The live-action Seuss-iverse of the early 00s only lasted two films after the head-scratching disaster that is The Cat in the Hat. But this fascinating failure does have its charms.
Another factor as to Hollywood not learning its lesson involved the tie-ins. Specifically, the US Post Office licensed tie-in posters and other promos, many of which were still in postal stations long after the movie was gone from theaters. (Another factor was DVD sales, or at least orders: this came out on DVD right when Target and WalMart were being pushed hard on massive orders that could not be returned or exchanged for credit, meaning both stores were stuck with huge piles of unsellable DVDs that they couldn’t hive away with free beer. (This was when Target had to start putting up notices at the Customer Service counter and in the DVD section that DVDs could only be exchanged, not refunded, only if something was wrong with the disc, and only in exchange for a replacement of the same movie. I heard from so many Target employees at the time that “The Cat In the Hat” was the main offender behind instituting the policy, where the overwhelming response to “Why did you want to return this DVD?” was “Because it fucking SUCKS!”)
This is incredible stuff. I almost feel bad for Target. But I also can't imagine someone returning a movie they purchased just because they didn't like it! Who does that?
Oh, you got plenty who do that. Lowe’s used to have a no-fault power tool policy that it had to rescind in the Aughts because of the number of people who would buy a tool for a weekend or for a whole week, finish whatever project they needed it for, and then return it for a full refund. Pretty much any high-end clothing store will tell you about the rich slobs who buy a dress or a dinner suit and return it after the weekend, arguing that food stains and various tears “were there when I bought it.” The surprising part with the Target story wasn’t just the number of customers demanding refunds, but that the overwhelming number of refund demands were for “The Cat In The Hat.”
Truly bad behavior, but also Mark Duplass has spoken about how he and his friends made their first films by buying and then returning camera equipment at Best Buy, so at least some good has come from it. 😂
I’m not too proud to admit that I’ve seen this movie more than once, sometimes willingly.
Even if one could argue (rightfully) that Myers’ Scottish shtick was already wearing thin in 2003, that scene of his dual act in the kitchen where the Cat chops off his tail had quite a bit of quote use/prominence in the house when I was growing up, if only by way of its sheer absurdity: my parents (fellow Canadians) have always had a soft spot for Myers, even if nobody was under any illusions about the quality of the movie overall - generally abysmal, even if, as you’ve highlighted, there is some solid if surface level artistic flourish.
But my God, it is still hilarious that anyone involved thought working in the amount of crude, adult humour they did - in a movie that was supposedly for kids/an all-ages audience - was a good idea. Just bad decision after bad decision.
"Sheer absurdity" is definitely part of the charm! I imagine a lot of the initial backlash was an expectations game. Myers was at the top of his game, but this project was a wild shift. Easy to see why "What if we made the Cat in the Hat an Austin Powers side character?" didn't work.
Oh, absolutely! And you're right, there was definitely something of a fundamental disconnect right from the get-go. It is funny though, I remember seeing somebody cut a parody trailer a few years back: the Cat in the Hat in the style of a horror movie. Inherently ridiculous yes but it is amazing how well it fit.
The Grinch gave my daughter nightmares, but she refused to stop watching it. Every few weeks we would catch her watching it and without fail she would be waking us up in the middle of the night in tears.
If you want to write an essay about how the live-action Jim Carrey 'Grinch' is an absolute masterclass in satire, I suggest giving it a watch next holiday season.
I saw this movie as a youngish adult (with more than my fair share of issues) with other youngish adults and we liked it. The “I’ll get you, and it’ll look like a bloody accident” line was used liberally for months.
It was pretty dark and just weird enough that it kind of hit for us. Perhaps we were the actual target audience? I just checked and I was an angry, social-drinking 29 year old with undiagnosed-ADHD when it came out. (Note: They figured that last one out last year and my whole life suddenly made sense.)
Yeah, that's the funny thing. Misfires like this sometimes find a more appropriate audience in a different demographic. I'm not surprised that Millennials were drawn to this one, especially for a group watch! This movie may not be "good," but it "parties," as they say.
Ha! My fault. I read that as you being 29 when you first saw it, not the year it was released. Much love to Gen X! (I wish I'd been just a little bit older during the 90s. What a time to be alive.)
I saw your profile pic (in which you look younger than me) and felt like Stephen the crazy Irishman from Braveheart: “Him. That can’t be William Wallace. I’m prettier than this man!” Just insert “older” instead of “prettier” and it works.
Yeah, Gen-X is definitely the coolest generation.
If I weren’t completely broke (and that isn’t a lie or exaggeration- I mentioned my finances as the thing most likely to take me out in my Substack column from a couple weeks ago) I’d subscribe to your newsletter.
You being compelled to watch recommended movies from before 2006 just hits right in the zone for me. Before 2006 is probably where I have the most knowledge, movie wise. I love recommending movies but people rarely actually watch them.
