Customer Reviews

Dr Seuss the Cat in the Hat [VHS]

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(29)
1 star:		(127)

 

 

Someone wrote a review previously that said parents who were bashing this thing that dares to call itself DR. SEUSS' THE CAT IN THE HAT had forgotten that the primary reason for its existence was to entertain children. They wrote that their children's laughter was the most important thing to remember when sitting through this horrible piece of dreck.

Visually, this film is interesting in the same way an acid dream would be. The actors are a group of talented people. But, in case you didn't notice it when you were watching the film or have had the good fortune not to see it yet, the jokes are lewd and inappropriate; the story was bloated unnecessarily. The movie exists for no reason except to make money. It was not done in the spirit of the original book. It was not done because someone found an appropriate or inspired approach to the material. (In fact, the film is boring, insipid, confusing and, for no reason at all, includes jokes about lawyers and insurance - jokes that I hope were lost on children.)

The book is simple, entertaining, brief and to-the-point. It makes reading fun, and it encourages children and beginning readers to embrace a practice that will enrich their minds. This film does none of that. It's not even funny.

Mike Myers would be better used in something else. Alec Baldwin really needs to find better projects than this. Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin are talented young actors who deserve better material, rather than having to create characters stuck in the middle of a mindless special-effects extravaganza.

THE CAT IN THE HAT, if there was any justice, should make no money in the theaters. (Unfortunately, though, it has.) But a lot of people who've seen it hate the film. Hate it. Hate hate hate hate hate it.

Take that as a warning.

This is one of those movies that I have walked out of and all I could think was "Why????""
How could they take a sweet story and corrupt it this way? I have sat many a night with my children, reading this story over and over. They absolutely love Seuss.
This movie is visually spectacular, but does not hold true to the spirit of Dr. Seuss. It is not approptiate for young children. It is Austin Powers dressed up like the Cat in the Hat. The need to throw in improper innuendos in a film that should be for children and families is just sad. The rating for this movie should be PG-13. If the studios feel the need to add adult bits to a film, then please don't target my kids!

I had heard some negative things about this movie but out of curiosity I decided to go see it. I figured that most of it was over blown. I am thankful that I didn't take any children to it. This movie is not appropriate for children. It is disrespectful to the spirit of "The Cat in the Hat" and all fine children's books. The humor is in the poorest taste. There is nothing funny about hepatitis. I now see why I was the only one in the theater.

The sun's still not shining and it's too wet to play.
So don't think this movie will help save the day.
What a mess! What a shame that's it's come down to this,
A gigantic hairball! A huge movie miss!

I thought for a moment it was Powers in drag.
Though not in a dress. In a cat suitish bag!
Or maybe a remake of THE WIZARD OF OZ?
The Cowardly Lion in kitty cat paws?

No! No! It's just rubbish, the worst of the sort!
To take a great classic and its story abort.
And replace it with nonsense that just doesn't fly.
If Seuss were still here I am sure he would die.
His story, his concepts all blasted...oh well,
Into small smithereens. It won't work. It won't sell!

I guess that some think that they'll just tag the title
To a movie so bad that it's up in the nightle!
Oh, yes, they made money but in the end, it is true,
They just couldn't fool us, not me and not you!

Just read the book to the kiddies, indeed.
Just watch the cartoons that this movie exceed.
Just forget about this one and hope there won't be
More movies like this that we won't have to see.

THE HORSEMAN

Well, if you want to watch the most mind-boggling, embarassing waste of money film from 2003, you've come to the right place. This adaption of the classic children's book is so outrageous in its own stupidity, and so insanely wrong, that all you can do is just laugh at the spectacle of it all.

Mike Myers is an embarassment as he plays The Cat (awful costume, by the way) in a variety of guises - not the least of which is funny. The two kids, cast for their cuteness, don't leave nothing but a sugary aftertaste. And the adult castmembers flit in and out of the story, mainly to be made fun of. Sean Hayes does double duty, as both a fish and the boss of the kids' mom, who likes cleanliness.

