Warner Bros.’ animated The Cat in the Hat, with Bill Hader voicing the Cat, opens in theaters Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in wide release — and the early reviews are giving Toledo families plenty to talk about before they buy tickets.

It is the first animated feature of the Dr. Seuss story and the first film in a planned Dr. Seuss animated universe. So the stakes are high — and, so far, the critics are genuinely split.

As of Nov. 4, the film holds 45% on Rotten Tomatoes from 24 reviews (11 fresh), while Metacritic has it at 47 from 11 reviews, or “mixed or average.” Forbes noted 7 rotten / 6 fresh before a Tomatometer score was even assigned — a sign of just how divided the first wave of reactions has been.

The sample takes tell the story. TheWrap’s William Bibbiani called it the kind of movie a corporation makes to exploit IP. The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck called it an improvement over the 2003 version but “more taxing than enjoyable.” Mashable’s Kristy Puchko said it is “certainly better than Myers’.” In other words: better than the version millennials love to roast — but not exactly a slam dunk.

Box-office tracking is grim, too — though the forecasts disagree wildly. Global Box Office projects a $17–22M domestic opening on a budget of nearly $100M, while Box Office Pro’s long-range forecast is higher at $40–50M. Either way, it is a long way from a guaranteed hit for a film this expensive.

That is where the millennial nostalgia kicks in. The 2003 Mike Myers live-action version holds just 10–11% on Rotten Tomatoes and opened to $38.3M — and the new film is tracking to open at well under half that. Yet clips from the 2003 film have been going viral on social media with a warmer Gen-Z reception, turning the movie once blamed for killing live-action Dr. Seuss adaptations into something of a cult classic. Hader’s version has a very different bar to clear: be fun for kids, and be funnier than the one we all quote anyway.

It will not have the weekend to itself, either. Godzilla Minus Zero also opens Nov. 6, carrying 95–97% on Rotten Tomatoes — a very different kind of event movie for a very different crowd.

Alongside Hader, the voice cast includes Matt Berry as the Fish, Quinta Brunson, Xochitl Gomez, Giancarlo Esposito and America Ferrera. The film is directed by Alessandro Carloni & Erica Rivinoja and is rated PG for rude humor, mild language, action and some peril.

Bonus tie-in for TV fans: Hader is set to guest-star on Abbott Elementary — announced Nov. 3 on Jimmy Kimmel Live — alongside Quinta Brunson, his Cat in the Hat co-star.

The Toledo takeaway: If you are planning a family-movie weekend, this is a know-before-you-go pick. The kids may love the chaos, the colors and Hader’s Cat — just go in knowing critics are split, the jokes lean rude and mildly perilous at PG level, and the 2003 version still looms large in the group chat. Sometimes the best family movie night is the one where you can all argue about it on the way home.

Bill Hader in 2016. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.