Line #35 YMMV/TheCatInTheHat


1	!!Book:
2	* AlternateAesopInterpretation: "Set boundaries for yourself and others." While the kids do, indeed, have fun with the Cat, he kind of blindsides them too, barging into their house to play games and only stopping when they get angry with him.
3	* {{Applicability}}: "It's fun to have fun, but you need to know how!" can just as easily apply to things that adults find fun, like alcohol, sex, partying or being frivolous with money. If anything, it's ''more'' important that adults know how to have fun responsibly, lest they face consequences a little heavier than a messy house.
4	* CommonKnowledge: The boy, being the narrator, is not named in the book. His name "Conrad" is purely an [[NamedByTheAdaptation invention]] of the live action film.
5	* EpilepticTrees:
6	** "[[http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~norm/CatInHat.html Freud on Seuss]]," which ascribes Freudian motivations to everything that happens in the story.
7	** In the first book, we see Mom's bed. It's a single bed. In the second book, we see Dad's bed. It's a double bed. Though this has more to do with societal standards circa the late 1950s, which considered any implication that a man and a woman slept in the same bed to be vulgar.
8	* {{Fanon}}: The boy is unnamed in the books (due to it being told from his perspective), but he is often given the name, "Conrad" from fans, thanks to the live action movie.
9	* FirstInstallmentWins: While it did receive a well received sequel in the form of ''The Cat in the Hat Comes Back'', the original will forever remain the most iconic and the one all the various adaptations take from, with the second book remaining unadapted. There were plans for a sequel to the 2003 film that would have been an adaptation of the second book, but the failure of the 2003 film and Audrey Geisel's refusal to have any more live action adaptations of her husband's work, led to it being cancelled.
10	* TearJerker: The ScreenToStageAdaptation of "The Cat In The Hat" shot in London has the scene where the boy tells The Cat to put Thing 1 and Thing 2 back into the red box. He lessons and then lets out the Things and one of them gets very excited and wants to have more fun. The Cat sternly shakes his head and Thing 1 and Thing 2 respond by crying as they sadly go inside the box and the cat then carries the box and meows sadly as he leaves.
11
12	!!Animated special:
13	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: "Calculatus Eliminatus". Never has a song about vandalism been so much fun.
14	* CantUnHearIt: Just try to read the original book in any voice other than Creator/AllanSherman's.
15	* FranchiseOriginalSin: The live-action movie is frequently decried for, among its many other faults, following the original book only in ''very'' BroadStrokes. This adaptation actually doesn't follow it very closely either though, which is especially a contrast from the other animated Dr. Seuss specials. It just happened this didn't have any of the other glaring issues the movie had (crass adult humor, UnintentionalUncannyValley visual effects, and virtually no focus, among others) to bring it down along with it, and as much as it deviated from the source, it still kept true to the Seuss spirit. The latter point was helped no doubt by Ted Geisel himself being involved with its production.
16	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/AllanSherman as The Cat shows off a wide range of emotions in only 20 minutes, despite not being well known as an actor.
17	* MemeticMutation: In the {{YouTube Poop}}s that have been made out of this, Krinklebine's "Outrageous!" is often repeated for humorous effect.
18	* PopularityPolynomial: Was well-received when it first came out, but fell somewhat into obscurity in the 80s and 90s, overshadowed by the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' (and, to a lesser extent, ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lorax\|1972}}''). In 2003 it got a DVD release to cash in on the live-action version, and was widely regarded as a ''far'' superior adaptation by comparison.
19	* ValuesDissonance: The [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign made-up Eskimo words]] during "Cat, Hat" were most likely the best that the uninformed creators could do on a TV schedule and budget, and cultural sensitivities at the time most likely wouldn't have cared. From the 90s onward, it would be considered more than a little insensitive and in the age of Google Translate, it'd be considered downright lazy, especially since all of the European languages are included without flaw. The use of "Eskimo" itself is problematic since it is considered a slur. As the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council said in a [[https://www.cbsc.ca/cbsc-decisions/page/chch-dt-re-happy-days-all-the-way/ decision]] about the first episode of ''Series/HappyDays'', "In 1977, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) voted to replace 'Eskimo' with 'Inuit' as a designation for all circumpolar Indigenous peoples, but not all Yupik people accept this designation."
