OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO (2027): Warner Animation Announces New Dr. Seuss Adaptation

Warner Animation Announces New Adaptation of “Oh the Places You’ll Go”

Three films based on Dr. Seuss’s children’s books are on their way to theaters as part of a new project at Warner Animation Group, and one of them will be the first film adaptation of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (2027).

The 1990 children’s book about a kid who seeks a lifetime of adventure was the last Seuss story to be published in the author’s lifetime and the last of his tales that many young readers receive, often as a graduation gift. The film will be the first animation project for J.J. Abrams, who signed on to produce the feature alongside Hannah Minghella, the head of motion pictures at Abrams production company, Bad Robot.

The two other films are a new animated adaptation of The Cat in the Hat and a subsequent spin-off about that story’s two mischief makers, Thing One and Thing Two. The movies are intended to be the start of a “Seuss universe,” according to the team that is putting the projects together.

“Seuss builds worlds,” said Allison Abbate, executive vice president of Warner Animation. “There are so many questions that he posits, which is why we can read and reread those stories. It has been exciting for us to think about it as world building and not just a single story.”

Prior Seuss animated films, like 2008’s Horton Hears a Who! from Fox’s Blue Sky Studios, or 2012’s The Lorax and 2018’s The Grinch from Universal’s Illumination studios were standalone projects. But this new long-term Warner Bros. project is intended to create a steady stream of new Seuss projects for the screen, said Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

“For the first time we’re not just doing one film for one book. We’re going to franchise-build beyond the initial story of these books and find out what happens next,” Brandt said. “I call it stretching the fabric. How far can it go, to go a little bit deeper with our characters.”

Oh the Places You’ll Go will be the third film in the franchise, slated for 2027. But before that, The Cat in the Hat — which has already signed on director Erica Rivinoja of Disney and South Park acclaim — is planned for 2024 and Thing One and Thing Two for 2026.

Brandt and Abbate agreed that the Seuss universe will be linked stylistically and thematically, rather than by character or storyline crossover. “The Cat in the Hat will not meet the boy in Oh, the Places You’ll Go, nor would the Things go visit the Lorax,” said Brandt. “While it will all feel like part of the Seuss universe, they live in their worlds, and they’re not necessarily going to interact in the same films.”

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