History Literature / TheCatInTheHat

After acquiring exclusive adaptation rights to all of Dr. Seuss's work in 2018, Creator/WarnerBros [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-cat-hat-movie-works-warner-bros-1077973 announced]] a feature-length AnimatedAdaptation aiming for a 2026 release with Creator/BillHader voicing The Cat alongside the voices of Creator/QuintaBrunson, Creator/BowenYang, Creator/XochitlGomez, Creator/MattBerry and Creator/PaulaPell. Warner Bros also announced a feature film starring Thing One and Thing Two that's also in the works.

After acquiring exclusive adaptation rights to all of Dr. Seuss's work in 2018, Creator/WarnerBros [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-cat-hat-movie-works-warner-bros-1077973 announced]] a feature-length AnimatedAdaptation aiming for a 2026 release with Creator/BillHader voicing The Cat alongside the voices of Creator/QuintaBruson, Creator/BowenYang, Creator/XochitlGomez, Creator/MattBerry and Creator/PaulaPell. Warner Bros also announced a feature film starring Thing One and Thing Two that's also in the works.

After acquiring exclusive adaptation rights to all of Dr. Seuss's work in 2018, Creator/WarnerBros [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-cat-hat-movie-works-warner-bros-1077973 announced]] a feature-length AnimatedAdaptation by Creator/WarnerBrosAnimation aiming for a 2026 release with Creator/BillHader voicing The Cat. Warner Bros also announced a feature film starring Thing One and Thing Two that's also aiming for a 2026 release.

After acquiring exclusive adaptation rights to all of Dr. Seuss's work in 2018, Creator/WarnerBros [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-cat-hat-movie-works-warner-bros-1077973 announced]] a feature-length AnimatedAdaptation by Creator/WarnerBrosAnimation aiming for a 2024 release. Warner Bros also announced a feature film starring Thing One and Thing Two that's also aiming for a 2026 release.

-->--'''The Cat'''.

* NoNameGiven

* RainRainGoAway: It’s raining out when the Cat makes his appearance.

** Never talk to strangers. The kids don't know the Cat (nor he them), so their fish has the right idea about not trusting him.

* MatryoshkaObject: In the sequel, the Cat has Little Cat A under his hat, who has Little Cat B under its hat and so forth. [[spoiler:Underneath Little Cat Z's hat is the "Voom", which unleashes some kind of divide by zero effect only for when the GodzillaThreshold has been reached (in the case, cleaning up the yard).]]

* OnlySaneMan: The Fish.

* {{Cliffhanger}}: The book ends with the kids trying to decide whether to tell their returning mother about the cat, and even asks the reader what they would do. The sequel refuses to resolve it.

* RiddleForTheAges: Do Sally and her brother tell their mother about the misadventures they had with the titular cat? We'll never know.

The story opens on two children who are stuck inside their house due to rain while their mother is out, when they suddenly get a visit from the eponymous character, a six-foot-tall cat who wears a tall striped hat. The Cat offers to entertain them by performing various tricks, with help from his funny-looking assistants, Thing One and Thing Two, despite the objections from the kids' pet fish. Eventually, after the Cat and the Things end up making a mess of the house, the kids take control of the situation, and the Cat makes up for it by cleaning the place on his way out right before the mother returns.

It got [[WesternAnimation/TheCatInTheHat adapted]] in 1971 by [=DePatie-Freleng=] Studios which expands upon the storyline. It was followed up with ''Creator/DrSeuss On the Loose'' (in which the Cat introduced animated adaptations of ''[[Literature/TheSneetchesAndOtherStories The Sneetches]]'', ''The Zax'', and ''Literature/GreenEggsAndHam'') and ''WesternAnimation/TheGrinchGrinchesTheCatInTheHat'' (in which the Cat matches wits with the title character of ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas''). The Cat later starred in puppet form in ''Series/TheWubbulousWorldOfDrSeuss''. The original book also got a VideoGame/LivingBooks title. The Cat also often serves as a narrator or host in other Seuss related works made after Seuss’ death.

A [[Ride/TheCatInTheHat ride]] based off of the book opened with the [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's Islands of Adventure]] park in 1999.

It received a LiveActionAdaptation [[Film/TheCatInTheHat in 2003]], starring Creator/MikeMyers as the titular Cat, which was poorly-received by fans and critics and is today considered one of the worst movies ever. Seuss's widow, who had complete control over his estate at the time, disliked the overabundance of [[ParentalBonus child-inappropriate humor]] so much that she vowed never to produce any future live-action adaptations of her husband's works for the rest of her life.

The Cat became one of Dr. Seuss' most enduring characters, returning the following year in a {{sequel}} titled ''The Cat in the Hat Comes Back'', in which he leaves a "cat ring" in the bathtub and spends the rest of the book spreading the spot around in an attempt to get rid of it. In addition, he hosted three other books by Seuss and also served as the narrator for the otherwise unrelated ''Daisy-Head Mayzie'' (published after Seuss' death).

* OrderVersusChaos: The Cat is TheTrickster {{Ubermensch}} who calls for tearing down the old social order. His foil is a fish who insists on maintaining respect for traditional authority figures.

It received a LiveActionAdaptation [[Film/TheCatInTheHat in 2003]], starring Creator/MikeMyers as the titular Cat, which was poorly-received by fans and critics and is today considered one of the worst movies ever. Seuss's widow, who had complete control over his estate at the time, hated the overabundance of [[ParentalBonus child-inappropriate humor]] to the point where she vowed never to produce any future live-action adaptations of her husband's works for the rest of her life.

It received a LiveActionAdaptation [[Film/TheCatInTheHat in 2003]], starring Creator/MikeMyers as the titular Cat, which is today considered one of the worst movies ever. Seuss's widow, who had complete control over his estate at the time, hated the overabundance of [[ParentalBonus child-inappropriate humor]] to the point where she vowed never to produce any future live-action adaptations of her husband's works for the rest of her life.

It received a LiveActionAdaptation [[Film/TheCatInTheHat in 2003]], starring Creator/MikeMyers as the titular Cat, which is today considered one of the worst movies ever and a textbook example of how '''''NOT''''' to make a Dr. Seuss adaptation. Seuss's widow, who had complete control over his estate at the time, hated the overabundance of [[ParentalBonus child-inappropriate humor]] to the point where she vowed never to produce any future live-action adaptations of her husband's works for the rest of her life.

->It is fun to have fun, but you have to know how.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The cat is never malevolent. He is simply trying to have fun and doesn't understand the damage he is doing.