The Cat in the Hat (live-action)

"Let's get this party started!"

- The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat is the titular protagonist of the 2003 live-action film of the same name. He is played by Mike Myers who also played Austin Powers and Shrek.

Role in the Film
Sally and Conrad Walden live in the city of Anville with their single mother Joan Walden, who works for neat-freak Hank Humberfloob. One day, Mr. Humberfloob firmly warns Joan that she will be fired if her house is messy for the upcoming meet and greet party. At the house, Conrad trashes the house, causing their dog Nevins to run down the street in fright. Joan punishes Conrad for a week while re-cleaning the house. Their next door neighbor, Larry Quinn, whom Joan is dating to Conrad's dismay, brings back Nevins, and Sally is grateful. When Larry leaves, Joan is called back to the office again, leaving the kids with Mrs. Kwan, a lethargic babysitter, and making sure they are forbidden to enter the living room, which is being kept pristine for the upcoming party. Larry is constantly on the lookout for any mischief that Conrad is up to, as he wants nothing more than to send him away to military school for the rest of his life, earning Conrad the reputation of "troublemaker", while his sister is characterized as "perfect and well-behaved".

Once their mother leaves, and Mrs. Kwan is falling asleep, Sally and Conrad discover a humanoid, oversized talking Cat in a Hat in their house. The Cat wants them to learn to have fun, though the children's pet Fish doesn't want the cat around while Joan is away. In a series of antics, the Cat ruins Joan's best dress, jumps on the living room's couch, and bakes cupcakes that explode. In the process, he even releases two troublemaking Things from a crate that he explains is actually a portal from their world to his. The Cat tells Conrad that he only has one rule: that he must never open the crate. The Cat tells the Things to fix Joan's dress; however, they end up wrecking the house instead, since they only do the opposite of what is said. Despite the Cat's warning, Conrad picks the lock anyway. When the crate's lock attaches itself to the collar of the family dog, Nevins, which then escapes, the Cat and the kids go out to find it.

Meanwhile, Larry is revealed to be a disgusting and unemployed slob who has false teeth and is in financial ruin, showing off the impression as a successful businessman in the hopes of marrying to Joan for her fortune and sponging off of her. Larry sees Nevins running across the street and sees that this is an opportunity for Joan to send Conrad to military school as punishment and allow him to move in. They are almost discovered by some children from the nearby birthday party of Sally's former friend, Denise, during which the Cat hides by pretending to be a piñata and is subsequently beaten.

While spying on Nevins, the cat and the kids see Larry arrive and take the dog. The Cat and the kids are witness to this and, using the Cat's super-powered car, they follow Larry into town but end up crashing the car to a pole. Larry goes to see Joan, but the Cat (disguised as a hippie) intervenes and tricks Larry into handing over the dog and he and the kids escape. They later see an anxious Larry driving home with Joan, but Conrad uses Things 1 and 2 to stall her by posing as police officers, giving them time to get back using Quinn's car. While distracting them, Larry sees the group drive past and races back to the house, telling Joan to meet him there.

During this time, "the mother of all messes" has been emitted from the unlocked crate and enters the house. Quinn catches the kids out the front and pushes them into the house, where they find it surprisingly immaculate. A hidden Cat then reveals himself to Larry, who stumbles back in fear sneezing (he is allergic to cats), tearing through a wall and falling off a bottomless cliff, revealing the Cat's world. The trio navigate their way through the oversized house by riding Mrs. Kwan and find the crate sucking up things that disappears forever once gone through. Sally is nearly sucked up but Conrad manages to put the lock back on the crate to save her and the house. The house returns to its normal proportions but immediately falls apart. The Cat then tells the kids that he had planned the whole day, including making not opening the crate his only rule, as he knew Conrad could not resist and also admits he never really lost his magic hat. The kids angrily tell the Cat to leave the house for the destruction he has caused, and then brace themselves for their mother's arrival. However, the Cat happily returns to clean up his mess with a great cleaning contraption much to Conrad and Sally's surprise and delight.

Afterwards, when everything is restored to its original cleanliness, the Cat says goodbye to Conrad and Sally as they plead with him not to go but he departs just as Joan is coming in. Quinn arrives, thinking he has busted the kids, but when Joan sees the clean house (and a really messy Larry), she disbelieves him, and dumps him. He cries, sneezes in his hands, disgusting Joan (it is possible that she has learned of his sloppiness). He asks her to marry him, but she closes the door, and Sally locks him out of the house. Conrad and Sally jump for joy, as Mrs. Kwan falls asleep again.

When her party is successfully completed, Joan and her kids play in the living room by jumping on the couch and having fun (with the cat going out of town with Thing 1 and 2, completing the film as the credits roll).

Trivia

 * Tim Allen was originally planned to play the role of the Cat, but dropped out at the last minute, since Allen was filming for The Santa Clause 2.