The Cat has a job this time around. In Warner Bros. Animation’s new animated take on the Dr. Seuss classic, the Cat works for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, and his latest assignment lands him on the doorstep of two kids who have just moved to a new town and could use some cheering up. One visit from a tall cat in a striped hat, and their quiet new home turns into cheerful chaos, with Thing 1 and Thing 2 along for the ride.
Bill Hader voices the Cat, bringing the same loose, manic energy that made him a favorite on Saturday Night Live. Xochitl Gomez plays Gabby, the older sister still finding her footing in a new city, and Tiago Martinez plays her little brother, Sebastian. America Ferrera voices their mom, Carmen, Matt Berry plays the family’s very proper goldfish, Waffles, and Giancarlo Esposito plays Mr. Hoogeboom, the Cat’s exasperated boss back at the Institution. Quinta Brunson and Bowen Yang round out the voice cast.
The film was directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, and it builds its story out from Dr. Seuss’s 1957 book, still the first stop for generations of kids learning to read. Trevor Decker News has followed the film through its trailers, including the latest trailer, which sent the Cat chasing after a lost magical hat.
The Cat in the Hat opens in theaters on Friday, November 6, and it has a real shot at becoming the family pick of the weekend. Variety reports the film is tracking toward an opening weekend of around $20 million in North America, good for second place behind Godzilla Minus Zero, which is expected to lead the weekend at around $30 million. It is the first animated movie aimed at families with young kids since Forgotten Island back in September, and it has the field to itself until Disney’s Hexed arrives on November 25.
The studio is also hoping the Cat sticks around for a while. Family films with good word of mouth have a habit of holding on week after week, the way Garfield opened at $23 million in 2024 and kept going to $91 million at home. This is only the second time the Cat has headlined a movie, following the live-action version with Mike Myers back in 2003, and this animated one gives a new generation of kids their first Cat of their own.