The Cat in the Hat

With each new film adaptation, it seems The Cat in the Hat strays further from its 50-year-old source material.

The latest interpretation tries to turn the classic Dr. Seuss children’s story into franchise IP, providing some scattered laughs while trying to compensate for its uninspired story with relentless chaos.

The animated film repositions the title character for the social-media age, which evidently means targeting children with extremely short attention spans. The resulting barrage of frenetic slapstick and set pieces winds up more obnoxious than endearing.

The Cat (voiced by Bill Hader) loves working for a company that sends anthropomorphic support animals to cheer up despondent kiddos. Yet his reckless methods draw the ire of his exasperated boss (Giancarlo Esposito).

Given one more chance to avoid termination, the Cat is assigned to visit teenager Gabby (Xochitl Gomez), her younger brother (Tiago Martinez), and their talking goldfish, as they move to a new city with their single mother (America Ferrera) and struggle to adjust.

Gabby is particularly down after being forced to leave her friends and beloved marching band to relocate. When she learns the Cat has stolen a time-reversing watch from the company supply closet, Gabby sees it as an opportunity to revisit her old life.

Then the device is lost, triggering a multi-dimensional journey to retrieve it, drifting between fantasy worlds and confronting nefarious forces as the Cat seeks redemption and Gabby finds a new perspective.

Co-directed by Erica Rivinoja and veteran animator Alessandro Carloni (Kung Fu Panda 3), the film features some imaginative visuals and an amusing assortment of quirky characters. Of course, the blue-haired, gibberish-speaking Things from the book make an extended appearance, perhaps foreshadowing a Minions-style spinoff.

The choppy screenplay finds some Seussian spirit with occasional clever wordplay in its dialogue, and youngsters might connect with Gabby’s sense of curiosity and adventure.

However, the plot mechanics of her surreal odyssey of self-discovery come off as convoluted rather than emotionally relatable, even without the final-act contrivances to inflate the stakes.

The Cat and the Hat is superior to its disastrous 2003 live-action predecessor, which set a low bar. But amid the array of gadgets and gimmickry, the Cat’s obsessively buoyant optimism and unfiltered delirium might have the opposite effect on moviegoers.

Rated PG, 107 minutes.