Gather round, chilblains, and listen close. See, there was a dark time, back around 2003, when Hollywood thought that it could replicate the success of Ron Howard’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas by stuffing Mike Myers into a fur suit and letting him run rampant as fellow Dr Seuss character The Cat In The Hat. The results? Not pretty. Well, it would seem that the **Cat **might just be getting a second chance at the cinema, with Despicable Me producers Illumination Entertainment and Universal plotting a CG ‘toon version of the tale.
It’s not the most shocking news, given that the two companies just scored a healthy opening for their latest Seussian offering, The Lorax. Add to that the fact that Illumination overlord Chris Melendandri is a huge Seuss fan, a friend of the man’s widow, Audrey, and has seen success with **Lorax **and, back in his Fox days, Horton Hears A Who!, and it all looks positively predictable.
The live-action Cat In The Hat pic has long since been regarded as a disaster, both critically and because it brought in $133 million worldwide but cost $109 million to make. The Lorax may not have scored with all critics across the pond, but it’s certainly a huge step in the right direction.
So far there is no voice cast in place, but Rob Lieber has been hired to start cranking out the first draft of the script, which will expand upon the tale of the mischevious moggie and his disuptive influence on two kids' lives.
We’re still waiting for The Lorax to arrive over here – it’s set for release on July 27. Despicable Me 2 will follow it on June 28, 2013.