DAKOTA > FILMS > THE CAT IN THE HAT

» Movie Details
Release Date: November 21st, 2003
Director: Bo Welch
Writer: Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, Spencer Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes
Tag Line: Don't mess with the hat
Genre: Comedy, Family
Runtime: 82 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG for mild crude humor, some double-entendres
Studio: Universal Pictures
Box Office: $100,750,000 (US total)
DVD Release: March 16th, 2004
Official Website: The Cat in the Hat
Trailer: Check here
Quotes: Check here

» Synopsis
This adaptation of the classic children's book stars Mike Meyers as the wily talking cat with a tall striped hat and more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

Today is a special day for Conrad and Sally Walden - even though they don't think it is. It seems that Sally (Dakota Fanning) and Conrad (Spencer Breslin), different as black and white, have pushed their single mom, Joan Walden (Kelly Preston), to the limit. Conrad's endless rule breaking has his mom seriously considering military school for her son--an idea planted by her just-this-side-of-smarmy neighbor and suitor, Lawrence Quinn (Alec Baldwin). Sally, tightly wound though well-behaved, has bossed away every friend she has, and divides her time between upbraiding her brother and putting new 'To Do' lists in her junior palm pilot. And all the while their mom is just trying to keep domestic peace while balancing a successful career as a real estate agent for her germophobe boss, Mr. Humberfloob (Sean Hayes). However, on the Saturday that she is to host her company's party, Joan's preparations have fallen prey to Conrad's shenanigans. Thus, she lays down a mom-sized decree: Sally and Conrad are not to leave the house while she is at work; furthermore, they are forbidden from making a mess or misbehaving in any way. The kids are left with little to do besides sit and stare out of the window, while their babysitter, Mrs. Kwan (Amy Hill), dozes in the den. Until their unexpected guest--a six-foot-tall talking feline, sporting a red-and-white-striped stovepipe hat--appears. The original party animal himself arrives to turn their world upside down by showing Sally and Conrad that "it's good to have fun - but you have to know how!"

With candy colored sets that pop off the screen and zany special effects that give the story a decidedly 21st century spin, this movie presents a fast-paced and very nontraditional rendering of Dr. Seuss. The rhyming lines that usually characterize Dr. Seuss stories are referenced here, but modern jokes that riff on television advertisements and pop psychology are given more importance. Dakota Fanning is utterly adorable as little Sally, and Thing 1 and Thing 2 are delightful in their chittering and acrobatics. A bright and happy film packed with dazzling stunts, Dr. Suess' The Cat in the Hat is an entertaining treat.

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» Dakota on the Movie
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» Dakota's Reviews
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» Links
. IMDB The Cat in the Hat Page

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