'The Cat in the Hat' movie combines children's classic with new characters

LOS ANGELES: Quinta Brunson wants to set the record straight about the animated Warner Bros. film “The Cat in the Hat”: kids still read the classic Dr. Seuss story in schools.

Brunson, creator of “Abbott Elementary,” which follows the lives of schoolteachers and their students, said “The Cat in the Hat” is already familiar to many children by the time they reach preschool or kindergarten, making the film less of an introduction to the character than a new take on a beloved classic.

“I think for a lot of kids, it’s going to be exciting for them to get to go see the movie of the book that they already know and love, and has helped them learn to read,” she told Reuters.

“The Cat in the Hat,” written and directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, arrives in theaters on Friday. It expands the story beyond the original 1957 book, and provides a new generation with a different take than Universal Pictures’ 2003 live-action “Cat in the Hat” movie starring Mike Myers.

Voiced by Bill Hader, the Cat in the Hat gets a final chance to keep his job by cheering up siblings Gabby, voiced by Xochitl Gomez, and her younger brother Sebastian, voiced by Tiago Martinez, after they move to a new home with their single mother, Carmen, voiced by America Ferrera.

The voice cast also includes Matt Berry and Giancarlo Esposito.

Rivinoja said she was thrilled by the opportunity to use the book’s original storyline as a launching point and build out the world from there.

“The book is actually quite small, and not very much happens,” she said.

“So, we were so excited that we got to expand that entire world,” she added.

From new characters and locations to a deeper exploration of the Cat in the Hat’s personality, the filmmakers aimed to create something fresh for both longtime fans and newcomers.

However, it wasn’t always easy for Hader to maintain the Cat’s relentless energy.

“They (Carloni and Rivinoja) brought my personality up,” he said, adding that the filmmakers’ enthusiasm helped shape the movie’s upbeat tone.