20
21	!!Film:
22	* AdaptationDisplacement: In some countries where the book and the animated special aren't well-known [[NoExportForYou and/or were never published]], many viewers were introduced to The Cat in the Hat by this movie.
23	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Was The Cat originally a cruel saboteur who was perfectly willing to ruin the lives of a family just for fun, only to have a change of heart in the end, or was he ultimately trying to help Sally and Conrad understand their limits to having fun, knowing that the destruction he was causing would [[SecretTestOfCharacter help them to learn their lessons]]?
24	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The Creator/{{Universal\|Pictures}}[=/=]Creator/{{DreamWorks\|SKG}}[=/=]Creator/{{Imagine\|Entertainment}} [[VanityPlate logos]]. All three animated in the style of the original book, with some gags thrown in (Mr. Krinklebine even appears in Imagine's ripples).
25	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/SmashMouth's "Hang On" is remembered fondly today despite the vitriol for the film.
26	** Not to mention the band's rendition of the Beatles "Getting Better", which accompanies the Cat's cleaning routine towards the end of the film.
27	* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Cat in the Hat himself, with audiences split on whether or not he's funny, and whether or not that funniness makes up for his creepy design and {{Jerkass}} behavior (which some claim makes him funnier).
28	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
29	** The matador scene from the song near the beginning has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the song or the rest of the movie. Arguably the entire song could count as this, but that bit especially. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Originally]], the matador scene was the setup for a [[DeletedScene deleted verse]] which can be heard on the soundtrack CD and accessed on the "Deleted Scenes" feature on the DVD. Needless to say, this BLAM could have been averted if the verse was left in the final cut.
30	** There's also the Cat's HappyPlace sequence after getting [[GroinAttack hit in the crotch]].
31	** The whole "Rave" scene as the group are running away from Lawrence - featuring a cameo from Creator/ParisHilton.
32	** The scene where Mrs. Kwan watches a brawl break out in the ''Taiwanese parliament''.
33	** The Cat pausing the film to advertise Ride/UniversalStudios.
34	* BileFascination: It's a Dr. Seuss movie ''loaded'' with rather inappropriate gags and lines that wouldn't be out of place in an ''Film/AustinPowers'' movie. One just ''has to'' see why this did not go over so well with Seuss' family.
35	* CantUnHearIt: Legit or ironic fans of the film, unironically, like to read the Cat's lines from the book in the voice of Creator/MikeMyers.
36	* CriticalBacklash: The movie was ''widely'' hated upon its release. However, similar to what happened with ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie'', it later found popularity in the late 2010s as an internet meme. As a result, many people who've decided to WatchItForTheMeme have said that the film's visual style and humor manage to hold well on their own merits, despite it generally agreed that it's not a good adaptation of the book.
37	* CultClassic: The film is so deranged and weird, it has attracted more than a few genuine fans over the years. There truly is no film like it, so some fans have come to view it as a surrealist masterpiece.
38	* DesignatedHero:
39	** This version of the Cat in the Hat is this. In stark contrast to the somewhat reckless but kindhearted and well-meaning feline in the book, here he's a foul-mouthed, wisecracking {{Jerkass}} who admits at the end to ''planning the whole day'' and everything that went wrong in it.
40	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
41	** Mrs. Kwan has become this due to being one of the film's less annoying characters.
42	** Mr. Humberfloob has a following of sorts mainly due to Sean Hayes' energy being put into him and the infamous "[[LargeHam You're FIRRRRRRRRRRRRRE-DUH!]]" {{meme\|ticMutation}}.
43	* FountainOfMemes:
44	** The Cat is one due to his spewing of adult jokes in a kids movie.
45	** Mr. Humberfloob was brilliantly played by Sean Hayes and spawned the "You're FIRRRRRRRRRRRRE-DUH!" meme as well as others since the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.
46	* FridgeBrilliance:
47	** The reason Cat is threatening violence or planning to threat violence to Nevins is because he's a cat and Nevins is a dog. Cats naturally hate dogs. This is even more prominent in one of the deleted scenes, where he actually jumps into Sally's arms at the first sight of him.
48	** While it seems to just be an ironic gag that the Cat is lactose intolerant since people like to give cats milk and/or creme, real life cats ''actually are'' lactose intolerant, and it is advised against to give them any.
