The Cat in the Hat

Release Date: Nov 6, 2026
Studio: Warner Brothers Animation

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's The Cat in the Hat reaches theaters on November 6, 2026, directed and written by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, with DNEG Animation handling the visuals. The story reframes the Cat as a professional agent of chaos employed by the Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, an eccentric bureaucracy whose rules he consistently ignores. Bill Hader voices the Cat and serves as executive producer, a dual role that signals how much creative ownership this production asked of its lead. The Cat in the Hat voice cast around him includes Quinta Brunson, Matt Berry, Giancarlo Esposito, America Ferrera, and Xochitl Gomez, making this the first Dr. Seuss theatrical feature in over two decades.

Website: https://www.catinthehatfilm.com/
Type: Movie

The Cat in the Hat 2026: Carloni, Rivinoja and a Seussian Fresh Start

The last Cat in the Hat film landed in 2003 and ended badly enough that Dr. Seuss’s widow banned further live-action adaptations of the character. Warner Bros. is treating this animated version as a fresh start and the foundation of a planned slate of Dr. Seuss features developed with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Carloni and Rivinoja wrote and directed together, aiming for what Warner Bros. describes as a Seussian adventure with an edge: a film trying to recover the anarchic quality of the original book rather than smooth it over for an audience that doesn’t need the roughness removed.

The Cat in the Hat Voice Cast: Hader, Berry, Brunson and Esposito

The Cat in the Hat voice cast makes some counterintuitive choices that pay off. Bill Hader voices the Cat: beyond eight seasons on SNL, he created HBO’s Barry, winning two Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy, and playing a man under pressure who insists everything is fine maps directly onto the Cat’s predicament. Matt Berry voices the Fish. Berry’s BAFTA win for Toast of London and Emmy-nominated run as Laszlo in What We Do in the Shadows made him the voice of pompous authority at its most precarious, which the Fish requires. Quinta Brunson takes Sherri; her Abbott Elementary proved she handles exasperation without losing warmth. Giancarlo Esposito, who played the controlled Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, shows up in a film about a character constitutionally incapable of it.

6 Voice Actors on MTVA

6 Characters on MTVA