You just can’t beat “The Seuss.” He’s the guy who put wockets in our pockets and had us counting one-fish, two-fish. He taught us to love green eggs and ham and had us hearing the Who’s. The Grinch, Horton the Elephant—so many memorable characters. And, of them all, the most memorable—the most fun—has got to be the Cat in the Hat.
Dr. Seuss would be pleased to see how his wild and wacky The Cat in the Hat has been brought to life—by the Mike Myers movie adaptation and by Vivendi Universal Games’ release of a wonderful new platformer. Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat™ brings us all back to those rainy days when good books were our best friends and imagination was the key to the world.
Based on the movie and Myers’ over-the-top performance, rather than the actual children’s book, The Cat in the Hat still draws heavily from the legends and lore of Dr. Seuss in level after level of hilarious action. The main house is the hub for the scrolling games, with Conrad and Sally helping to keep the Cat in line and the once-pessimistic Fish providing all the in-game help you will ever need.
The problem you’ll face (and without the help of a “moss-colored, three-handled family gredunza”) is that magic has been set loose inside the house and has made a big mess of things. With nasty neighbor Lawrence Quinn (looking very Alec Baldwin-ish) involved in the mess, the Cat must go an adventure to pursue Quinn and re-bottle all the escaped magic. Levels are hidden away inside the Grandfather clock, a Cat-eating plant, the refrigerator, and the attic, among other places.
And, if things look bad in the house, that’s nothing compared to what the Cat has to deal with as he magically transports into the Seuss-gone-mad worlds that must be fixed. The clock, for instance, has troublesome cuckoo birds and a host of Dr. Seuss creatures. There are wide chasms to float across, hanging beneath the Cat’s trusty umbrella, and huge jumps to make, with the assistance of tiny trampolines and whirligig whirlwinds.
Fortunately for the player, the Cat is more used to causing messes than fixing them. He needs a great deal of help, which comes from the player. The controls are very intuitive and require no random button-mashingall the better for young hands and minds to problem solve their way through the level. The Cat can jump and then choose to pop open his bumbershoot to float serenely between platforms. He can shoot magic creature-capturing bubbles from the umbrella’s tip, socking away a troublesome creature until later, when he blasts it back out to bowl over another hazard in his way. Also, the umbrella may be popped open in front of him to form a temporary shield.
The Cat receives a great deal of in-game support from some other favorite Seuss characters. Fish is the most helpful, in a snide sort of way. He has tips and strategy hints throughout the levels to teach you (as the Cat) the way to defeat certain hazards, while prompting you to get the job done. The Cat sticks up for himself, though, with wonderful one-liners that put Fish-in-his-dish back in his place. Along the way, the Cat will also find Thing 1 and Thing 2, who can find anything under the sun, but they mostly assist in finding the keys that the Cat needs to unlock doors and bonus levels.
While Cat in the Hat may not be for everyone, it’s wonderful to see more games targeted at young audiences. And, those of us with great memories of the worlds of Dr. Seuss (like Mom and Dad) can share in the fun, too. It’s just the kind of zaniness the doctor ordered.
