THE CAT IN THE HAT

"But is he saying anything... no not really"

The Cat in the Hat

Conrad (Breslin) never does what he is told; he is the classic rule breaker. Sally (Fanning) does everything that she is told but enjoys telling everyone else what to do; she is the classic control freak. When their mother leaves them with a babysitter so she can go to work, she gives them strict instructions not mess up the house and this time they are going to take notice. What they didn't count on is a visit from the mischievous Cat in the Hat (Meyers) who just wants them to have fun.

Dr. Seuss's beloved children's books are filled with magic and rhyme, it just shame that the filmmakers forgot to include either this time.

The major problem with this movie is how do you make a short, children's book into an eighty-minute plus feature film. Yes, you keep to the original premise of the source material which is all about been good but then you have to come up with a load of supplementary material to fill in the gaps. So you add in a money-grabbing boyfriend, an escaping dog and a Mother's house party for his obsessively clean boss. The problem is that these all distract you from the main plotline.

Mike Myers is one of the most talented comedians working in movies, anyone who has seen the Austin Powers movies will agree to that but while his comedic persona lends itself well to playful cat, the character starts to get really annoying after about five minutes. He uses far too many pop culture references for comic effect and this will ultimately date the movie in years to come. He is also far too over the top and moronic to be in the slightest bit likable and when Mike Myers to supposed to be the major pulling point of the movie, this is not a good sign.

The two kids fair better however. Dakota Fanning is one of the best child actresses working in film at the moment and she gives another good performance here as control-freak Sally. Spencer Breslin is also good as rule-breaker Conrad, proving that he is a talent, especially when you wouldn't class him as your typical Hollywood look, for a child actor.

As for the support, Kelly Preston does her best with a limited role. Sean Hayes isn't bad as Mr Humberfloob and the voice of the Goldfish but Alec Baldwin is just plain annoying as the villain of the piece Larry Quinn.

The Cat in the Hat will probably go down well with its target audience, the under twelve's but for the rest of us, the whole thing is just irritating. The jokes are repetitive and childish; the makeup effects on the cat are not that great and the most criminal thing of all is that the essence of Dr. Seuss's beloved story is lost within all the rubbish that the filmmakers have decided to add to it.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is very good. The picture quality is extremely sharp through bringing Dr Seuss's world to life with all its vivid colours. The sound is also very good as the mishaps and mischief the Cat and kids get up to fills all the speakers.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by director Bo Welch and star Alec Baldwin
This is a fun and informative commentary track by the director and star. Welch chats passionately about the more technical aspects of the movie such as the difficulties in filming because of the amount of time it took to apply Mike Myers's makeup and the limited amount of time the kids could work. Alec Baldwin is extremely funny throughout, cracking jokes at everyone's expense, even his own.

The Hat (2.21 mins)
Costume design Rita Ryack shows you the many different hats that the Cat had during filming, revealing how each one reflected the emotion of the scene or a gadget needed to advance the story.

The Real Dr Seuss (2.49 mins)
Mike Myers, producer Brian Grazer, Alec Baldwin and wife Audrey Geisel talk about the real life Dr Seuss, author Ted Geisel.

The S.L.O.W. (2.21 mins)
Production designer Alex McDowell reveals the secrets behind the design of The Cat's car. Star Mike Myers talks about what it is like to drive.

The Cat Stacks (1.46 mins)
Animation supervisors Craig Talmy and Keith Roberts show you how computer graphics enables the Cat to hold loads of objects at once, while standing on a ball.

The Mother of All Messes (2.34 mins)
Visual effects supervisor Douglas Smith and animation supervisors Craig Talmy and Keith Roberts reveal how the crate causes so much mess, goop and a vortex.

Dance-A-Long with the Cat
Learn how to dance like the Cat in very easy steps.

The Cat (2.32 mins)
Cat suit designer Steve Johnson and star Mike Myers talk about creating the look of the cat. They take you behind the scenes of the makeup application and how they made the suit for Mike.

Seussville U.S.A. (3.31 mins)
Director Bo Welch takes you behind the scenes of designing the town and houses of Seussville. He reveals how they refitted an actual Californian town and how they built the houses.

The Fish (2.25 mins)
Digital effects supervisor Chris Sjoholm and star Sean Hayes talk about bringing the conscience of the film to life, The Fish.

The Music (2.22 mins)
Composer David Newman talks about scoring the movie and how he designed new instruments to create a unique sound for the film.

Deleted Scenes (15.57 mins)
Eight deleted scenes that have some funny moments. Highlights include an extended sequence in a TV store, the Cat dancing with Paris Hilton and Thing 1 & 2 creating a flood.

Outtakes (5.51 mins)
Your chance to watch Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin, Spencer Breslin, Sean Hayes and Kelly Preston make a hash of their lines.

OVERALL

A movie made for kids gets a DVD that caters well for them. While the adults will complain about the shortness of the featurettes, they are aimed at younger people with much shorter attention spans. The commentary track is good however but the deleted scenes could have done with a track to explain why they were removed. Fans of the movie will be pleased with this DVD presentation.

DVD

The Grinch

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2004