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A New “Cat in the Hat” Animated Film is Coming!

June 13, 2026

Originally intended for an earlier 2026 release, a new animated version of the Dr. Seuss classic, The Cat in the Hat is now projected to open in November of 2026 to better capitalize on the Christmas trade. It should be better received than the 2003 live action version of the story that featured Mike Myers…

Sometimes referred to as “The Cat who Fell Flat,” the 2003 movie was I think a better film than it’s often credited to be, although it’s a bit crass, and the humor is rather “out there.” A sequel was originally intended, but the widow of Dr. Seuss so disliked the film that she forbid live action films of her husband’s work to ever again be made. The successful How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) predated The Cat, and was a winner with Jim Carrey.

Believe it or not, the title role in The Cat in the Hat live action movie was originally intended for Tim Allen, but he had a conflict so the part went to Myers, who was a pretty big box office draw having done the Shrek films and the Austin Powers series. It’s really hard for me to imagine Tim Allen as the character despite his many talents, and I think that Myers brought the required manic energy to the part. While the makeup was a bit creepy, he did look more like a cat than the strange hybrid “cats” of the movie musical version of Cats. The 2003 live-action film adaptation faced heavy backlash for featuring adult-oriented humor that alienated family audiences with adult double entendres and crude potty humor, and some have gone so far as to suggest that the Cat’s visual design and performative tricks are rooted in 19th-century blackface minstrelsy…but I think that this is an extension too far…

I still love The Cat in all of his incarnations, anyways, who in this 2026 film appears appropriately enough to be on a reclamation proving mission for himself, risking losing his “stripes” (iconic hat) if he fails. The Cat is my fave Dr. Sseus character, before and after The Grinch achieved massive popularity. This Cat is modern, in touch, and slick, without any apparent adult content; you can be hip, appealing, and funny without being dirty! He’s resilient, too, getting maced in the eyes upon his initial contact by the kids he’s trying to help. – – Welcome to 2026, Cat! If the Cat can find redemption, dare we hope that Pepe Le Pew is not far behind?!

This animation is friendly to the Cat in the Hat character, which was originally translated from the classic 1957 children’s book to an animated TV special in 1971. The upcoming 2026 film comes from Warner Bros. Pictures, so it has a good pedigree. Maybe we’ll have a Thing or Two to say about it, with the Things in this film revealed to be more than a duo…the talking fish is there, too…

Categories: animation, anthropomorphic, cartoons, furry, furry films, furry satire, furry stories, historical perspectives, twisted reality
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Talking Beasts of Burden…

May 27, 2025

While Mr. Ed gets most of the attention, he was preceded by Francis the Talking Mule. The original Francis movie was released in 1950, and would go on to appear in a total of seven, yes seven movies! Elvis had not yet hit the scene, and people in the 50’s needed something to do, so they translated to film from three short stories written by David Stern for Esquire magazine about a talking army mule who would only talk to a dimwitted lieutenant, helping him in his military and other ventures…

Now Francis was actually a female donkey named Molly, selected because she was easy to handle. She supposedly cost $350 to buy, but made millions from the film series. To create the illusion that the mule was actually talking, thread would be fed into the animal’s mouth which would cause the mule-actress to try and remove it by moving her lips. The same technique would later be used for Mister Ed! Francis would also appear in a 1952-53 comic strip, Francis, the Famous Talking Mule.

A talking donkey, however, preceded Francis in The Bible! In the Biblical Book of Numbers, Chapter 22, verses 21 – 39 we are given an extraordinary account of an Old Testament furry, a female donkey who had her mouth opened by the Lord to the extent that she was able at least temporarily to talk to her abusive master and engage in a dialogue with him!

It would seem that Balaam was a pagan non-Israelite prophet and diviner who was commissioned by Balak, King of the Moabites, to lay a curse on the Israelites. After divining and seeing that the Lord was really with the Israelites and that they could not be cursed, Balaam relayed his message to Moabite king, who would not take no for an answer. Yahweh then instructed Balaam to to follow the Moabite delegation to the hill upon which Balak thinks Isreal would be cursed…

On route, Balaam rode his donkey, who alone perceived an angel standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, and turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat the donkey to get it back on the road. Then the angel stood in a narrow path through vineyards with walls on both sides. The donkey pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. The louse beat the poor donkey again…

So the donkey moved ahead, and this time the angel appeared in a narrow place where there was no room to turn either to the right or the left. The donkey simply lay down at that point under Balaam, and the crud became angry and beat the poor animal a third time!

