Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat The Movie in Sacramento, CA

• Info
• Cast & Crew

• Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
  
  Synopsis:
  Looking for fun, a mischievous feline (Mike Myers) invades the home of two children while their mother (Kelly Preston) is away.
  
  Release Date: -1/21/2003
  Running Time: 82
  
  Rating: PG - Parental Guidance Suggested
  
  http://www.universalpictures.com
  
• Cast:
  Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin, Amy Hill, Sean Hayes
  
  Crew:
  Director - Bo Welch, Writer - Alec Berg, Writer - Jeff Schaffer, Writer - David Mandel, Writer (Book) - Dr. Seuss, Producer - Brian Grazer, Executive Producer - Eric McLeod, Executive Producer - Gregg Taylor, Executive Producer - Karen Kehela, Executive Producer - Maureen Peyrot
  
  Production Companies:
  DreamWorks SKG, Alphaville Films, Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
  
  Distributors:
  DreamWorks Distribution LLC, Universal Pictures, Universal Studios Inc.
  
  Notes:
  - Notes Provided by Universal Pictures- Production Information Today is a special day for Comad and Sally Walden-even though they don't think it is. After all, what's so special about being left with a sleeping babysitter while your mom is at work? And what brand of special is being forbidden from having anything even remotely resembling "fun"? Sitting and staring out the window feels pretty un­special, actually, and the rain outside looks about as far away from special as you can get. All things considered-nope, not special in the least. But that's before a six-foot-tall talking feline appears, sporting a red-and-whute­striped stovepipe hat, ajaunry red bow tie and a super-sized fondness for fun. Now that's special. MIKE MYERS-whose unrivalled comedic talent brings one of America's most beloved characters to life as no one else can stars in the fide role of Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures/Imagine Entertainment's Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, the highly anticipated live-action film adaptation of the cherished literary classic, produced by Academy Award* winner and producer of the blockbuster Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, BRIAN GRAZER (8Mile, A Beautiful Mind), and directed by BO WELCH (the three-time Oscar®-nominated film production designer behind such distinctive films as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and the Men In Black original and sequel). Based on the best-selling children's book by DR. SEUSS, the film is written by ALEC BERG & DAVID MANDEL & JEFF SCHAFFER (Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas). It seems that Sally (DAKOTA FANNING) and Conrad (SPENCER BRESLIN), different as black and white, have pushed their single mom, Joan Walden (KELLY PRESTON), to the limit. Conrad's endless rule breaking (the indoor stair luge) has his mom seriously considering military school for her son-an idea planted by her just-this­side-of-smarmy neighbor and suitor, Lawrence Quinn (ALEC BALDWIN). Sally, tightly wound though well behaved, has bossed away every friend she has and divides her time between upbraiding her brother and inputting new To Do lists into her junior palm pilot. And all the while their mom is just trying to keep domestic peace while balancing a successful career as a real estate agent for her germophobe boss, Mr. Humberftoob (SEAN HAYES). But on the Saturday she is to host her company party, Joan's preparations have fallen prey to Conrad's shenanigans and she has laid down a mom-size decree: Sally and Conrad are not to leave the house while she is at work and are forbidden from making a mess or misbehaving in any way. The kids are left with little to do besides sit and stare out the window while their babysitter, Mrs. Kwan (AMY HILL), dozes in the den. Until their unexpected guest the original party animal himself-arrives to turn their world upside down by showing them that "it's good to have fun ...but you have to know how!" Anyone for a game of Cat and House? Grazer, Welch, Myers and their team have crafted a highly-stylized, Seussian world where an uninvited visitor turns the ho-hum world of two children left alone into an all-out, adventure-filled trip through a fantasyland inspired by the visionary author and brought to the eye-filling screen by award-winning filmmakers, including: two-time Oscar®-nominated director of photography EMMANUEL LUBEZKI, A.S.C. (Sleepy Hollow, ALittlePrincess); production designer ALEX McDOWELL (Minority Report); Academy Award ®-nominated editor DON ZIMMERMAN, A.C.E. (Liar Liar); special makeup effects artist STEVE JOHNSON (X2: X-Men United); costume designer RITA RYACK (Oscar®-nominated for Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas); composer DAVID NEWMAN (Anastasia, nominated for an Academy Award®); and multiple Oscar®-nominated songwriter MARC SHAIMAN and songwriter SCOTT WITTMAN (both Tony winners for Hairspray). ERIC McLEOD (all three Austin Powers), GREGG TAYLOR (Austin Powers in Goldmember), KAREN KEHELA SHERWOOD (Blue Crush) and MAUREEN PEYROT (A Beautiful Mind) serve as executive producers, with ALDRIC LA'AULI PORTER (Dr. Seuss'How the Grinch Stole Christmas), as associate producer. About the Production Originally published in 1957, The Cat in the Hat is one of the most beloved children's books ever written and remains one of the Top 10 best-selling hardcover children's books to this day. In an unusual business co-venture for the time, publishing houses Houghton Mifflin and Random House commissioned Theodor S. Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) to create a primer for children using 220 new reader vocabulary words; Houghton Mifflin intended the book for classroom usage, with Random House aiming it at the home market. While school systems were reticent to adopt the book, The Cat in the Hat immediately took off with families, and Geisel's groundbreaking work firmly established him as one of the preeminent children's book author/illustrators in the business. The fantastical word of Dr. Seuss has become well-known the world over, thanks to countless re-printings and translations of his books, as well as the numerous television adaptations of his works. But during the holiday season of 2000, Seussian fans and audiences were treated to a never-before-seen motion picture adaptation of one of the author's most beloved stories How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Universal Pictures release (produced by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Brian Grazer and directed by Oscar* winner Ron Howard under their Imagine Entertainment banner and starring Jim Carrey) became the Number One box office release for the year, signaling that moviegoers were eager to see their favorite Seuss creations on the big screen. Under Grazer's stewardship and Howard's direction, The Grinch's transition from page to screen was as inventive as it was seamless. Grazer's respectful handling of the Dr. Seuss Enterprises' property rendered him, in the estate's eyes, a proven caretaker of the author's work. So the decision to entrust the movie rights for The Cat in the Hat to the filmmaker-who had not only brought Seuss' verse and fully-realized world to the screen, but managed to enlarge the author's vision to fill the larger medium and create an international blockbuster in the process was a simple one. Grazer, who recalled reading the book as a child, comments, "Because we grew up with these books, and because they have such universal themes and the illustrations ignite such fantasy in your mind as a child the aggregation of all those feelings-it leaves an indelible, positive memory. And so when I realized I had a chance to convert first The Grinch and then, The Cat in the Hat, into movies, I was willing to do anything to bring them to the screen." Mike Myers had a similarly nostalgic memory about the children's classic and recalls, "My earliest memories of Dr. Seuss are the book mobile in Toronto, this traveling library, where we would check out his books. My mother was an actress in England, and she would read the books to me and other kids, who came by to listen because she was so good at it. My earliest memory of Dr. Seuss is The Cat in the Hat, which I loved-it's my favorite book. I loved the illustrations, and my mom read it with a Liverpool accent. That may be why it's my favorite book of all time." Myers notes that when Geisel wrote The Cat in the Hat in 1957, he was making a point about the proper way to have fun (responsibly!); upon review 45 years later, the book possibly has even more resonance today, with all of the high-tech distractions available to children in the 21" Century. For instance, it was one thing for a child of the 1950s to be grounded from watching television (with its limited choice of three networks), but if today's child were forbidden from using computers, cable, video games and the like... Grazer concurs and says, "The Cat basically comes along and shows these bored kids how to have fun without the usual distractions. He is there to show them the power is within you and you simply must appreciate it. And what he does is ignite excitement and joy within these kids for the things they have taken for granted and find passe. Ultimately, the Cat is an elegant anarchist, really." Grazer re-teamed the screenwriters from The Grinch (Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer) and charged them to expand upon Seuss' 1,620-word tome (give or take a super-hyphenated adjective or noun). His instructions were clear. "The most critical aspect to making this movie is that you are paying homage to Dr. Seuss so-not to mix words here we didn't have the option to screw it up," says Grazer. "Almost everyone has a memory of the book from their own childhood. And parents are still reading it with their children today." The filmmaker was mindful of the continuing popularity and the iconic stature of the Cat in the Hat. But by having the gifted Myers step into the paws of the fun-loving feline, he also saw an opportunity to bring the tale to a whole new generation of moviegoers, a good number of whom may (or may not) have read the book. The expansion of the vocabulary-building Beginner Book into screenplay underway, it was decided that renowned production designer Bo Welch (recipient of four Academy Award ® nominations) would make his directorial debut on the project and helm the re-packaging of a second Seuss classic for the motion picture screen. The challenges of transforming a two-dimensional, stylishly rendered