Warner Animation Group and Dr. Seuss Enterprises are hoping that one of the places you’ll go… is to the movie theatre.
Taking a page out of other long established publishing brands, like Marvel and DC Comics, a new partnership between Warner Bros and Dr. Seuss Enterprises is set to release its first project. The partnership was first announced in Oct 2018, and later expanded in 2020, “We are so thrilled to expand our creative partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and are even more excited about the expansion of this slate of films,” Allison Abbate, EVP of Warner Animation Group shared at that time.
The initial film that was supposed to be made was, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, directed by popular director, J.J. Abrams. However, due to unforeseen challenges, such as the pandemic, actor’s strike, writer’s strike, and delays in supply chains, as of yet, this promising partnership has produced any movies- until now.
Warner Bros Pictures Animation and Dr. Seuss Enterprises have just announced that The Cat in the Hat will debut in theaters on March 6th, 2026.
Past Projects
There’s no shortage of creative materials when it comes to Dr. Seuss books. Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American children’s author, cartoonist, and the mastermind behind “Dr. Seuss”. During his long career, Geisel wrote and illustrated more than 60 books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. He passed away in 1991, at the age of 87, leaving a long legacy of adventurous and whimsical stories behind him. Audrey Geisel, Theodor’s wife, established Seuss Enterprises in her late husband’s honour.
Dr. Seuss books have been the inspiration for a variety of different films, animated and live action, made by different studios over the years. The most famous of them, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), which starred Jim Carry and was directed by Ron Howard. In fact, that particularly popular Dr. Seuss book has been made into a film 3 times so far.
Although Jim Carry’s depiction of “The Grinch” was well received by audiences, Mike Myers’, “The Cat”, from 2003’s The Cat in the Hat was met with harsh reviews. “It looks like Mike Myers’ face was carved into this ball of fur and every time he smiles, it looks like a demon about to eat my soul!” movie critic Michael Li shared.
Despite advances in CGI and costumes, we have 2019’s Cats as antidotal proof that when humans play animals on screen, it’s always a bit of gamble. Even with best resources, sometimes live action adaptations can inadvertently turn out looking like something out of The Island of Dr. Moreau.
New Partnership focuses on Animated Feature Films
By partnering with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, as opposed to simply buying the rights to individual books, Warner Bros. is able to keep creative control over the large collection of Dr. Seuss materials, thus allowing for an overarching vision and theme. This collaboration merges the whimsical worlds of Dr. Seuss with the visionary creators, artists, and storytellers from Hollywood.
Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, said, “Warner Animation Group truly understands the timelessness of Dr. Seuss, the incredible impact of the characters and stories, and how to translate the magical appeal to truly come to life on screen.”
Meet the Cast of The Cat in the Hat
Warner Bros. just announced the cast of the upcoming film. “We are overjoyed to partner with our friends at Dr. Seuss to take audiences of all ages on an adventure into the beloved world of ‘The Cat in the Hat,’” said Bill Damaschke, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, continuing, “With this incredible voice cast led by Bill Hader as the fun-loving, agent of chaos himself and our filmmakers Alessandro and Erica at the helm, we look forward to sharing this Seussian cinematic spectacle with audiences everywhere in 2026!”
Joining Hader’s voice on screen are, Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) Matt Berry (What We Do in The Shadows) Paula Pell (Girls5eva), and SNL co-star, Bowen Yang.
Matt Berry
Paula Pell
Xochitl Gomez
Quinta Brunson
Bowen Yang
Bill Hader
An avid book reader and proud library card holder, Angela is new to the world of e-Readers. She has a background in education, emergency response, fitness, loves to be in nature, traveling and exploring. With an honours science degree in anthropology, Angela also studied writing after graduation. She has contributed work to The London Free Press, The Gazette, The Londoner, Best Version Media, Lifeliner, and Citymedia.ca.