With “The Lorax” outperforming expectations at the box office (even, in its second weekend, beating “John Carter”), Dr. Seuss has once again become a hot property for Hollywood, and one of his most famous creations is heading for the big screen again.
“The Lorax” team of Universal, Illumination Entertainment, and Seuss’ widow Audrey Geisel will next turn “The Cat in the Hat” into a 3D CG family film, Deadline reports. Rob Lieber will write the script, with Illumination’s Chris Meledandri and Geisel producing.
The book was the basis for the dismal 2003 box office disappointment starring Mike Myers as a heavily made up — and extremely grating — version of the Cat. It cost over $100 million to make, and barely broke even at the domestic box office. That film was greenlit in the wake of the massive success of the Ron Howard-Jim Carrey live-action take on “The Grinch.”
Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who” was also adapted in 2008, scooping up some $300 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, Dr. Seuss himself will be the subject of a biopic, starring Johnny Depp. Meledandri and illumination are also teaming with Geisel for that project, which will likely mix live-action and animation.
Are you excited for a CG version of “The Cat in the Hat”? Or would you rather see a different Dr. Suess book come to life?