property into a three-dimensional, eye-filling screen fantasy seemed a perfect fit for Welch the creator of such magically transporting filmic worlds as Men in Black, The Lost Boys, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and others. The first-time feature director felt the project was right up his alley, where he could exploit his expertise in art direction and allow it to inform him as a film director. Welch says, "To be able to translate The Cat in the Hat for the screen-it's an invitation into a great world where you can let your imagination run wild and you are not restrained by physics. There's just a silliness and a joy to it that we worked to capture in every aspect, from the acting to the design. Every aspect has to fit into Seuss' immaculate universe." Grazer notes, "Bo brings his considerable production design skills with him as a director, enabling him to not only oversee the creation of this amazing world of the Cat- a heightened reality and a palette of dazzling candy colors but to add and orchestrate all of these great characters as well." "I see him as a visionary filmmaker with a kind of sensibility that's a combination of Tim Burton and Barry Sonnenfeld," adds Mike Myers. "He created a great atmosphere on the set. His camera work is brilliant, he's a great storyteller and he creates an amazing universe in which to play-it was a pleasure to come to work. He has thought through every aspect of the story. And on top of it all, he genuinely laughs at the stuff I do-that's great for a comedian, really inspiring." For his first movie, Welch had to deal with a variety of challenging elements, including children, animals, special makeup and visual effects. Says friend and Cat cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (who previously collaborated with Welch on The Birdcage and A Little Princess), "Bo handled it so beautifully it was like he had directed all his life." One of Alec Baldwin's first movie roles was in Beetlejuice, which was designed by Welch. "I think it's great for the movie business that Bo is directing because he is very clear on what he wants, yet is very easygoing and obviously his history proves that he is incredibly imaginative," says Baldwin. "What Bo has that all great directors have," observes Kelly Preston, "is a great sense of cinematic timing. He knows just how to pace a scene, even down to a line, and in a comedy, timing is everything." Acknowledging that the Seuss books have linear narratives and that any subplots would need to be created, filmmakers were careful in taking the essence of the book and expanding the premise, increasing the scope of the tale to fill a motion picture and adding some characters in the spirit of Seuss. At its core, though, the story remains the same: two kids, Sally and Conrad, at home with seemingly nothing to do, are shown the marvels and risks of having fun by the titular talking feline. In the hands of screenwriters, each child's character is fleshed out and comes to represent opposite ends of a spectrum: Sally is orderly and task-oriented and her continual control mania has driven away her friends; Conrad is pure id, out to try anything on the path to fun, even if it means crashing through boundaries and rules set in place for safety's sake. Their mother (merely seen as a pair of legs at the ending of the book) is enlarged into a full maternal presence: real estate agent, single mother and neighborhood looker Joan Walden. Joan finds her time management skills seriously challenged by the conflicts of working for a demanding, persnickety boss (the newly created Mr. Humberfloob) and caring for two growing children, one of whom thinks nothing about destroying the kitchen in search of protective gear (a colander helmet, marshmallow bag and loaf of bread padding) for his latest adventure. Left with little choice and even less time, Joan, called back to the office prior to her party, opts to leave the kids with a babysitter, a large, dozy woman named Mrs. Kwan (also original to the screen version of the story). Conrad's unruliness is a point of commiseration between next-door neighbor Lawrence Quinn (a phony and malevolent presence sprung from the imagination of the filmmakers) and his mom. Quinn is a seemingly successful businessman and stand-in paternal figure for Joan's children, using his proximity and wily charms to court his attractive neighbor. Underneath his smooth talk and glistening smile (ting!) lies a near­bankrupt, gold-digging lizard, out to snare Joan's house and income and ship her son off to military school. Another character lifted from Seuss' tale is Conrad and Sally's pet, a nervous fish that (upon the arrival of the Cat in the Hat) miraculously receives the power of speech­and uses it to repeatedly warn the children of the rules they are breaking, of the trouble they are causing, of the dangers inherent in having fun. Priding itself as the voice of reason, The Fish (also voiced with manic comic aplomb by Sean Hayes) nags and cajoles, finding myriad ways to say, "I told you so!" Also from the Seuss book are the twin mischief-makers who accompany the Cat, Thing 1 and Thing 2. Warbling their own indecipherable language and literally leaping from one catastrophic fun-making adventure to another, the Things end up making Conrad's