Some Liked Cat Less Than I Did; Better When Viewed Through Eyes of a Kid

Sometimes, the problem with writing a review is just knowing whom you’re writing it for. That’s because your target audience is an important consideration when you’re recording your impressions on any given product. Do they have the same taste as you? Will they at least be able to understand your analysis and critique? Any reviewer has his or her own biases, after all. It’s important for a reader to identify this, and then take any advice in a review accordingly.

So what’s the point of all this in relation the Universal Pictures’ The Cat in the Hat? We’re getting there, so please be patient. Admittedly, Universal has been plastering the airwaves with a steady barrage of commercials for this flick. They’ve also marketed it to the max, and Cat in the Hat merchandise is to be seen lately just about everywhere you go.

Now that the film has been released, however, it has been generally panned by the professional critics, and more than a few Epinions reviewers seem to have had similar impressions. There’s just one problem with this that I can see. Above all, this is a children’s film (though some adults will enjoy it). So what is the problem?

The children aren’t writing the reviews.

That said, I thought I would attempt to take a kid’s perspective into view in writing my own review. But before all of that, let it be known that The Cat in the Hat is loosely based on Dr. Seuss children’s story of the same name. That story was not an exceedingly long one, so as you can imagine the film has been extended quite a bit with original material in order to make it a feature length film. Even at that, it’s only about 82 minutes, rather brief indeed by today’s standards.

The action follows little Sally (Dakota Fanning) and Conrad (Spencer Breslin) who live with their mom in a house like any other in the quaint town of Annville. As with any kids, Sally and Conrad have their own little idiosyncrasies. Conrad just loves to break the rules, and to do the opposite of whatever he’s told. Sally, by contrast, is quite the opposite. She’s a stickler for being organized, prim and proper, so much so that it has cost her her friends.

Enter mom Joan (Kelly Preston). She’s involved with the guy next door (Alec Baldwin), who can’t stand the kids, and is trying to convince Joan to place Conrad in military school. Joan is torn on what to do, and to add to her problems her retentive boss Mr. Humberfloob (Sean Hayes) wants to host an important company party at her home. Which must be, of course, spotless, dooming the kids to a rainy day of boredom. To keep the house clean, they’re restricted as to what they can do. Until, that is, a mysterious six-foot tall talking cat in a magical hat (Mike Myers) arrives and changes all the rules.

And that’s how the fun begins. And the movie is fun. Admittedly, Myers does at times fall flat more than a few times with lines that just aren’t that funny. But more often than not, he’s very funny, and at times hilarious. His interaction with Sally and Conrad are well executed, and both Fanning and Breslin give adequate performances. Make no mistake, neither one is as charming as, say, McCauley Culkin in Home Alone or Uncle Buck, but they are convincing enough in their roles for the film to work.

Kelly Preston has little to do and not much time to do it in. Baldwin, however, is a convincing bad guy. It’s fun watching him go down. Sean Hayes is also a lot of fun in his brief appearances as Humberfloob.

Much of the magic of the film, however, is the fantastic world imagined by Seuss and brought to life on the big screen. The sets are delightful, as are the amazing characters Thing One and Thing Two. The special effects that bring them and their amazing antics to life are a lot of fun indeed.

With a stretched plot and at times juvenile humor level, this film won’t appeal to all adults. I laughed a lot and enjoyed it, but for many it may be best to wait for this one to hit the DVD shelves.

But how about kids? How do they like it? This is, after all, a children’s story. When we attended, the kids in the audience seemed magically enthralled, eyes fixed on the screen throughout the film and with nary a sound escaping their lips except for the frequent fits of laughter. Kids 11 and under will likely love the film. There are a few moments of implied adult humor, but they’re mild and there’s nothing that kids will really pick up on.

At the end of the film, kids were calling the Cat “cool”, although Thing One and Thing Two seemed to get more praise than the Cat himself did. The film seemed to be very popular, and I think its rather brief running time is perfectly suited for younger (and shorter) attention spans. There's even a bit of a moral at the end as the youngsters learn something about themselves through their experiences with the Cat.

I’ll reiterate. The Cat in the Hat is a children’s film above all else, and when judged on that criteria it’s a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with your youngsters. Don’t expect more from it, and you may even enjoy the film along with them, as I did.