The Cat in the Hat (film) with some critics, stating that it should have instead been rated PG-13 in relation to its high amount of adult content. Leonard Maltin in his Movie Guide gave it one and a half stars out of four saying that the "Brightly colored adaptation of the beloved rhyming book for young children is a betrayal of everything Dr. Seuss ever stood for, injecting potty humor and adult (wink-wink) jokes into a mixture of heavy-handed slapstick and silliness." Maltin also said that the film's official title which included "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat" was "an official insult". Conversely, "Variety" praised
The Cat in the Hat going to have the exciting experience of learning that they "can" read after all." Polly Goodwin of the "Chicago Sunday Tribune" predicted that "The Cat in the Hat" would cause seven- and eight-year-olds to "look with distinct distaste on the drab adventures of standard primer characters". Both Helen E. Walker of "Library Journal" and Emily Maxwell of "The New Yorker" felt that the book would appeal to older children as well as to its target audience of first- and second-graders. The reviewer for "The Bookmark" concurred, writing, "Recommended enthusiastically as a picture book as well as a reader". In contrast,