messy attempts at fun look like ...well, child's play. And then, there's the character at the center of it all-Seuss' original creation, part furry Mary Poppins, part Willy Wonka, 100% Seuss...the Cat in the Hat. At first enchanted and entranced by the Cat, Conrad and Sally are drawn in by his exuberance­their day, all of a sudden, doesn't look so boring (even the rain stops and the sun begins shining). But things (and Things) soon get out of control, the house is wrecked, Nevins the dog runs off and Quinn begins sniffing (and sneezing) around, certain that this time, his collaring Conrad in mid-destruction will finally win Joan over. Surely there's a lesson to be learned somewhere in all this... Cat Casting "I honestly would say I wanted to play the Cat my whole life," says Mike Myers. The star and creator of a number of previous indelible comic creations was drawn to the project by the book read the world over. "That book, Slaughterhouse Five and Fahrenheit 451 are my favorite books and all things considered, I still like The Cat in the Hat best. He's such a great character you think he's an anarchist at the beginning and then you realize he's actually a teacher." "The Cat is an icon in American 20th Century life and it takes the genius Mike possesses to inhabit that role in an honest way that I truly think Dr. Seuss would have approved of," says Grazer. "Mike brings irreverence to the Cat, which comes from his brilliance in understanding how pop culture works, so the movie is not just a benign children's tale. I suspect it's probably what Geisel would have done if he had written the book today, given how irreverent he was." Like Grazer, Myers was clear on his priorities to the book: "More than anything, I wanted to make sure we honor the book. What I love about it is the main image the cat balancing on a ball, with a rake and a cake, the fish, an umbrella and all that stuff and that's what the whole message is: getting everything in balance." Myers' excellence at playing a myriad of characters within a given storyline became one of the points of expansion for the Seuss story. Welch observes, "Mike's talent at characterization is legendary it's part of what skyrocketed him to stardom. So what was interesting for us was to take the main character of the Cat and use him not only as the fulcrum of the story, upon which everything turns, but also branch varying characters off from the Cat, like colors from a prism." In the process, the Cat inhabits some vibrant cameos most bearing a slight resemblance to the title character and clothed in some variation of the signature black, red and white. The actor counts off, "I get to play Carmen Miranda, a bull fighter, a civil protestor, a crazy infomercial chef and his ridiculous sidekick the guy in the bad sweater who asks all the obvious questions-and several others." Most of the characters that appear in addition to ratcheting up the on-screen fun quotient serve to point the hapless Conrad and Sally along the way to arriving at (warning: psycho-babble word up ahead) self-actualization. On why the Cat becomes these different characters, Myers continues, "In traditional mythology, a catalyst character that comes along to wreak havoc on the hero­or, in this case, two little heroes-will often change his shape in order to confuse or disorient the hero into crossing the threshold from the known world into the unknown. That is the long answer. The short answer is it was fun to wear different costumes." All this mayhem translates into controlled on-screen chaos-but chaos with intent, since the heart of the lesson Conrad and Sally learn is one their mother has been reiterating until she is (practically and proverbially) blue in the face. Myers observes, "Somebody once said that comedians like to be the architects of their own embarrassment. Similarly with the Cat, there's a lot of anarchy going on, but ultimately, you realize that he was the architect of the anarchy and it has had a purpose­to restore this family." The actor draws a further parallel to the author and says, "The Cat is a necessary anarchist, just as artists take on the role of anarchists, to shake people out of their complacency and to get them to see things differently. Dr. Seuss is one of those artists and it's reflected in his characters, all wonderfully quirky and cool at the same time." While creating a look for a film was an ability its director had previously fully demonstrated, Welch knew that as a first time director on such an enormous and complex undertaking, he wanted to be able to rely on an experienced cast, so he set out to "hire great actors" to surround his gifted lead. With the Cat's furry paws amply filled by Myers, filmmakers sought actors to play the subjects subjected to his controlled anarchy. Welch saw Dakota Fanning in IAm Sam and was blown away how "this little blond girl held her own going toe-to-toe with Sean Penn." After he read her for the part, the director felt the cute and canny actress would be able to convey Sally's sweetness under her tightly wound, brittle exterior. Fanning finds Sally, "a scheduled person who keeps track of everything. Everything for her has to be perfect, every hair in place, no spots anywhere. I can understand her but I certainly don't want to be her." Spencer Breslin