49	* FridgeLogic: Sort of a "blink and you'll miss it" moment, but when the Cat has the kids sign a contract, he pulls out a paper with the words "Spayed and Neutered", which raises the question of how the GroinAttack hurt so much if he was already neutered. Also, how can he be ''spayed'' if he's male (the correct term would be "castrated")? Cat implies in the fun song that he was neutered for misbehaving when he was younger or it really was another cat. Cat is also able to get an erection in both his tail and hat.
50	* FriendlyFandoms: With ''Film/{{Eurotrip}}'', made by the same writers.
51	* HarsherInHindsight: In the wake of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, people mass-buying hand sanitizer, and health experts advising against shaking hands, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20200316040759if_/https://twitter.com/AgedWell_/status/1239401038668533760 this scene]] is now being viewed by some as being darkly prophetic, though others instead see it as HilariousInHindsight in the vein of BlackComedy.
52	* HilariousInHindsight: Wouldn't be the last time Mike Myers stars in [[WesternAnimation/Shrek2 a movie featuring an anthropomorphic cat]]. Only difference is, he's not playing said cat. And bonus points for the aforementioned cat coughing up a hairball.
53	* JerkassWoobie:
54	** Conrad might be a destructive sociopath, but you can't help but feel bad for him, since his mom's boyfriend verbally abuses him behind her back and towards the end of the film, he nearly loses his sister and actually decides to willingly accept responsibility for wrecking the house.
55	** Sally is a total control-freak, but like with Conrad, one can see that they lack real stability (what with being babysat a lot and their mother supporting them with a job at a hostile work environment) and towards the end of the film, was willing to go to the dreaded military academy with her brother.
56	* MagnificentBastard: [[TricksterMentor The Cat in the Hat]] himself is a mischievous prankster who intends to teach Sally and Conrad a lesson about how to have fun. Entering their house, he immediately causes as much damage as he possibly can with his "fun", concluding by wheeling in a locked box and telling Conrad not to open it. When Conrad breaks the lock anyway, the Cat brings the children on a dangerous adventure, even having them drive on a busy highway and ultimately traversing through the "[[EldritchLocation The Mother of All Messes]]", the horrifying and broken version of their house. After they fix the lock, it's revealed that the Cat planned out everything on their journey, [[ReversePsychology purposefully telling Conrad not to open the lock]] because [[BatmanGambit he knew that would make Conrad want to do it]]. With the kids having learned their lesson, the Cat returns to fix up the damages he caused, departing from the children as a friend.
57	* MemeticMolester: The live-action Cat played by Mike Myers, to a degree.
58	* MemeticMutation: Chef Cat saying "You're not just wrong, you're stupid" is used as a reaction to indicate someone being genuinely wrong in a particularly JustForFun/{{Egregious}} way, or as a {{Straw Character}}'s cheap ad hominem attack when they lack logical or convincing rebuttals.
59	* MemeticPsychopath: In late 2017 and early 2018, Website/{{Tumblr}} began to depict The Cat as a [[AxCrazy murder-obsessed monster]] [[BatterUp wielding a baseball bat]]. The meme involved photoshopping him in pictures where it looks as though he's about to kill someone.
60	* MisaimedMerchandising: The marketing and tie-in merchandise aside from the trailers averted the dirty jokes showcased throughout the film.
61	* MisBlamed: Between his WagTheDirector antics on previous films, and credited screenwriters Alec Berg, Dave Mandel and Jeff Schaffer (who did the uncredited rewrites for ''The Grinch'') being responsible for the better-received ''Film/EuroTrip'' just a few months later, Mike Myers was widely accused of rewriting the screenplay and at the very least having added all the smutty humor, if not outright destroying what had once been a good adaptation. In reality though, Myers' contribution extended to no more than the occasional ad-lib on the set. That said, Berg, Mandel and Schaffer's screenplay apparently ''was'' put through the rewrite process, allegedly by studio executives, just not by Myers.
62	* ParodyDisplacement: Did you know that both characters portrayed by the Cat in the infomercial were based on real personalities? No? Most probably, none of the kids in the audience for ''The Cat in the Hat'' were aware of it either. Mike was parodying ''Amazing Discoveries'', a series of infomercials that aired on late-night TV from 1989 to 1997, and specifically its host, Mike Levey, who always wore sweaters and most often had a British pitchman showing him some "astounding" product which had just come on the market for public consumption, and about which Levey usually asked inane questions. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSB4BvLSrjU Here's one of those shows.]] (Sadly, Mike Levey passed away from cancer in August of 2003. ''The Cat in the Hat'' was released in November of that year, so Levey never got a chance to see himself being parodied up on the big screen.)