The humor is either stunningly silly, even for young kids, or downright shocking in its adultness. In this kid movie, we hear Alec Baldwin muttering to the mother that, "It's hard...it's hard"; the Cat screeching "Son of a bi-!" before being cut off while supposedly on a cooking TV; the car (S.L.O.W.) was originally named something more adult - it stars with s-h and ends, well, take a guess; and the Cat announcing that a slide burns his ... behind??? What this is doing in a kids movie is beyond me.

This movie is an exhausting 82 minutes, filled to the brim with stuff to look at, but none of it leaves much of an aftereffect. When the credits blessedly roll by at the end, be thankful this movie bombed enough that there won't be a sequel.

Seriously a let down. Don't waste your money. Just rent it and you will see how horrible it is, then you would never think about actually spending money to buy it.

Amazon put The Cat in the Hat books in the 5-8 age catagory, yet Universal saw fit to include, swearwords, implied blasphemy, vulgarity and sexual innuendo in a children's classic.

I took four children to see this film, three left in tears having watched their childhood illusions shattered.

Please don't take your children to see this film without watching it first.

I have seen my parents sit through some really awful, stupid, offensive movies.....but they walked out of this one and demanded their money back! In my opinion, that says it all!!!

As an admirer of Dr. Seuss, I was actually thinking an adaptation of one of his best-known books would be a good use of my nine dollars. From the commercials, the sets and costumes looked amazing, the casting directors had snagged some of today's most popular actors (Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, and Alec Baldwin among them), and it had been produced by Brian Grazer, (who worked with Ron Howard on "A Beautiful Mind"). Wow, was I ever wrong.

"Cat in the Hat", the story of two children who are whisked away for a day of adventure by a magical cat, is, by far, one of the worst movies I have seen this fall. With the limitless possibilities that are presented in the simple main idea, the writing team can't seem to get it together, with pathetic, chunky dialogue and a measly script. Performance wise, Mike Myers is suprisingly unfunny as the Cat, with no vocal or physical characterization that distinguishes him from any of his other on screen personas. He brings nothing new to the picture, which, although a failure in many ways, could have at least salvaged a two-star rating had the acting been on-par. As for the other actors, the children (played by Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin) are as good as can be given the shape of the scripts, and Sean Hayes, with his over-done accent and movements, is profoundly annoying as the neat-freak Mr. Humberfloob.

Probably the only high point in this movie is the superb job by the costume and set designers, who truly bring Dr. Seuss's fantasy world to life. The original ideas for designs of houses, towns, and right down to the rooms of the immediate set make a lush and vibrant background that provides a visual feast for the audience. Clever and colorful costumes only add to the effect, and is a main part in creating the world of Cat in the Hat.

Despite efforts by costumes and sets, it's not enough to save this movie. Its jokes fall short, its performances are some what tedious, and the plot fails to interest the audience on any level. Although some of the younger movie-goers may enjoy it, anyone older than 7 will figure out that this cat should have stayed in its hat.

I was actually excited when I heard that "The Cat In The Hat" was going to come to life on the big screen. I didn't expect it to maintain the same level of genius that only Dr. Seuss could come up with, but I expected at least a descent adaptation. Instead, what we have here is nothing more than a typical Hollywood money-making machine that massacres the original story and turns it into a toned-down "Austin Powers 4," complete with sexual connotation jokes, eyebrow-raising situations and toilet humour. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Mike Myers and the "Austin Powers" trilogy. But at least those movies weren't deceiving in their content: we knew what to expect. But with "The Cat In The Hat," we basically get the same thing in the disguise of a "children's movie," only because the powers-that-be know that the masses will eat it all up and make their wallets even fatter. They have crapped on the genius of Dr. Seuss' work. It's a good thing that he's already dead, because seeing this would have likely killed him.

If you're thinking of going to see this movie, I have a better idea. Using small pieces of paper write down the names of all the movies currently playing (except this one), place all of them in a bowl, close your eyes and select one randomly. Now go see it. Trust me, you'll get a LOT more out of it.