Warner Bros. Animation is launching an interconnected cinematic universe based on the timeless tales of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss, starting with a new animated adaptation of The Cat in the Hat. While this won't be the classic cat's first time on screen, the movie marks the first time a studio has ever attempted a comprehensive strategy to weave together a Seuss-iverse. Suess (whose real name was Theodor Geisel) published his first Cat in the Hat book way back in 1957, and it was adapted into a much-loved TV special in 1971 before hitting the big screen in 2003 for a live-action version starring Mike Myers (Austin Powers). Legendary comic Martin Short also voiced the Cat in a PBS Kids cartoon series that ended its run recently.
But despite the universal acclaim for Dr. Seuss's books, their path to the silver screen has been sporadic at best. Universal released a live-action Grinch movie starring Jim Carrey in 2000, and the Myers-led Cat three years later, but after that gave up on their non-animated Seuss movies. Fox's Blue Sky Animation revived the franchise in 2008, returning to animation for Horton Hears a Who!, before Universal animated The Lorax (2012) and The Grinch (2018). Finally, Warner Bros. Animation stepped in, announcing the development of a new Cat in the Hat in 2018 and releasing the Green Eggs and Ham last year.
Now, Warners is teaming with JJ Abrams's Bad Robot, entrusting the mega-producer who steered the returns of both Star Wars and Star Trek to engineer a bold new era of connected Dr. Seuss movies. Vanity Fair reports Cat in the Hat will be the first of three Seuss-iverse movies, including a spin-off for the Cat's mischievous sidekicks, called Thing One and Thing Two, which would be the first Seuss movie not based on a book, and the first-ever adaptation of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! The Cat will be the first out of the bag, with directors Erica Rivinoja (South Park) and Art Hernandez (Planes) prepping The Cat in the Hat for a 2024 release. No filmmakers have been attached to Thing One and Thing Two (2026) or Oh, the Places You'll Go (2027).
“For the first time we’re not just doing one film for one book," said Dr. Seuss Enterprises president Susan Brandt. "We’re going to franchise-build beyond the initial story of these books and find out what happens next. I call it stretching the fabric. How far can it go, to go a little bit deeper with our characters.” But Brandt cautioned that the movies wouldn't be connected quite as directly as the MCU, explaining, "The Cat in the Hat will not meet the boy in Oh, the Places You’ll Go, nor would the Things go visit the Lorax. While it will all feel like part of the Seuss universe, they live in their worlds, and they’re not necessarily going to interact in the same films.”
This is potentially great news, as it's long past time serious effort was put into Seuss projects, and Warner Bros. has done an difficult to watch and not well-received by fans. While some of the more recent animated movies have been better, they've felt like after-thoughts in a landscape dominated by more well-thought-out franchises. Now, the work of one of America's greatest authors will get the respect it deserves - and oh, the places these Dr. Seuss movies could go.
Source: Vanity Fair
