Twenty three years ago, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures released The Cat in the Hat – a whimsical movie adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ famous book.
The 2003 film featuring Mike Myers flopped in the box office, losing the studio $8 million.
But years later, the movie is remembered as a classic, often watched and praised for its absurdity and touch of innuendo.
This is probably why fans of the original Cat in the Hat did not appreciate that a new version of the film was set to release on February 27, 2026.
While the announcement for the film was made in March 2024, Warner Bros. just released the trailer for the new animated feature.
The trailer depicts a chaotic Cat in the Hat on a mission to give a brother and sister the ‘best day’ of their lives.
But rather than just being accompanied by Thing 1 and Thing 2, it appears that the 2026 adaptation features all the way up to Thing 17.
And while this new version of the film (featuring Bill Hader as the voice of Cat in the Hat) seems to be aimed at children – while the 2003 version may have been inappropriate for a younger audience – many adults have given their two cents on the new trailer.
Warner Bros. announced the release of a new adaptation of The Cat in the Hat set to come out in February 2026
Many fans compared the 2026 version to the original movie, which featured Mike Myers and came out in 2003
Fans of the 2003 movie first pointed out how ‘ugly’ and ‘cheap’ the animated version looked.
And many couldn’t help but compare the two films.
‘What a complete and utter downgrade from the 2003 Mike Myers masterpiece,’ one fan wrote.
One X (formerly Twitter) user even called the 2026 version ‘horrendous slop.’
In fact, many had more to say about the animation style than the actual content of the trailer.
They referred to the visuals as ‘awful’ and a ‘mess.’
Other fans felt that the project felt random, explaining that it felt like it wasn’t done with the original essence of Cat in the Hat in mind.
‘Some things only ever needed a 30 min animated special that adapted the original story,’ one user wrote.
Fans of the original 2003 movie pointed out how disappointed they were in the release of the trailer
The upcoming 2026 film features Bill Hader as the voice of the Cat in the Hat
Rather than the well-known Thing 1 and Thing 2 characters, The Cat in the Hat trailer featured up to Thing 17
The movie is set to voice acting from Quinta Brunson, Xochitl Gomez, and more
‘This just seems so… cringe. There’s no heart in it.
‘I don’t know what I was expecting but not this!’
But on the other side of spectrum, fans were surprised at how many people were championing the 2003 version, considering how unpopular and unsuccessful the film was when it first came out.
‘Watch people try and praise the Mike Myers one now that there’s a remake happening,’ one user accurately predicted when the poster for the 2026 movie dropped prior to the trailer.
