In a Q&A forward of the trailer’s launch, Hader opened up about portraying the Dr. Seuss anthropomorphic cat, together with doing “silly bizarre issues” along with his voice, whereas additionally revealing his 10-year-old daughter’s response to the movie.
There is a new Cat within the Hat within the neighborhood!
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. dropped the primary teaser for the 2026 animated movie primarily based on the Dr. Seuss traditional youngsters’s guide, The Cat within the Hat, with Invoice Hader voicing the beloved anthropomorphic cat.
The footage exhibits Hader’s Cat, rocking the character’s signature red-and-white striped high hat and pink bowtie, and his adventures working on the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Establishment of Creativeness and Inspiration, LLC), amongst his fellow creatures who entertain youngsters, earlier than he is given his newest project: bringing pleasure to 2 siblings, Gabby and Sebastian, who’re voiced by Xochitl Gomez and Tiago Martinez, respectively.
Along with teasing the numerous shenanigans to return, the trailer provides a style of the movie’s new tackle Factor 1 and Factor 2, revealing that there are a lot of, many extra Issues — at the least 17, based on the trailer — with every creature donning completely different variations of the character’s red-and-white bodysuit and blue hair, or on this case, generally even facial hair. Cat brings the Issues out of a pink field, however Factor 2 is noticeably lacking.
Different stars rounding up the voice solid embody Quinta Brunson, who the administrators revealed performs “Sherry from HR,” and America Ferrera, Bowen Yang, Giancarlo Esposito, Tituss Burgess, Matt Berry, and Paula Pell.
Throughout a digital Q&A forward of Tuesday’s trailer launch, The Cat within the Hat’s writer-director duo, Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, and Hader sat down to speak concerning the movie, with Carloni and Rivinoja recalling how they introduced the youngsters’s IP to life in a enjoyable, fashionable means, and Hader opening up about voicing the beloved youngsters’s character.
As Saturday Night time Dwell followers can recall, Hader has really portrayed the Cat within the Hat earlier than, enjoying the character throughout a sketch again in 2014. Whereas the comic mentioned the writers did not create the sketch as a result of he is a fan of the anthropomorphic cat, he has beloved the guide since he was a baby.
Whereas talking about “chasing down the position,” Hader mentioned, “Like everyone, I bear in mind studying that guide as a child, after which studying it to my children, after which, you recognize, I’ve labored with these guys earlier than on completely different tasks, and I’ve recognized them endlessly, so, you recognize, the mix of those two and the prospect to play, you recognize, such an iconic character, was, you recognize, I used to be like, ‘Sure.’”
“So yeah, I did chase it,” he added, to which Rivinoja chimed in, “There was a mutual chasing.”
Hader — who was a solid member on SNL from 2005 to 2013 — broke down how he tackled the Cat within the Hat, sharing that he introduced his previous improv abilities for the position. Whereas he praised the “insanely humorous” script, he famous that Carloni and Rivinoja inspired him to improvise, and naturally, usher in his persona.
“Invoice does play numerous completely different characters, and will get to make use of a bunch of various voices,” Rivinoja mentioned, to which Hader shared, “I obtained to do some stuff that I simply do in life, similar to silly bizarre issues with my voice that I’d simply do in between takes and they might go ‘Oh, might you do this in character?’ And I used to be like, ‘That factor? That simply annoys individuals.’”
Carloni chimed in, “I do not need to give something away, however there may be one scene wherein the character has to actually transfer backward in time and [we] normally use filters and digital strategies to rewind voices, however he is in a position to create the sound of a voice transferring ahead and warping and enjoying backward that we needed to inform our animators, ‘Simply you recognize, that is really Invoice Hader.’”
“That is what I used to be referring to,” Hader revealed. “I do this in life.”
Hader additionally opened up concerning the physicality of portraying the Cat within the Hat, recalling the expertise and problem of performing within the sales space.
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He mentioned that whereas he felt “very free,” he mentioned recording is “really so exhausting.”
“You are primarily simply screaming for 4 hours,” Hader recalled, joking that Carloni and Rivinoja “watched me have a full-on existential disaster within the sales space.”
Rivinoja shared that additionally in addition they shot Hader with a “lipstick cam,” wherein they report the actors’ performances so animators might use their expressions.
In the meantime, though the movie does not hit theaters till subsequent February, Hader revealed his 10-year-old daughter has already seen the film, and watched it with their mates, sharing that they had been “obsessed” with the Issues.
Rivinoja teased that whereas the Cat within the Hat is “chaos,” the Issues are “further chaos on high of that.”
As for different creatures individuals will see within the film, the group touched on how the trailer gave a glimpse into the world of rhyming animals and objects, with Carolini and Rivinoja revealing some the opposite creatures within the company for entertaining youngsters, together with Pig in a Wig, Ox in a Field, Owl in a Towel, Goat in a Coat, Bug in a Mug, Rat in a Bat, and … Sherry from HR, performed by Brunson.
Hader praised Brunson’s position as Sherry from HR, noting that she’s “actually humorous.”
“She’s hilarious, and the Cat within the Hat and Sherry from HR are greatest mates,” Rivinoja shared. “And attending to see Invoice and Quinta within the room collectively was similar to, ‘Oh, comedy icons collectively.”
Hader additionally gave a shoutout to different members of the all-star solid, calling Matt Berry one among his “idols,” and Paula Pell and Bowen Yang “unbelievable.”
The Cat within the Hat hits theaters February 27, 2026.
