Home Improvement Star Tim Allen Nearly Starred In One Of The Worst Kids Movies Ever Made

In the 1990s, there were few bigger sitcom stars than Tim Allen, who led the wildly popular "Home Improvement" for more than a decade. He was a once-raunchy stand-up comic embroiled in controversy who made the successful transition to TV superstar, and in 1995, he went to the big screen, voicing Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story." But if the chips had fallen differently, he might have also led a truly bizarre kids' movie that sounds like it might have been a borderline fright-fest: A scary retelling of the classic Dr. Seuss tale, "The Cat in the Hat."

Before the film was produced as a family-friendly comedy that starred Mike Myers in the title role, "The Cat in the Hat" had Allen ready to play the frisky humanoid feline who pops in on a pair of kids left home alone. And in his own words, Allen once described his version of the movie as a horror film. "My dream is to give it the edge that scared me as a child," Allen told Entertainment Weekly back in 2000 when the film was still in early development. "Like 'Alien,' we see very little of the cat. He's a human being who turns into the Cat — like a werewolf or vampire — as he gets more and more frustrated with these children."

At the time Allen made these comments, Universal Pictures was just about to release "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," starring Jim Carrey, an otherwise zany family film with its own darkly comic edge. But a full-throated Dr. Seuss horror movie? Well, the filmmakers clearly weren't in agreement, because that version never happened.

Tim Allen may have been excited about bringing "The Cat in the Hat" to the big screen. He may have even been pumped about turning it into a creepy, horror-infused film that would frighten small children. But ultimately, Allen bowed out of the project two years after speaking to Entertainment Weekly about that excitement, but it wasn't because of creative differences over the direction of the project. Instead, it was simply a matter of scheduling, as Allen was already committed to another family movie, "The Santa Clause 2," the middle entry of a perennial trilogy released a year before "The Cat in the Hat."

Allen's departure left the part free for "Saturday Night Live" and "Austin Powers" star Mike Myers to step in. There were rumors that the role was accepted by Myers as compensation for pulling the plug on "Dieter," one of many SNL characters who were supposed to have their own film, but producer Brian Glazer denied that charge. In the end, Myers got the role that Allen wanted, but it was probably for the best: Allen's "The Santa Clause 2" was a box office hit, while Myers' "Cat in the Hat" was a big bust.