My credentials are as follows: I was raised on (and often by) television, so I’ve watched a LOT of movies. When I became an adult, the watching only increased. My peak for theater-going was probably early 90s- early 00s. A friend recently asked for my top 20 movies- my initial list had 226 movies on it and is still growing.
Man, what a rush it is to get asked for movie recs, right? An impossible task sometimes but an imminently enjoyable one.
I appreciate the kind sentiment, Gary. 😊 Keep in mind that everything here is free so you can still subscribe! I have a pretty good day job, so it felt wrong to ask for more dollars to go into my pockets for a newsletter. That's why every issue I publish is free and the paid subscribers just get some extra perks.
Wow, I did NOT know they got rid of a bunch of Randy Newman "Cat In The Hat" songs. I've gotta hear those!
The Sprockets script ("Dieter") was online briefly a couple decades ago. It was actually kind of brilliant -- David Hasselhoff was the villain because he stole Dieter's monkey, and there was an extended mockery of "Wings Of Desire". Supposedly, Myers kept re-writing the script, even though the studio had already set a start date and a release, so he told them they've have to delay everything to accommodate his ideas. Naturally, they got viciously litigious about it, which led to some seriously bad blood.
Well, Myers was never a good fit for the tentpole industrial complex. I still laugh at a story I heard about Myers hanging out with an executive after the success of "Wayne's World". The exec was like (paraphrasing) "You're so hot right now, you're the biggest thing in Hollywood, you could work with anyone you want and I know everyone. Tell me who you want to work with and I'll get them on the line." And Myers apparently, with a total straight face, said, "Godard." I respect the guy, but what a square peg.
Another factor as to Hollywood not learning its lesson involved the tie-ins. Specifically, the US Post Office licensed tie-in posters and other promos, many of which were still in postal stations long after the movie was gone from theaters. (Another factor was DVD sales, or at least orders: this came out on DVD right when Target and WalMart were being pushed hard on massive orders that could not be returned or exchanged for credit, meaning both stores were stuck with huge piles of unsellable DVDs that they couldn’t hive away with free beer. (This was when Target had to start putting up notices at the Customer Service counter and in the DVD section that DVDs could only be exchanged, not refunded, only if something was wrong with the disc, and only in exchange for a replacement of the same movie. I heard from so many Target employees at the time that “The Cat In the Hat” was the main offender behind instituting the policy, where the overwhelming response to “Why did you want to return this DVD?” was “Because it fucking SUCKS!”)
This is incredible stuff. I almost feel bad for Target. But I also can't imagine someone returning a movie they purchased just because they didn't like it! Who does that?
Oh, you got plenty who do that. Lowe’s used to have a no-fault power tool policy that it had to rescind in the Aughts because of the number of people who would buy a tool for a weekend or for a whole week, finish whatever project they needed it for, and then return it for a full refund. Pretty much any high-end clothing store will tell you about the rich slobs who buy a dress or a dinner suit and return it after the weekend, arguing that food stains and various tears “were there when I bought it.” The surprising part with the Target story wasn’t just the number of customers demanding refunds, but that the overwhelming number of refund demands were for “The Cat In The Hat.”
Truly bad behavior, but also Mark Duplass has spoken about how he and his friends made their first films by buying and then returning camera equipment at Best Buy, so at least some good has come from it. 😂
Great piece, Jeremy.
I’m not too proud to admit that I’ve seen this movie more than once, sometimes willingly.
Even if one could argue (rightfully) that Myers’ Scottish shtick was already wearing thin in 2003, that scene of his dual act in the kitchen where the Cat chops off his tail had quite a bit of quote use/prominence in the house when I was growing up, if only by way of its sheer absurdity: my parents (fellow Canadians) have always had a soft spot for Myers, even if nobody was under any illusions about the quality of the movie overall - generally abysmal, even if, as you’ve highlighted, there is some solid if surface level artistic flourish.
But my God, it is still hilarious that anyone involved thought working in the amount of crude, adult humour they did - in a movie that was supposedly for kids/an all-ages audience - was a good idea. Just bad decision after bad decision.
"Sheer absurdity" is definitely part of the charm! I imagine a lot of the initial backlash was an expectations game. Myers was at the top of his game, but this project was a wild shift. Easy to see why "What if we made the Cat in the Hat an Austin Powers side character?" didn't work.
Oh, absolutely! And you're right, there was definitely something of a fundamental disconnect right from the get-go. It is funny though, I remember seeing somebody cut a parody trailer a few years back: the Cat in the Hat in the style of a horror movie. Inherently ridiculous yes but it is amazing how well it fit.
Oh I love those recut horror trailers. This would be perfect for one. He threatens those kids' lives frequently. 😂
The Grinch gave my daughter nightmares, but she refused to stop watching it. Every few weeks we would catch her watching it and without fail she would be waking us up in the middle of the night in tears.
