While I’m a staunch defender of Jim Carrey’s 2000 remake of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, I’m still nervous about returning to its spiritual successor – Mike Myers’ The Cat in the Hat. I know we’re currently running through the 2025 movie schedule, but learning about another crack at the bat with Dr. Seuss’ classic book was enough to make me worry.
At least, that was until today – the day that the new Bill Hader-starring reboot dropped its first trailer. Now that I’ve watched it myself, out of what started as morbid curiosity, I’m surprised to say I’m now very hopeful about what could be on the horizon. Better still, I think even jaded adults will be getting some serious laughs out of this.
The New Cat In The Hat Is Visually Stunning
moments that suggest maybe The Cat in the Hat is “good, actually,” they weren’t indicative of The Cat I grew up with.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3, and Rivinoja’s work on South Park and Trolls.
Visually, that melting pot tracks; though when it comes to the humor, that subject is also a very promising prospect to discuss.
I’m Sensing A Strong Looney Tunes Influence In The Cat In The Hat’s Humor
I think the scene that best won me over to The Cat in the Hat’s side is the one where The Cat is about to do what he does best: ignore the rules. Pulling from the well of pure Looney Tunes insanity, we get a beautifully brief moment that mixes the innocence mentioned above with pure lunacy. It’s an old gag, but it’s playful and it works.
That same mindset is also rewarded when you realize that The Cat works at The Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC. Once again, we’ve got a modern skewing joke mixed with classic absurdity. Which leads to a rather interesting confrontation via a co-worker voiced by SNL star Bowen Yang.
Playing a more serious green character, Yang warns this feline funster not to open a box that literally says “Do Not Open.” Cue a short gag, where several other warning signs are ignored, and we’re left to gleefully wonder what’s going to leap out. While I can’t make any educated guesses, I’ll let a moment from one of the best Bill Hader TV appearences guess for me!
Perhaps whatever, or whomever, is in the box will reveal the true nature of The Cat in the Hat’s Matt Berry performance. If that’s the case, then this scene just might be my favorite from this upcoming picture. Of course it’s way too early to tell, but the point is that this teaser has actually gotten me invested in seeing how Bill Hader and company reinvent the mascot of Dr. Seuss’ legacy.
With that, I must remind you all that The Cat in the Hat will once again leap from our imaginations and onto the big screen, on February 27th, 2026. So let’s not get too hyped up, as there’s bound to be plenty more tricks in that titular hat. Although you can check out what other 2026 movies we should be paying attention to. Maybe there’s more of this sort of magic awaiting in the next year, and we wouldn’t want to miss out, would we?