was similarly impressive when he auditioned with a unique adult/child quality. "He talks to you like an adult, with no shyness whatsoever, and he's got a great, distinct voice and looks like atypical kid," notes the director, who felt those were a fine combination he wanted brought to Conrad. Breslin enjoyed working with Myers and the cast, but particularly liked the dangerous side of being Conrad. He says, "The stair Inge was one of the best days I had. They had me riding a cookie sheet down the stairs in the house, and I was covered with all of this padding that I got from the kitchen. Man, I would have never thought to do something like that it's actually a cool idea." He is quick to caution and adds, "And you should not try it at home!" "Both of the kids stunned me with how focused they were during the day. Typical kids, like my kids, are easily distractible, but these two never forgot their lines and never had a false moment on-screen," says Welch. "I loved working with these kids so much," adds Myers. "Spencer is a genius, he's hilarious, and Dakota's a great actress and so sweet. During filming the end scene where the Cat has to say goodbye to Conrad and Sally, I didn't want to. I was enjoying myself with these great kids and our world was just so much fun." One of the new additions to Seuss' tale arrives in the person of Lawrence Quinn, the family's neighbor, who passes himself off as something much more than he is in his attempt to win over Sally and Conrad's mother. The idea of Alec Baldwin came early on in pre-production from Welch. The director observes, "Alec's work reminds me that what gives me the greatest pleasure when watching movies is seeing actors play their parts convincingly-so well that they transmit their characters through the screen. With him, you get a sense that he's having the time of his life, playing this loser with such great relish. Alec does it brilliantly." Baldwin delighted in diving into the part of Quinn and comments, "What's fun about Quinn is that he is not what he pretends to be in real life. He presents himself to be caring, sophisticated, educated, and he's really just a complete slob and pig. He's just pathetic and sad. So it was almost like playing two parts." And speaking of body parts ...as drawn in the book, the mother is no more than a leg as she enters the door at the end of the kids' adventure. Many times, the "mom" of a movie's central child is a thankless functional position but when the slender book was expanded into movie form, the mom became Joan Walden, caring single parent just trying to raise her family. "Kelly Preston has kids, and while not necessary for an actor, it really helped since she had a wonderfully natural way with the kids. She's just a naturally warm, loving person, and that shows. She really becomes that beautiful mom of storybooks. She looks like a million bucks," says Welch. Preston offers, "Everybody reads and loves the book. I read it as a child and I'm reading it to my kids now and they almost know it by heart, so I was thrilled when they offered it to me. I was really excited, but it's probably the most excited my kids have ever been on anything I've ever been offered-literally, they were jumping up and down, they were so thrilled." Filmmakers double-scored with the casting of Sean Hayes, who not only portrays Joan's boss, Mr. Humberfloob, but also supplies the external nagging conscience of Sally and Conrad the voice of their angst-ridden, fussy, "the-sky-is-falling" pet fish. Welch observes, "I think, in the book, the fish is the most nervous and uptight individual in the house. What occurred to me is that if you are that uptight and afraid, you end up basically living in ajar of water. Sean is an amazing inhabitant of the fish­you can hear how fraught he is. And he also shines as Humberfloob, taking the character and just running with it." Hayes was attracted to the project given his admiration of The Grinch and observes, "The thing about The Grinch was that, in addition to it being so well written and directed, it had such a great visual style and flair. And they've done it again with this film. I remember reading The Cat in the Hat a hundred times as a kid and so I was intrigued how they could make it into a movie. The script is amazing and really honors the book's spirit." Your Basic Six-Foot-Tall Talking Cat With a gifted actor to play the Cat, filmmakers set about building the "cat suit" and the creature's look to transform Myers into Seuss' clever creation. Special makeup effects artist Steve Johnson and his company, Edge FX, were enlisted to help accomplish the tasks. After the production of testers and prototypes, the final cat suit that emerged was fashioned out of angora and human hair, with a weight of a mere three pounds. But there's more to a cat than its skin, and Myers found himself adorned with padding, a metal plate on the top of his head (which held the infamous red-and-white-striped hat in place via magnets) and assorted battery packs inside the suit to power the remote controlled tail and ears. "I had more stuff in different parts of my body than I care to talk about publicly, really," he jokes. "My ears were remote control, my tail was remote control-I don't know how they did it. I really felt that NASA was probably involved