'Cat in the Hat' Animated Movie Debuts First Trailer
Following his infamous appearance in live-action (thanks for the nightmares Mike Myers), the Cat in the Hat was condemned to cinematic purgatory (rightfully so). Despite the onslaught of animated Dr. Seuss adaptations that emerged in the years since, Hollywood wouldn’t touch the troublesome feline with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole…until it was just right. That is… until now.
The first trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s upcoming animated adaptation of The Cat in the Hat has just been released, showcasing the film’s whimsical but crisp animated style, as well as voice performances from some of the funniest actors working today, particularly Bill Hader as the titular lead.
Based on the Dr. Seuss children’s book of the same name, The Cat in the Hat revolves around two siblings, Gabby and Sebastian, who go on an adventure with the Cat after their mother (America Ferrera) moves them to a new city. Written and directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, The Cat in the Hat also features the voices of Quinta Brunson as the Cat’s best friend, Sherry from HR, Matt Berry, Paula Pell, and Giancarlo Esposito, and is slated for release on February 27th, 2026.
At an event premiering the trailer, Warner Animation President Bill Damaschke introduced a Q&A with Hader, Carloni, and Rivinoja, while also teasingThe Cat in the Hat as the first in a lineup of upcoming animated films from Warner. “Animation's always been a cornerstone of Warner Bros.,” said Damaschke, “but in this this next chapter, we're really doubling down on that commitment to original stories, as well as really innovative takes on some of our beloved characters and worlds. The Cat in the Hat is the perfect project to be first, because it's all of those things at the same time. We have a slate of great films that we're curating, and The Cat in the Hat is the ambassador for everything that we're trying to do.”
“The Cat in the Hat is a very beloved character, and everyone has a relationship to him,” said Rivinoja, regarding the legacy attached to the IP, and what kids can expect from the film. “He's really a wish fulfillment character. It’s just what every kid loves and wants, is to have a day of craziness and chaos.” Carloni, building on this, added that “we used the book as a jumping off point, and then our movie becomes an expansion on that adventure. We can actually get to explore fantastical, incredible worlds that we've never seen before.” The director continued, explaining how the book further influenced their approach to shaping the world of the Cat in animation. “The thing about this book, that Erica and I took advantage of is that it's the only Seuss book where a Seussian, magical, whimsical character enters the real world to meet the children. And so we decided to try to embrace that and enhance that so that every time the cat enters from his world into the real world, and then we navigate into fantastical world, we created entirely different looks of picture, entirely different aesthetics, and entirely different animation styles.”
Hader’s comedic abilities and natural talent to manipulate his voice made him a natural fit for the role of the Cat, and the actor shared his history with the character. “I'm a big reader and I think those were the first books I remember,” said Hader. Regarding the process of performing the role, and where improvisation came in, Hader added, “Sometimes you do these things and you're like, ‘oh man I gotta really improvise a lot and try to make it work somehow,’ but this was not like that,” said Hader. “The script was insanely funny. I would improvise sometimes, and you could just see them go, ‘let's do another one as written.’”
While SNL introduced audiences to Hader’s improvisational skills, it also provided him a space to play with hilariously obscure impressions, something The Cat in the Hat will be taking full advantage of. “I don't want to do any, you know, spoilers, but I'm sure all the kids at home know who, James Mason is. Or Herbert Marshall. He had no leg, he lost his leg in World War I. But the Herbert Marshall thing, they were like, could you give us a Herbert Marshall? We gotta hit all the taste clusters,” Hader said cheekily.
“There is one scene in which the character has to literally move backward in time,” said Cartoni. “Usually we use filters and digital techniques to rewind voices But Bill’s able to create the sound of a voice moving forward and warping and playing backward. We had to tell our animators, ‘just so you know, that's actually Bill Hader.’”
With how zany and expressive Hader’s Cat comes across in the teaser, it’s no wonder the actor’s passion caused him to chase after the part. “Like everybody, I remember reading that book as a kid, and then reading it to my kids, and then, you know, I've worked with these guys [Rivinoja and Carloni] before on different projects, and I've known them forever,.”
“The combination of these two [Rivinoja and Carloni] and the chance to play such an iconic character was, I was like, yes… I did chase it.”
Directors Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni detailed their creative process behind creating the film, too: “We really tried to bring in what people love about the original book, which is a cat shows up, everybody goes crazy and has fun,” said the former.
“Yeah, and then we kind of used the book as more of a jumping point for us in the sense that the book became a question for us, which is, is this cat really just out there to have a good time for himself and making a mess, or is there more to it?” asked the latter.
Cat in the Hat will mark the first feature film for Rivinoja, while Carloni most notably co-directed Kung Fu Panda 3 in 2016. Together, they’ll look to tackle one of the most iconic kids’ characters of all time in a way that nobody has before.
“This book comes preloaded with a multi-generational fan base, which is great for us,” said Carloni. “At the same time, it's extremely daunting, they all have expectations about this character and love this character, so hopefully we'll make them all proud.”