She sounds like a little maniac and I respect that.
I’d love to see someone (I’m looking at you, Will Jordan) delve into the production hell that made the Cat in the Hat so terrible
I would definitely read/watch that!
I want nothing more in this world than to see a feature length Sprockets movie...what a loss for us all!
It's not too late! Myers could use a comeback. 😂
I always wondered how Mike Myers ended up in this movie but never read the wiki myself.
It's amazing what a quick Wikipedia scan can reveal. It's led to entire newsletters for me actually.
One of my biggest embarrassments in hindsight was thinking all the other kids in cub scouts were insane for not liking this movie...
Your younger self wasn't wrong. Their younger selves just didn't get it. 😂
If you want to write an essay about how the live-action Jim Carrey 'Grinch' is an absolute masterclass in satire, I suggest giving it a watch next holiday season.
Don't threaten me with a good time! 😂 That sounds like a fun assignment to me.
Cat in the hat is still one of my faves.
I still watch this movie. I love it. I care less who knows to.
No such thing as a guilty pleasure! 🙂
I saw this movie as a youngish adult (with more than my fair share of issues) with other youngish adults and we liked it. The “I’ll get you, and it’ll look like a bloody accident” line was used liberally for months.
It was pretty dark and just weird enough that it kind of hit for us. Perhaps we were the actual target audience? I just checked and I was an angry, social-drinking 29 year old with undiagnosed-ADHD when it came out. (Note: They figured that last one out last year and my whole life suddenly made sense.)
Yeah, that's the funny thing. Misfires like this sometimes find a more appropriate audience in a different demographic. I'm not surprised that Millennials were drawn to this one, especially for a group watch! This movie may not be "good," but it "parties," as they say.
Millennials?!?!?!?
I hope, sir, you are not referring to me or my crew (which was my wife and little brother).
Born in 1974. Gen-X and proud, baby!
Ha! My fault. I read that as you being 29 when you first saw it, not the year it was released. Much love to Gen X! (I wish I'd been just a little bit older during the 90s. What a time to be alive.)
lol
I saw your profile pic (in which you look younger than me) and felt like Stephen the crazy Irishman from Braveheart: “Him. That can’t be William Wallace. I’m prettier than this man!” Just insert “older” instead of “prettier” and it works.
Yeah, Gen-X is definitely the coolest generation.
If I weren’t completely broke (and that isn’t a lie or exaggeration- I mentioned my finances as the thing most likely to take me out in my Substack column from a couple weeks ago) I’d subscribe to your newsletter.
You being compelled to watch recommended movies from before 2006 just hits right in the zone for me. Before 2006 is probably where I have the most knowledge, movie wise. I love recommending movies but people rarely actually watch them.
My credentials are as follows: I was raised on (and often by) television, so I’ve watched a LOT of movies. When I became an adult, the watching only increased. My peak for theater-going was probably early 90s- early 00s. A friend recently asked for my top 20 movies- my initial list had 226 movies on it and is still growing.
Man, what a rush it is to get asked for movie recs, right? An impossible task sometimes but an imminently enjoyable one.
I appreciate the kind sentiment, Gary. 😊 Keep in mind that everything here is free so you can still subscribe! I have a pretty good day job, so it felt wrong to ask for more dollars to go into my pockets for a newsletter. That's why every issue I publish is free and the paid subscribers just get some extra perks.
Cool. I’ve subscribed and commented on the Dark City post.
Nice to connect with you as well!
Wow, I did NOT know they got rid of a bunch of Randy Newman "Cat In The Hat" songs. I've gotta hear those!
The Sprockets script ("Dieter") was online briefly a couple decades ago. It was actually kind of brilliant -- David Hasselhoff was the villain because he stole Dieter's monkey, and there was an extended mockery of "Wings Of Desire". Supposedly, Myers kept re-writing the script, even though the studio had already set a start date and a release, so he told them they've have to delay everything to accommodate his ideas. Naturally, they got viciously litigious about it, which led to some seriously bad blood.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Oh man, I can see why the studio was so mad at him. Maybe being forced to do this film taught him a lesson. 😂
Well, Myers was never a good fit for the tentpole industrial complex. I still laugh at a story I heard about Myers hanging out with an executive after the success of "Wayne's World". The exec was like (paraphrasing) "You're so hot right now, you're the biggest thing in Hollywood, you could work with anyone you want and I know everyone. Tell me who you want to work with and I'll get them on the line." And Myers apparently, with a total straight face, said, "Godard." I respect the guy, but what a square peg.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Honestly, respect to him for shooting his shot. 😂
The Grinch is a masterpiece 🤌🏾
The talent involved gives me belief! If those screenwriters penned one of my all-time favorites then it must be pretty good.