Then the transformation happened. The Almighty opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam answered his pack animal, telling her that she had made a fool out of him, and that had he a sword in his hand, he’d kill the poor thing right then! The donkey’s words revealed that it had been trying to warn Balaam about the angel, to which Balaam finally bowed and admitted his sin. Sadly, the donkey kinda drops from the Biblical narrative at that point, but is an early example of an anthropomorphic being, as well as an early animal rights advocate. One can imagine them being voiced by Eddie Murphy as in Shrek…

So guys, if you come across a talking mule or donkey, give them a listen…you just might become a believer!

Categories: anthropomorphic, furry, furry films, furry literature, furry sidekicks, furry stories, twisted reality
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Thunderbirds, Skinwalkers, and More!

May 2, 2013

skinwalker– – The season finale of Monsters and Mysteries in America went off with a bang in their “Desert Wasteland” episode, treating us to tales (and tails) of thunderbirds, skinwalkers, nightstalkers, and not to be forgotten, aliens!  The American Southwest may be a desert wasteland, but it’s rich in really cool folklore!  Of course, I was hooked, and wouldn’t have been disturbed unless there was an earthquake or I was on fire.

Now since at least the 1960’s, cattle mutilations have been reported in this domain, and it ain’t Ronald McDonald or the Burger King that’s doing it!- – Now who could be mutilating the cattle, excising pieces and organs of them with bloodless, surgical precision?  This question served as the springboard for an introduction to things supposedly possessing the capability for such mayhem, namely thunderbirds or skinwalkers.

Now Thunderbirds here do not refer to the legendary Ford sportscar, but rather to pterodactyl-like flying creatures with wingspans of perhaps thirty feet or so, long referred to in Native American folklore.  Skinwalkers are my personal favorite of the things covered, a kind of demonic assassin created by magic to harass and harm.  A type of male witch, the skinwalker can change form at will, often taking the shape of wolves or coyotes although owls or other bird forms are also known, and any shape is possible!  Skinwalkers execute curses at the behest of someone else, and in human form could be anyone, even a neighbor.

Nightstalkers as presented are an enigmatic bipedal creature that can come in different shapes.  Their form is indistinct, although red eyes are commonly noted.  As their name suggests, they tend to come at night, and can haunt dreams.  Claw-like scratches on flesh and metal are reported by those who contend that they have encountered them.

Aliens are commonly considered as potential cattle mutilators, presumably possessing the technology capable of bloodless organ excision.  In the southwest, alien grays have been reported to abduct and “harvest” humans, in one case supposedly removing a fetus from a pregnant woman.  The biological father of this child reported being again abducted years later, and introduced to the product of that pregnancy.  Presumably the kid would get some pretty advanced schooling!

All in all, the episode had great, captivating stuff, but did I  believe all of it?  I see the purpose of such shows as being to entertain and inspire wonder, and to cause us to consider alternative explanations of phenomena.  I love such shows dearly…but I’m not quite ready for the tinfoil hat brigade yet!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, controversial, cryptozoology, furry, furry spirits, furry stories, mysteries, speculation, strange, strange happenings, television, unexplained, unidentified
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The Feline Avenger…

January 3, 2013

Batcat – – If Batman and Catwoman had a child, the offspring might look something like this magnificent creature whose image originally came from Reddit and was popularized by the Huffington Post before spreading like wildfire throughout the Internet.  Thought by a number of commentators to be a Maine Coon cat, this Batcat might not have a Robin, but could probably bring you one…Meow!

 

(more…)

Categories: animal oddities, animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, furry, furry stories
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Swimming With Tigers…

October 12, 2012

– – There’s a rather controversial and disconcerting experience that’s becoming quite the rage in some circles; swimming with tigers!

For a fee of $200 for a half hour romp, a private Florida zoo is offering the public a chance to swim, play in the grass, and bottle feed Tony, an eight-week-old tiger cub at Dade City’s Wild Things zoo outside of Tampa, Florida.  Now tigers like Tony are only allowed to swim with visitors until they weigh 40 pounds, and once they hit 25 pounds, must be on leashes.  At least one of the trainers is also in the water with the visitor.  As an option, visitors can also swim with alligators who have had their mouths taped shut.

Some animal rights activists are not amused, finding it abusive and dangerous to the animals’ health since they can be awakened repeatedly for anyone who will “pay to play”…and in Congress, two pieces of legislation are pending that would prohibit the private possession and breeding of big cats.

 

Categories: animals, controversial, furry, furry stories
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Exploding Reptiles!

October 5, 2012

  — I, for one, find the prospect of exploding reptiles both darkly amusing yet creepy and disturbing, one of those rare things that both captivates yet repels me at the same time.  You don’t really want to see such a thing yet if you did, you couldn’t bear to look away, either!  With that in mind, I offer the following true story to kindred spirits like myself who dearly love tales of the grotesquely fascinating.

