With Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax actually being the “first blockbuster of the year,” well on its way to a domestic take of $150m+ (sorry, John Carter), it is no surprise we have news of another one of the author’s books getting the animated treatment. Deadline is reporting that Universal Pictures is re-teaming with Illumination Entertainment’s Chris Meledandri once again, this time for The Cat in the Hat.
Rob Lieber will script the the film, which will avoid recognition of the 2003 live-action film starring Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin and Dakota Fanning. Considering I altogether forgot that even existed, I assume they’ll have little problem carving out new territory. I vividly remember the actual book as a kid though (including the mysterious Thing One and Thing Two characters) and hope they opt for more of the fun spirit found in the material, rather than banging our heads over and over again with an obvious message.
As for Lieber, he is currently working on bringing Judith Viorst children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. With that being another one of my favorite books as a kid, I sincerely hope he pulls both of these projects off. Meledandri is also working on a Despicable Me 2 sequel, which is set for a release next summer and includes Al Pacino as our villain.
Is this a worthy Dr. Seuss book to get the animated treatment?