somehow." As some of the filming was slated for exterior location shots (where the temperature often measured in the 90s), the suit was also designed with a port for a hose from a portable air-conditioning unit; on particularly oppressive days, an additional cooling device-a vest containing circulating cold water-was also sported by Myers ...to keep the Cat cool. The makeup scheme for the Cat also went through several iterations before the final design was agreed upon. Steve Johnson remembers, "In filmmaking, everything is an extremely collaborative process. Designs get changed until the right one is found. We first tried some very realistic approaches to the Cat's face, including electrostatically flocking the face, attaching short hairs all over it it was very soft and very cat-like. But Bo ultimately wanted something very graphic, the body slightly characterized and black and white lines on the face. In the end, we found a design that worked and really fit with the overall Seuss-inspired designs. I mean, the best thing about the Cat's face is that it's Mike Myers', who really is a man of a thousand faces. Our designs got smaller and thinner, something that best suited Mike's face when he performed. Now, the Cat's become another one of his great characters, a blending of performer and look, not just a rubber mask applied to an actor." The makeup process for Myers took two-and-a-half hours to apply the result of simplification of design and the practical limitations imposed by a shooting schedule that involved child performers with a legally restricted amount of working hours in a day. The process didn't seem to faze Myers, who took it all in stride. "It is what it is. I would listen to music, or watch something to inspire me for the day ahead, but it wasn't hard... especially compared to the makeup for Fat Bastard [from Austin Powers], which took five hours to apply and smelled like my hockey bag." Welch wanted the makeup very graphic and simple, so that the shapes were clear and with a marked distinction between the black and the white. The basic appliance that covered Myers' nose was made out of foam latex and was glued to his face, as were blender pieces (incorporating the hair used on the cat suit) that helped meld the makeup into the suit and blend the Cat's face in with his body. Filmmakers and crew were able to transform Myers into the filmic Cat in the Hat, refining and modifying Seuss' original renderings into a three-dimensional suit and makeup, both of which were faithful to the illustrations ...with one exception. Johnson quips, "One thing that was impossible to re-create was to achieve the long neck on a human as Seuss drew the Cat. But all of us were very happy with the final look. It recalls the book character and allows Mike to also shine through." "The first time I saw Mike in the suit and makeup it gave me a very light and joyful feeling," says Welch. "You have the memory of the book and it was the first book I ever read but of course the Cat never moves in the book. And to then see him come to life... it was a wonderful feeling." How Myers brought the Cat physically to life was inspired by other famous felines (and one rabbit) from popular culture. "One of the big influences on me was the cartoon Top Cat, which in turn was inspired by the old Phil Silvers show. And then, there was Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion. There's also a sort of a cultural tradition of the anarchist animal: Top Cat and Bugs Bunny being two prime examples," notes Myers. It was somehow fitting that the object so closely linked to the Cat namely his hat, the source of his amazing repertoire of tricks and astounding feats-also received a great deal of pre-production time as the filmmakers worked to create not only the Cat's basic, all-purpose, everyday hat, but the myriad of hat permutations. While the basic hat was the primary creation of costume designer Rita Ryack, the specialty hats those that transformed into more than a hat, including a CD player hat, a periscope hat, a hat that held tennis balls, a microphone hat and others-all fell under the domain of the prop makers. Ryack fiddled with color, fabrics, sizes and shapes for a couple months, hoping to invoke the spirit of the book even though Dr. Seuss' designs always defied the laws of physics, be it a hat or a building. To get the hat to stay on the costume, powerful magnets were sewn into the hat that attached themselves to the metal skull plate under Myers' costume. "I loved the way the hat came out," says Welch, "and even though it looks simple, it was anything but that to make it aesthetically pleasing and practical at the same time. Without the proper hat, the magic of the movie doesn't work. It was as important as the Cat's makeup." "I don't think the magnets had a deleterious health effect on me, but I was able to pick up the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and I watched most of the Toronto Maple Leaf home games-it had a nice little side benefit," adds Myers. A Talking Fish and a Number of Things Outside of the Cat, Sally, Conrad and their mom (or rather, her leg), Seuss created only three more characters within the pages of The Cat in the Hat: one shaky talking fish and two of the Cat's minions, able assistants in the executi