The Cat in the Hat reaches Egyptian cinemas today, with Maged El Kedwany as the Cat
The new animated Cat in the Hat opens in Egyptian cinemas on 5 November with an Arabic dub in Egyptian spirit: Maged El Kedwany voices the Cat and Hatem Salah the Fish.
Families have a new film for the weekend. The Cat in the Hat, the new animated film built on Dr. Seuss's best-known character, opens in Egyptian cinemas on Thursday 5 November, and the version on many screens here comes with an Arabic dub voiced with an Egyptian touch.
Maged El Kedwany voices the Cat, the tall-hatted troublemaker at the centre of the story, and Hatem Salah voices the Fish, the character who tries to keep order. Speaking to filfan before the release, El Kedwany called dubbing an enjoyable experience and said the challenge was carrying the whole spirit of a character through the voice alone, without the face and body an actor normally works with.
The film does not simply retell the 1957 picture book. It tells a new story in which the Cat sets out to help a brother and sister who are struggling to settle in after their family moves to another city, and it mixes comedy, fantasy and family adventure along the way.
El Kedwany is one of Egypt's most familiar screen actors, so his voice gives the dub a draw of its own for parents as well as children. Egyptian dubs of big animated releases have become a regular part of the cinema calendar, and they are usually the version families with younger children choose, since small viewers do not need to read subtitles.
If you are going, check your cinema's listing for the language of each showing before you book, as cinemas often run the dubbed version and the original side by side at different times. Ticket prices vary by cinema and screen type, and showtimes are on each chain's own website or app.