63	* QuestionableCasting: The film got lots of flak for casting Creator/MikeMyers as the Cat (after Creator/TimAllen left the film) due to his track record of humor being inappropriate for the typical age demographic of Creator/DrSeuss readers (although he was notable as another kids' icon, Franchise/{{Shrek}}); both he and director Creator/BoWelch were legally forced into the film due to Universal being angry over Myers cancelling a movie adaptation of ''Series/{{S\|aturdayNightLive}}prockets''. Unfortunately, many of the fears from parents ended up being realized once the film came out. Even Audrey Giesel herself objected to Myers' role as the titular character.
64	* RetroactiveRecognition: Before becoming a famous actress, Creator/DakotaFanning played Sally on ''The Cat'' ''in'' ''the'' ''Hat''.
65	* TheScrappy: Thing One and Thing Two are generally disliked, not because they've been flanderized just like the Cat, but due to the consensus that their designs are incredibly scary in live action.
66	* SignatureLine: "Dirty hoe".
67	* SignatureScene: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1vUrHKvH3o The Kupkake-inator scene]], to the point that it has even been parodied numerous times on Website/YouTube.
68	* SoBadItsGood: Between the [[{{Narm}} hilariously terrible acting]], [[DemographicallyInappropriateHumour adult jokes]], and disturbingly high number of pop-culture references, it's easy to see why some people view this a GuiltyPleasure.
69	* SoOkayItsAverage: Some opinions on this movie. As an adaptation, it's not exactly something Dr. Seuss would be proud of (In fact, his Estate was pretty livid over it and prohibited any other live action films of his works since). On its own however, it's at worst a little boring and has at least a few jokes which land.
70	* SpecialEffectFailure:
71	** Many of the scenes involving glaringly obvious and dated CGI (i.e., the Things running around the house and the "Mother of All Messes") can qualify as this.
72	** An odd case with the Cat himself. While many consider the makeup to be UnintentionalUncannyValley, it at least looks somewhat faithful to the Cat's appearance in the book, similar to the Grinch in ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas2000''. However, unlike the Grinch, in which the makeup was known to be extremely uncomfortable for Jim Carrey, who practiced stress-relief techniques to focus on his role, there are several moments throughout the movie where Mike Myers visibly struggles with the extreme discomfort of his costume, which really hurts the authenticity of his performance and makeup. Not helping matters is you can easily see where the costume ends and Myers' actual face begins.
73	** If you look closely during the Kupkake-inator scene when the Cat swings his cleaver down on his tail, you can see that the cleaver doesn't completely go through the tail.
74	* {{Squick}}: Larry Quinn has multiple moments that cause this reaction:
75	** Although his true nature is hinted at when he steals food from the Walden family and burping in the kids' faces, his BalloonBelly pops out of his girdle once he's inside his house, and he removes his dentures. Both are close-up shots, and it seems like [[FatSlob the film just wants you to know how gross he is]].
76	** Once he finishes his phone call with Joan snitching on Conrad, he's picking his belly button in a sense of accomplishment and farting.
77	** Falling out of a pipe in the Walden house covered in a weird purple slime, and sneezing into his hands once Joan rejects him. [[ItMakesSenseInContext Yeah...]]
78	* StrawmanHasAPoint: It's not hard to agree with the Fish that the Cat should leave. The Cat even agreed with him at the start of the film before the kids begged him not to.
79	* TaintedByThePreview: The unintentionally creepy Cat is seen in all the trailers and some of the dirty humor (including the extending hat) is shown.
80	* TakeThatScrappy: Conrad and Sally's GetOut moment is this for anyone who hates this particular version of the Cat.
81	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: This is natural considering that it is a borderline adult parody of one of the most beloved kids books of all time. Audrey Giesel was so unhappy to the changes that she prevented future live-action movies of her husband's books to be made.
82	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Compared to the original book, the Fish has little to no influence on the plot itself. He only attempts to stop the Cat's antics about halfway through his visit inside the house, and once Thing 1 and Thing 2 enter the picture, the Fish is reduced to a couple minor scenes that could just as easily be removed. His lack of screentime also leaves the Cat without a CloudcuckoolandersMinder, making him much more unhinged than he was in the book.
