Warner Bros. Animation has pulled back the curtain on its upcoming animated feature The Cat in the Hat, unveiling the first teaser that gives audiences their initial look at Bill Hader as the voice of Dr. Seuss’s chaos-loving feline. This new cinematic venture aims to bring the beloved 1957 children’s book to life with a fresh animated interpretation. The teaser highlights a fluid and kinetic animation style, promising a visually engaging experience that leans into the whimsical fun inherent in the source material. It also offers glimpses of the familiar characters who get swept up in the Cat’s whirlwind visit, setting the stage for what Warner Bros. hopes will be a celebrated addition to the legacy of Dr. Seuss adaptations and a key component of their planned cinematic “Seussiverse.”
The upcoming The Cat in the Hat is a significant project for Warner Animation Group, which secured the rights in January 2018 as part of a creative partnership with Seuss Enterprises aimed at developing multiple animated features based on Dr. Seuss’s works. The film is helmed by directors Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Hader, whose casting was announced in 2024, not only lends his distinctive voice to the titular Cat but also serves as an executive producer, bringing his comedic expertise to the project’s development. The animation is being developed by DNEG Animation, which is aiming to capture the unique “Seussian” aesthetic that defines the look of Dr. Seuss’s world, as the trailer underlines.
Meet the Cat in the Hat you don’t know! In the wonderfully whimsical tradition of Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat comes to the big screen in his animated theatrical feature film debut, an all-new, epic adventure with an edge, where mischief, magic and mayhem reign supreme. Doing what he does best, the Cat—voiced by Bill Hader—spreads joy to kids in his hilarious, signature and singularly irreverent way, transporting them and audiences on a fantastical journey through a world they’ve never seen before.
In the film, our hero takes on his toughest assignment yet for the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC): to cheer Gabby and Sebastian, a pair of siblings struggling with their move to a new town. Known for taking things too far, this could be this agent of chaos’s last chance to prove himself…or lose his magical hat!
In addition to Hader, the production boasts an impressive supporting voice cast to bring these and other characters to life, including Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang, Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry, Minnie Driver, and Paula Pell. This ensemble and a commitment to high-quality animation, signals Warner Bros.’ ambition for the film to be a major family entertainment event. The studio is also developing other Seuss properties, including an animated film based on Thing One and Thing Two and an adaptation of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! co-directed by Jon M. Chu and Jil Culton, with screenplay by Rob Lieber and songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, slated for a 2028 release.
Will The Cat in the Hat Fix the Live-Action Misstep?
The upcoming animated The Cat in the Hat is not the first adaptation of Dr. Seuss original story. Most notably, there’s a 2003 live-action film starring Mike Myers as the Cat. This Universal Pictures production, spurred by the success of the live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey, was a critical and commercial disappointment, widely panned for its significant tonal deviations from Dr. Seuss’s work, particularly its reliance on adult-oriented humor and a character design for Myers’s Cat that many found unsettling. The negative reception was so profound that Dr. Seuss’s widow, Audrey Geisel, reportedly vowed to never again allow live-action adaptations of her late husband’s works. This decision has since steered all major Seuss film projects towards animation, a medium arguably far better suited to capturing the fantastical visuals and unique character designs of his books.
Before the current Warner Bros. slate, Illumination Entertainment found considerable success with animated Seuss films like Horton Hears a Who! which also featured Jim Carrey, The Lorax starring Zac Efron and Danny DeVito, and The Grinch with Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the titular character. Illumination had even planned an animated Cat in the Hat with writer Rob Lieber and producer Chris Meledandri, though it did not ultimately come to fruition under their banner.
Beyond the Myers film, The Cat in the Hat has a history of animated adaptations for television. An animated musical TV special starring Allan Sherman as the Cat premiered in 1971, and Sherman reprised the role in 1973 for Dr. Seuss on the Loose. The character also appeared in other specials like The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat. Later, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, a puppet series by Jim Henson Productions, featured the Cat voiced by Bruce Lanoil and then Martin P. Robinson. More recently, the animated educational series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! starred Martin Short as the voice of the Cat. Bill Hader himself even portrayed the Cat in a 2014 Saturday Night Live sketch, giving him prior experience with the character.
Warner Bros. Animation’s The Cat in the Hat is slated for release on February 27, 2026.
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