The film rights to the the works of Dr. Seuss are basically a license to print money, right? Whether good or bad, every feature bearing his name has scored at the box office. The Lorax is currently kicking butt in theaters to the tune of over $133M in just a couple weeks. Actually, the only Seuss film to not do well was the live-action version of The Cat in the Hat, which barely covered its production budget. Fortunately, the talented folks at Illumination are looking to help us forget Mike Myers in that ridiculous outfit with their own 3D CG animated version of The Cat in the Hat.
Since they jumped into the crowded realm of animated features with 2010's hit Despicable Me, Illumination has yet to drop the ball, scoring over $180M with the Easter Bunny flick, Hop. The Lorax is the biggest feather in their cap, though, and they'll probably have free run to handle all Dr. Seuss adaptations from here on out. The Cat in the Hat is probably the author's most famous work, so Universal and Illumination will want to make it their best yet. Published in 1957, the story follows an unattended brother and sister who let a mischievous cat into their home who begins to stir up trouble. The story spawned a less memorable sequel released a year later titled The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.
Because this is such a high profile project, it's surprising to me they'd tap newcomer Rob Lieber to pen the script. Lieber is currently developing another children's book for the big screen in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, with Lisa Cholodenko(The Kids Are All Right) set to direct.
We've seen two live-action Dr. Seuss films already, and while How the Grinch Stole Christmas was a mammoth success, I think we can all agree that the author's stories are best suited to the imagination and freedom animation allows for, and Illumination have proven so effective at. [Deadline]
