Bill Hader Takes the Cat in the Hat Into a New World

On November 5, 2026, Bill Hader and fellow cast members talked about a new animated adventure starring Hader as the Cat in the Hat. The film takes the mischievous character beyond the 1957 children’s book, which previously inspired a 2003 movie starring Mike Myers in the title role.

In the new story, the Cat turns up at the residence of a mother raising two children on her own, who have recently moved in. He draws them into another world, where he tries to lift their spirits on a rainy day. Director Alessandro Carloni said the book provides the opening for a larger tale that follows the Cat and his work engaging children.

Hader described the movie as funny and moving, while America Ferrera, who voices the mother, said she enjoyed seeing elements of the book carried into the film’s changing visual worlds. Quinta Brunson, who voices the Cat’s work colleague, said the fresh take appealed to her. The cast also includes Giancarlo Esposito as the Cat’s boss and Paula Pell as a landlady.

The movie mixes its children’s adventure with humor for adults. Pell praised its physical comedy and adult jokes, while the cast also talked about Thinglish, a language expressed through gestures and tooting. Actor Xochitl Gomez said a choreographer helped devise movements with meanings, including signs for “fish” and “time.”

The film is scheduled to open in theaters on November 6. It also features a Taylor Swift track played by the University of Southern California marching ensemble.