The Cat in the Hat takes on his toughest assignment yet -- providing cheer to Gabby and Sebastian, two siblings trying to adjust to life in a new town. Known for taking things too far, this could be the Cat's last chance to prove himself -- or lose his magical hat!

Director: Erica Rivinoja, Alessandro Carloni

Cast: Bill Hader, Xochitl Gomez, Giancarlo Esposito, Matt Berry, Quinta Brunson, America Ferrera, Bowen Yang

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (updating)

Metacritic: 47 / 100

Some Reviews (updating):

The Hollywood Reporter - Frank Scheck

Hader delivers a suitably manic comic performance, but his hard-working efforts aren’t enough to enliven the pedestrian storyline, which unsurprisingly delivers the sort of emotional, inspirational messages toward the end that seem designed to make up for all the preceding anarchy. It doesn’t help that some of the characters are more annoying than endearing, including the unhappy, whiny Gabby and a nastily stern landlady (a lively Paula Pell) who has a redemption arc before the conclusion.

IGN - Eric Goldman - 7 / 10

Turning out much better than its early trailers indicated, The Cat in the Hat takes what is arguably Dr. Seuss’ most iconic character — though I’m sure some will say the Grinch has now surpassed him — and provides a much more satisfying film adaptation than the first attempt 23 years ago. If it had just gotten one more merciless edit to trim down some extraneous subplots, it could have hit “Great” status; regardless, it’s still funny and clever, and offers a warmhearted and likable expansion of the Cat and his fantastic abilities.

DEADLINE - Pete Hammond

At the center is a terrific vocal performance by Hader who really captures the spirit of a Cat In The Hat for a new generation. Berry makes for a wonderfully erudite Waffles, as the perfectly pitched voice cast delivers on all fronts including the always reliable Pell who makes landlady Patty more than a one dimensional pain in the behind. The ever-changing visual styles are also a welcome innovation over the usual CGI-driven ‘toons aimed at kids these days. This one is a genuine treat for everyone in the family. Shout out to the music, notably some bright songs including the title track, and Hilary Duff’s “CATastrophe”. Don’t leave during the end credits or you will miss a great bit replaying the entire movie in mere seconds.

Mashable - Kristy Puchko

Hader's The Cat In The Hat is certainly better than Myers'.
But so is plucking out my nose hairs with needle-nose pliers.
In the end, I can't cheer this cartoon's feline joker.
Best I can say is that this movie is mediocre.

The Film Verdict - Alonso Duralde

Captures the anarchic yet warm-hearted spirit of the original Dr. Seuss story, and it wisely sends the lead character off on a new adventure rather than try to bloat the classic 1957 tale into feature length.

Associated Press - Mark Kennedy - 1.5 / 4

Making a mess of “The Cat in the Hat” didn’t have to happen. It didn’t have to have a possible rip in the time-space continuum. It didn’t have to flood the zone with Things. And it doesn’t need a sequel, please.

Variety - Owen Glieberman - 40 / 100

When it came to devising the voice he would use for “Lincoln,” Daniel Day-Lewis spent months working out the precise timbre and inflection and rhythm of how he imagined Abraham Lincoln might have sounded. All of which got me to thinking about the voice Daniel Day-Lewis might have used to play the Cat in the Hat. Reading the Dr. Seuss books as a kid, I always imagined the Cat in the Hat sounding vaguely aristocratic, a touch effete, with the edgy attitude of a blithe troublemaker. ...We’ll never know how Daniel Day-Lewis would have voiced the Cat in the Hat. But I’m pretty sure that if he took on the role, he’d have made the Cat more spiky and audacious, less safe, more cut with personality, more…Cat in the Hat-like than Bill Hader does.

Fresh Fiction - Courtney Howard - 'B+'

With irreverent humor, indelible charm and a solid anchor performance by lead Hader, who sneaks wit and wisdom into his vocal intonations (and slips in a James Mason impression when mocking Berry’s British thespian voice), THE CAT IN THE HAT is a real winner.

Boston Globe - Odie Henderson - 38 / 100

There is nothing Seussian about this movie besides the fact that someone at his estate greenlit this hot mess. You can replace the Cat in the Hat with, say, a Pig in a Wig, and the outcome would be the same.

Awards Watch - Jorge Tenreiro - 'B'

For all its corporate rules and familiar emotional baggage, The Cat in the Hat is at its best when it simply lets the cat out of the bag and allows him to run wild. It is loud, unruly, and occasionally a little too pleased with its own chaos, but its good humor is hard to resist. Not every trick is new, and not every mess needs to be quite this big. Still, there are worse ways to spend a family outing than in the company of a cat who takes having fun this seriously. Just don’t expect him to know when to stop.

MovieWeb - Pamela Gores - 3.5 / 5

Uneven comedy keeps The Cat in the Hat from being as consistently entertaining as its best sequences suggest, but its unexpected emotional depth makes a trip to the theater with the family worthwhile. Hader and Berry are enjoyable company, and the animation has plenty of personality, though the film is strongest when it gives the family’s feelings its full attention. There’s more under the Cat’s hat than chaos, even if a few too many jokes get in the way.

The Wrap - William Bibbiani - 38 / 100

We shouldn’t be thinking about business when we think about “The Cat in the Hat.” We should be thinking about breaking everything our parents own for the fun of it and how we can superglue it back together before they get home without getting our fingers permanently stuck to something. We should be thinking about living, not about marketing. We should be entertained, not bored. We should be reading a book that’s still anarchic almost 70 years later, not watching a new film that’s just like all the others.

AV Club - Jacob Oller - 'C'

Is it a self-referential parody, where the Cat is pepper-sprayed for being a home invader? Is it a sentimental watering-down of a genuinely odd children’s classic, where everyone thanks the Cat for giving them what they needed emotionally? The most solid evidence comes from the boardroom: Before the merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount, The Cat In The Hat was supposed to launch something called the “Seussiverse,” with a standalone Thing-based film following soon after. The seams holding these different approaches together are as visible as the neon fissures ripped in the fabric of its imaginary worlds—and no multi-handed, cat-driven vehicle is coming to clean up the corporate mess.

InSession Film - Joshua Mbonu - 'C'

Alas, 2026’s The Cat in the Hat isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel for family entertainment, and even with all its horrific faults the 2003 film will certainly be more memorable, but this version captures a genuine earnest nature to its connection to the timeless Seuss material in an era where so many other ones merely exist for corporate box checking instead. So the film is far from perfect and much of its humor falls flat, but it has its heart in the right place as a fine children’s film and there’s something to appreciate about that.

ScreenRant - Liz Declan - 5 / 10

In the end, The Cat in the Hat undercuts its own wit, charm, and humor with a narrative that refuses any sort of cleaning up or streamlining, and that's really a shame. It's far from a completely miserable experience – it's actually plenty of fun to watch, and kids will likely love it. Yet, what could have been a playful yet meaningful take on this classic character, with touches of The Grinch and emotional explorations as deep as Inside Out, falls apart with a whiplash-inducing plot and an ending that tells audiences, "Just trust us, it all worked out."

Fortress of Solitude - Casey Chong - 3 / 5

The 2D/3D animation hybrid is visually stunning, capturing the essence of Dr. Seuss’s irreverent visual aesthetics, while Bill Hader and Matt Berry deserve mention here, even though The Cat in the Hat lacks genuine warmth and soul.

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'The Cat in the Hat' - Review Thread