Everyone knows who Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat is, but right alongside that embodiment of well-intentioned chaos are Thing 1 and Thing 2—two truly unpredictable rascals who are all but the right-hand helpers of The Cat. These small creatures wear red jumpsuits and sport bright blue hair, and they tend to destroy most things they touch.
Usually, in the original books and the adaptations, the world has gotten up to this point, and there are only two of them. However, with Warner Bros. Animation's upcoming The Cat in the Hat film, that all changes. Starring Bill Hader and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Xochitl Gomez, the film, which hits theaters on November 6, reinvents everything you think you know about The Things. Now, there aren't just two of them; there are over one hundred of them for audiences to enjoy.
The Direct sat down with The Cat in the Hat director and writers Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni to discuss why they decided to reinvent everything we knew about The Things, how they invented a hilarious new language for them to entertain the audiences with, and the duo's extreme commitment to their comedic bits throughout the movie.
Reinventing The Things and Giving Them a New Language
What's Better Than Thing 1 and 2? Well, a Hundred More.
- The Direct: "Can you talk about just why you wanted to expand from just thing one and thing two, which so many people know, and then also just developing their language, and if there was like a rhyme or reason to actually what they were doing."
Erica Rivinoia: Yeah, there was no rhyme specifically because rhyming is hard. I know you were asking about reason, but yeah, it was really when we brought up that idea to Dr. Seuss Enterprises, they were so receptive to it because the things are beloved, and then when we brought up the idea of okay, well, what if they're not all they don't all look exactly identical? They were even more excited about it...
"The Cat is an agent of chaos," admitted Rivinoia, "but he looks pretty tame compared to the Things:"
Rivinoia: And it was just so fun because The Cat is an agent of chaos, but he looks pretty tame compared to The Things, and our head of story Ryan Gaffney was the one who sort of initially started the discussions about what if they express themselves with body percussion, and then our choreographer Christopher Scott and all of his dancers just took it to the next level, and we're so excited about it.
The Cat In the Hat's Commitment to the Bit Is Impressive
"You Have to Keep Reminding Yourself It's Going to Work..."
- The Direct: "What I really admire about it is there's an incredible level of commitment to the bit in this film. In fact, one of my favorite jokes is like [48 seconds] of silence, and I think in so many circumstances, there might be pushback. Can you just talk about that commitment and if there was ever any kind of pushback, and you're like, we need this vision, and we need these moments."
Alessandro Carloni: Yeah, I'm so glad you pointed it out because it does come down to commitment... Also the fact that Erica and I had a similar sense of humor, because so much of that tension could be between filmmakers. But Erica and I both love the idea of just committing to a silly bit [and owning] it, and sometimes people will come and give us a suggestion. Maybe it could be cut a little shorter, or our brilliant composer, Lauren Buff, tried to score that bit. It's like, no, no, no, it has to be dead silence.
Carolini: And so it comes down also to trust, because if you come up with a joke and you love it, and you have to see it again for another year and another year, because animation takes a long time, so you have to keep reminding yourself it's going to work, it's going to work, and then you sit in a room, theater full of people, and they start laughing. It's so rewarding.
Erica Rivinoia: And ultimately, they were okay with it because it's quite cheap to do that shot for that long. So they were okay.
The Direct's full interviews with the directors of The Cat in the Hat can be viewed below.
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