83	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Admittedly, the concept of the Cat's universe existing inside of a sort of Pandora's Box is a fascinating concept that doesn't get nearly the treatment it deserves.
84	* TookTheBadFilmSeriously:
85	** It's pretty obvious that poor Creator/MikeMyers was trying his best to make this film at least bearable, but there was simply nothing he could do to save the disaster. Same goes for Creator/SeanHayes.
86	** One of the common [[DamnedByFaintPraise faint praises]] toward the movie is the cinematography done by Emmanuel Lubezski, who managed to make a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids child-unfriendly]] family film look [[SceneryPorn colorful and gorgeous]].
87	* UnintentionalUncannyValley:
88	** The Things. In illustrations and animation, you can get away with designing characters without upper-lips since it would look like mustaches or wrinkles, but in live-action doing that only makes characters look downright ''creepy''.
89	** The Cat himself is no better; unlike say, [[Film/TheWizardOfOz The Cowardly Lion,]] the cat's muzzle was not designed to hide or even obscure his glaringly human lips and teeth, and you can see the outline of Mike's head through the makeup.
90	** The Fish is pretty creepy-looking, too. It's a little unclear just WHAT they were trying to do with him, but it looks like a cross between the Fish from the book and an actual fish that you'd see in real life. It also seems they were trying to sneak in a Creator/DonKnotts caricature in there, [[SarcasmMode because apparently]], he's the "StopHavingFunGuy" [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants like Squidward]]. And somewhere along the line, someone decided to give him '''teeth'''!
91	* UncertainAudience: The reason why the film failed. It tried to appeal to Dr. Seuss fans but it appealed to fans of raunchy jokes and vice versa.
92	* VillainHasAPoint: Although Larry is a selfish and manipulative hypocrite, his dislike of the children's attitudes is not unjustified at the start of the film. Conrad is a destructive rule breaker who doesn't respect his mother and borders on psychopathic behaviour. Sally is an irritating control freak who [[TeachersPet constantly sucks up to parental figures]], and though Larry's BrutalHonesty with her about this is harsh, it's not without merit.
93	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The sheer wackiness and colorful portrayal of Anville is about the only thing this film got even close to right, trying its best to mimic Dr. Seuss' trademark style.
94	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: This film definitely qualifies: Despite it being based on a book meant for kindergarteners, the movie dealt with a lot of extremely crass humor and rather dirty things that should not be exposed to kids. The fact it was written by the same writers of ''Film/{{Eurotrip}}'', an R-rated sex comedy didn't help. Dr. Seuss's widow was actually so disgusted by this that she decided not to be a part of any film adaptation of her late husband's works, other than declaring that any future adaptations would only be animated from now on.
95	* WTHCostumingDepartment: Even the world of Creator/DrSeuss could not find a home for The Cat as brought to life by Mike Myers, whose suit and makeup made for some hardcore UnintentionalUncannyValley and pales to [[Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas2000 the Grinch's]] design when donned by Creator/JimCarrey.
96
97	!!The video game:
98	* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The video game is a solid [=2.5D=] platformer that, despite being mainly based on the film, is enjoyable enough on its own.
99	* PlayerPunch: After defeating Lawrence Quinn in each of his machines, Thing 1 and Thing 2 operate them if the boss battle returns.
100	* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: There was inexplicably a version of this game released for the ''original [=PlayStation=]'' in 2003. It is a severely limited and boring "find the hidden object" game with graphics that wouldn't be out of place on a ''16-bit'' console.
101	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: The Cat isn't that annoying in the game and is more likable.
102	* UnintentionalUncannyValley: The game's character models are based directly off the film's live-action characters and designs, which can cause this effect.
103
104	!!The ride:
105	* SoOkayItsAverage: Though it was met with warm reception when it first opened, opinions over the ride have changed over the years to it just being merely "okay". Most fans seem to agree that it is in desperate need of a good refurbishment/overhaul.
106	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The ride's onboard music track is noticeably similar to the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' theme song, only much more manic.
107	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Fans were not pleased to see the spinning in the ride get drastically toned down. While understanding that it was done for safety reasons (as there had been a series of incidents on the ride over the years), they feel it takes a lot away from the experience and renders certain scenes pointless.

Context YMMV / TheCatInTheHat