Hollywood, only cattier

Call it the Year of the Cat. Since “The Cat in the Hat” skulked into theaters last holiday season, Hollywood has produced a litter of feline films with star power. Sure, there’s a “Benji” sequel next month, but does it have an Oscar winner such as Halle Berry? No, cats have a superiority complex, and with good reason. They’re unpredictable, mysterious -- in short, perfect film fodder. So, on the eve of the latest arrival, “Catwoman,” we decided to see how they stack up.

Suzan Colon

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The kit and caboodle

‘Catwoman’

Pedigree: Sexy beastus. Halle Berry gets her feline freak on. Walking the line between good and evil, she has superpowers Michelle Pfeiffer could only dream of and a costume that’d make Julie Newmar blush.

The fur flies when ... : Mousy artist Patience Phillips is killed by her cosmetics company bosses, gets resurrected by an ancient Egyptian temple cat and tries to save the world from toxic face cream.

Signature sound: Purring at Officer Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt) and hissing at anyone who rubs her the wrong way.

Number of lives used: One of the allotted nine. For an action film, you’d think there’d be more.

Hairball jokes: None, but lots of fun involving Catwoman eating canned tuna, guzzling cream at a bar and snorting a catnip ball. She even sheds.

The cat’s meow?: Meee-wow! A kitten with a whip. Need we say more?

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‘Two Brothers’

Pedigree: Siegfriedus Royus. Thirty-two flesh-and-blood-eating cats and one puppet play the titular tigers that are oh so cuuuuuute.

The fur flies when ... : Dad and mom tigers get shot; twins Kumal and Sangha are separated and sent to a circus and a prince’s menagerie, respectively.

Signature sound: Roars from the cats. Oohs and ahhs from the audience.

Number of lives used: Many, while trying to escape the pelt-happy prince, circus brutes and a hunter with a shotgun and a conscience.

Hairball jokes: None, but a scene of Kumal playing hide-and-seek among a shelf full of stuffed animals. Come to think of it, another adorable creature, E.T., did the same thing back in the ‘80s ...

The cat’s meow?: More like the cat’s pajamas -- the kind with kitties and rainbows and teddy bears on them.

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‘Garfield the Movie’

Pedigree: Fattus cattus. The comic-strip character (voiced by Bill Murray) becomes lost in computer translation, starring alongside live-action animals and actors who try to be animated.

The fur flies when ... : Garfield turns mean with envy after owner Jon (Breckin Meyer) adopts the cute puppy Odie. But when Odie is kidnapped by an abusive trainer, Garfield has a change of cholesterol-clogged heart.

Signature sound: A belch that would shame the judge at a chili cook-off.

Number of lives used: Not nearly as many as we wished for. Audiences may see their own lives pass before their eyes.

Hairball jokes: Including one would have been a big improvement over endless tubby-tabby-eats-lasagna jokes.

The cat’s meow?: More like a 20-pound bag of scoopable sand. Three panels’ worth of Garfield is infinitely better than 85 minutes of him.

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‘Shrek 2’

Pedigree: Spanish Superflyus. Hired hit tabby Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) is a not-so-lethal assassin; his weapons include a rapier and baleful, Keane-painting eyes.

The fur flies when ... : The King of Far Far Away hires Puss to get rid of Shrek, but Puss winds up helping Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) get the coveted “happily ever after” ending treatment.

Signature sound: An accent that could be used to tout “rich Corinthian leather.”

Number of lives used: Does a harrowing arrest for possession of catnip count? (“Uh, that is no mine ... “)

Hairball jokes: One brilliantly executed hairball attack, which foils Puss’ attempt to whack Shrek.

The cat’s meow?: Comic purr-fection as Puss steals Shrek’s show.

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‘The Cat in the Hat’

Pedigree: A mix of Talented comicus and Lapsus judgmentus. Mike Myers turns the lovable Dr. Seuss character, a tall, mischievous, top hat-wearing tuxedo kitty, into a fur-suited sociopath.

The fur flies when ... : Mom tells the kids to keep the house neat, but the fun-loving cat drags in numerous messy disasters -- all to teach them a lesson.

Signature sound: A bizarre meeting of the Cowardly Lion and Myers’ “Saturday Night Live” yenta Linda Richman.

Number of lives used: At least one, during a brutal pinata scene.

Hairball jokes: One that’s more gag than joke -- or at least gag-worthy. Then again, it’s inoffensive compared with the rest of the film.

The cat’s meow?: If the Cat in the book had been like the Cat in the film, Seuss would’ve never made it past One Fish.