The Cat in the Hat review: So-so Dr. Seuss adventure is nauseatingly cute

Running time: 107 minutes.Rated PG (action, peril, mild language and rude humor).

In theaters.Oh, the places you’ll retread.Once more, Warner Bros.has thrown Dr.

Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat” up onto the big screen.And at least this time, the lanky furball with a penchant for trouble has made the leap with mixed results rather than a litter box of bad taste that was the 2003 live-action version starring Mike Myers.But, as basic Hollywood family fare loves to do, the better animated movie still declaws the “Cat” and puts him into a tidy feel-good adventure box.

Literally, in fact.The title feline, voiced by Bill Hader, and two aww-shucks siblings go on a magic-ish journey through three cardboard moving vessels.It’s almost never a good idea to divide up a story that way.Because if the experience is anything short of purrrfect, the viewer finds himself frequently glancing at his watch and muttering, “One down, two to go.”In an irksomely modern fashion, the flick directed by Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni tries to make the Cat more of a fleshed-out character by turning the mischief-maker into a corporate employee, a la “Monsters, Inc.” His office colleagues include Mouse in a Blouse and Sherri from HR.Their job is to turn unhappy kids’ frowns upside down.

And, while the Cat is good at that aspect of the gig, he gets bad mess-o-meter scores, meaning he goes loco and wrecks homes in the process.So his boss gives him one more shot to succeed, or else he gets the boot.It’s all very “year-end performance review,” like we’re prepping toddlers for the harsh realities of the workforce.What’s next? “Horton Hears About His Benefits Plan”?Cat is sent to the home of bummed-out “band geek” Gabby (Xochitl Gomez) and her little brother Sebastian (Tiago Martinez), who have just been unwillingly moved by their single mom Carmen (America Ferrera) to a new town.The duo hopes that with the help of the strange talking pet and his dangerous...