Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat ★½ The Cat in the Hat 2003 (PG)
Another megastar comedian goes deep under makeup cover to bring a beloved Dr. Seuss character to life. This time it's Myers, who dons the cat garb to bring some mischief to a bored brother and sister on a rainy afternoon. Conrad (Breslin) is an authority-defying slob, while Sally (Fanning) is an uptight overachieving control freak. They rightfully distrust their neighbor Quinn (Baldwin) who has matrimonial designs on their mom (Preston), an overworked real estate agent. First-time helmer Welch reveals his art-director roots in the fully-realized Seussian sets, and in the failure to bring any joy or emotion to the proceedings. The screenwriters must also share the blame, as well, as they go to extremes to flesh out the book, only to drain the translation of charm. You'd be hard-pressed to recognize much that you or your kids love from the book. 82m/C VHS, DVD . US Mike Myers, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin, Kelly Preston, Alec Baldwin, Amy Hill, Sean P. Hayes; D: Bo Welch; W: Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer; C: Emmanuel Lubezki; M: David Newman; V: Sean P. Hayes.