A family member knew of people who bought a bearded dragon as a reptile pet.- -Well, it seems that one feeds crickets to bearded dragons.  Not knowing any better, the new owners of this pet fed their bearded dragon one cricket a day, and on this diet the reptile became listless and barely moved.  Making inquiry, it was discovered that the bearded dragon was supposed to receive three crickets per day rather than one!  Feeling guilty that they were starving their pet, the owners then proceeded to put a dozen crickets into the cage with the bearded dragon, who responded hungrily by eating all of the dozen crickets at a single time.  Some time later (and I swear I am not making this up), the lizard…exploded!

I don’t mean exploded as in parts of bearded dragon flew across the room, but exploded as in suffered a lethal gastrointestinal rupture.  One can only speculate as to whether the lizard died happy, although it certainly died full, to a fault.  Perhaps exploding reptiles might have strategic applications, say sent in to $50,000 a plate Mitt Romney fundraiser dinners, courtesy of the 47%…and those among us who are homo sapiens are warned by this tale against eating anything larger than their refrigerators!

Categories: animal occurrences, animals, furry stories, scalies, strange happenings

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“Frankenweenie” is Coming!

September 13, 2012

– – Frankenweenie, a film directed by Tim Burton, is coming this October!  A remake of a 1984 short film by Burton, Frankenweenie is a 3D, black-and-white, stop motion-animated comedy horror film.  Like its 1984 predecessor, the film is both a parody of and an homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein as based on Mary Shelley’s classic gothic novel.  

In the film, a young Victor Frankenstein deploys the power of science to bring his beloved dog, Sparky, back to life.  Unintended and sometimes monstruous consequences ensue.  Vocal talents include Martin Short, Winona Ryder, and Martin Landau.  The art has the look of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and should be well worth a look!

Categories: animals, fantasy, furry art, furry film classics, furry stories, movies

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Die Hard Cat To Live!

January 22, 2012

 – – While cuddly, felines are also tough and resilient.  I’ve heard it said that a cat will survive if all of its parts are in the same room.  That seems to have been the case with a stray orange tabby in Houston nicknamed “Cupid” who survived a piercing shoulder-to-shoulder arrow wound.

The incident was not thought to have been an accident, and somehow the courageous cat survived its wound and still managed to elude neighborhood residents for about three days before being captured by the city animal rescue group and being taken to an animal hospital.  A vet there took x-rays and determined that there was no “paws for concern” before surgically removing the arrow, which had missed all vital organs…

…Cupid is expected to make a full recovery.- -Don’t you love stories that have a happy ending?!

 

Categories: animals, furry, furry stories
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Enter the Wolf…

January 18, 2012

– – Before vampires were pretty and made babies with human girlfriends, Anne Rice showed us how things should have been in her acclaimed Vampire Chronicles series that began in 1976.  Rice’s vampire Lestat was cunning, ruthless, rather classy, and quite magnetic, his exploits detailed in a series that had considerable literary merit.  Even folks not ordinarily into vampires found Rice’s  tales a powerful draw.  The giddy ride ended when Rice began writing books about angels and the life of Christ, leaving us literate horror fans to cry in our root beer.

That long dry spell may be alleviated with Rice’s return to horror at least  to a degree in her upcoming release, The Wolf Gift, coming in February on Valentine’s Day (–what could be more appropriate?)!  Called both a return and a departure, Rice’s new work marks a return to the horror genre, but with spiritual  elements as the lead male werewolf character is a kind of protector or guardian.  The book is also a departure in that Rice has never done the lycanthrope scene before.  She is, however, expected to bring her intelligent blend of class and romanticism to the effort while delivering the jolts.

While details about the work are few, it sounds promising.  Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the featured werewolf, a reporter operating in California, suffers no “disconnect” following a transformation; rather, he can recall all of his actions the previous night when in the wolf state.  This werewolf would also appear to suffer less angst about his status, and rather to see the potential in the “gift.”  We learn how the central character became a werewolf, and follow his growth in that condition and as part of a greater scheme.

So I’m looking forward to reading this one, and won’t wait until it’s on the bargain table…The Wolf Gift is not a present I’m likely to return!

Categories: cool things, creature features, furry, furry literature, furry stories
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Feline Survival Tale…

December 23, 2011

– – A large black and white cat survived a road trip of 200 miles and four hours duration while traveling under the hood of a car in Ohio last Sunday afternoon.  The driver of the car smelled something burning when he stopped at a rest area near his Cleveland destination, and raised his hood to discover the feline hitchhiker stuck in the engine compartment!

Although the cat suffered burns to his right side, he survived his ordeal remarkably well, and a vet who checked the cat out said that he’s going to be fine.  The cat has been named “Eclipse” as that was the model of the car, and the SPCA is trying to find the cat’s owner…

Categories: animal behavior, animal occurrences, furry, furry stories, strange happenings
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