with Costume Design by Rita Ryack ["Cape Fear", "Apollo 13", "A Bronx Tale" and "Rush Hour II"],
Special Make-up Effects by Steve Johnson ["The Fog", "The Howling" "An American Werewolf In London" and "X-Men II"],
the original music is by David Newman ["Ice Age", "Scooby-Doo", "Daddy Day Care" and "Scooby-Doo:Monsters Unleashed"]
and the cinematography was under the direction of Emmanuel Lubezki ["The Little Princess and "The Birdcage"].
"THE CAT IN THE HAT" stars .................
Dakota Fanning ["Tomcats", "I Am Sam", "Trapped" and "Sweet Home Alabama"],
Spencer Breslin ["The Kid", "Meet The Parents", "Ozzie" and "The Santa Clause 2"],
Amy Hill ["Scrooged", "Rising Sun", "Next Friday" and "Cheaper by the Dozen"],
Kelly Preston ["10 To Midnight", "Jerry Maguire", "Addicted To Love" and "What a Girl Wants"],
Alec Baldwin ["State & Main", "Cats & Dogs", "The Cooler" and "Along Came Polly"],
Sean Hayes ["Pieces Of April" and "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton"] with
Mike Myers ["Elvis Stories", "Waynes World", "Waynes World 2" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer"] as "The Cat In The Hat".
Narrated by Victor Brandt ["Battle Of The Bulge", "Another 48 Hrs", "Silver" and "Babe: Pig in the City"]. The Story Conrad Walden is a mischievous young boy, something that has not gone un-noticed by his mothers boyfriend Lawrence Quinn. In fact Quinn would like to see the young lad sent to Military School. So far Joan has resisted Quinn's urging. Conrad's sister Sally is a solitary little girl who is so bossy she hasn't a friend in the world. Today Saturday is a big day for Joan who is about to host a company and Conrad's latest hijinx has not impressed her. She has decided to be firm, very firm. Mrs Kwan will babysit the children today. Nothing can go wrong. Joan really needs to impress her boss Mr Humberfloob. The children are under strict orders not to mess up. The house is spotless and it must stay that way. What could be simpler? The Mrs Kwan drifts off to sleep and a mysterious visitor appears in the house. Conrad and Sally Walden are about to meet the chaotic, frenetic, Cat In The Hat. The most mischievous, housewrecking cat you'd never wish to meet. There world is about to be turned upside down inside out and all around. Conrad and Sally will discover who they really are. It's a visit they will never forget. The Verdict "Colorful caper that zings along at a cracking pace. The settings are great. The colorful images cature the eye. The gagetry is imaginative. The Cat In The Hat's appearence is purr-fect. But for all that there is something awkwardly awry about this interpretation of Dr Seuss's classic. The answer is simple. "The Cat In The Hat" lacks heart and warmth. Never-the-less it's worth having a look at. If only for the kids sake." The Cast

Mike Myers Alec Baldwin Kelly Preston Dakota Fanning Spencer Breslin Amy Hill Sean Hayes Danielle Ryan Chuchran Taylor Rice Brittany Oaks Talia Prairie Dan Castellaneta Victor Brandt Daran Norris Bugsy Frank Welker Clint Howard Paige Hurd Steven Anthony Lawrence Paris Hilton Candace Dean Brown Stephen Hibbert Roger Morrisey

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The Cat Lawrence Quinn Joan Walden Sally Walden Conrad Walden Mrs Kwan Mr Humberfloob/Voice of the Fish Thing One Thing One Thing Two Thing Two Thing One/Thing Two Narrator Announcer Nevins Nevins Kate the Caterer Denise Dumb Schweitzer Female Club-Goer Secretary Jim McFinnigan Mr Vompatatat

The Crew Directed by Bo Welch Adapted from the childrens book by Dr Seuss Screenplay by Alec Berg/David Mandel/Jeff Schaffer Produced by Brian Grazer Original Music by David Newman Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki Film Editing by Don Zimmerman Casting by Juel Bestrop & Jeanne McCarthy Production Design by Alex McDowell Art Direction by Alec Hammond & Sean Haworth Set Decoration by Anne Kuljian Costume Design by Rita Ryack Special Costume Design by Kacy Treadway Run Time 82 minutes Rated G [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved