Seemingly out of nowhere, a cinematic version of the original Broadway musical Cats is clawing its way into theaters this Christmas. Based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s massively successful play and the writings of acclaimed author T.S. Eliot, it boasts a huge cast of stars, a score crammed full of classic songs, and lively dance numbers featuring some of the best dancers in showbiz. It also features very bizarre looking cat-people, a nonsensical plot, and heavy-handed CGI.
Watching the two trailers is a little bit like looking at roadkill; the dizzying, kaleidoscopic display is at once terrifying and fascinating. Seeing human faces peer out from fur and whiskered bodies is otherworldly, as is a plot about jellicle cats crossing the Rainbow Bridg- er, Heaviside Layer. The film is directed by Tom Hooper, who also made the recent film adaptation of Les Miserables, and pounces into theaters December 20th.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED: IT’S BASED ON THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY SHOW
If you can’t make it to New York City to take in a Broadway show, this version of Cats will be the next best thing. Full of Jellicle cats doing Jellicle chants, it’s based on the same story as the famous show all about cats tap-dancing their way into a spot in Cat heaven.
Exactly like the show, there will be over-sized furniture all over the stage, because the humanoid looking cats are in fact…cat sized! A cat’s perspective will be recreated with everything from over-sized milk jugs and chairs to trash cans and random garbage in the street.
WHY WE’RE TERRIFIED: THE CAT PEOPLE
Cats was always known, even as a Broadway show, for its outlandish humanoid cat people. The cast was made up of actors in fur costumes, with human like limbs but dancing about the stage with feline movements. They had whiskers, ears, and tails, but rarely any prosthetics to make their human faces appear more cat-like.
Seeing what the actors for this film look like in a similar aesthetic is both creepy and fascinating. Some of the movements of their bodies don’t seem to mesh with their facial expressions, and vice versa. A lot of the movements seem rendered in CGI, which negates the point of anyone learning how to move around like cats.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED: THE FABULOUS DANCE NUMBERS
Even more than the fabulous songs, this show is known for its spectacle dance numbers. Featuring the Tony Award winning choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler of Hamilton fame, it should be littered with dance numbers the likes of which you’ll only see at a Broadway show.
The cast trained to dance their own parts, and they’re supported by dozens of professional Broadway dancers with years of experience under their fur. We can’t say for certain how many numbers there will be, but they’ll definitely be the cats meow.
WHY WE’RE TERRIFIED: IT’S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE
Unlike other Broadway shows which have gotten the Hollywood treatment, this legendary show never has. It’s been filmed several times on stage and edited to resemble something cinematic, but it’s never been turned into a film the way some of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s other works have. The closest it came was being turned into an animated film in the ’90s, involving Steven Spielberg’s animation studio.
For many Broadway and musical theater fans, perfection shouldn’t be messed with. They’ll be scrutinizing every part of the film, hoping it lives up to their expectations. No doubt there’ll be an incredible amount of pressure on all involved to deliver a masterpiece worthy of the marquee.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED: NEW SONGS!
The soundtrack to the show is an industry classic, with Broadway showtune standards that many people know without ever having seen the show. Along with classic tunes like “Memory”, there’s going to be at least one brand new song, and possibly more!
So far with the trailer, we’ve glimpsed at least half a dozen of the most popular songs in the show, sung by some of the most talented singers currently in showbiz. Get prepared to sing along to your favorite songs and learn the words to a few more.
WHY WE’RE TERRIFIED: THE $284 MILLION BUDGET
The budget for Cats has been estimated by The Guardian to be roughly $284 million dollars, which may seem high for a musical. A huge budget is likely however when you consider the price of the lead actors, the heavy amount of CGI used (fur is especially hard to render!), and the necessary professional dancers to populate all the scenes.
Given that’s the cost of a big-budget Marvel film these days, based on a musical that isn’t everyone’s saucer of milk, the film would have to gross $300 million just to break even, and more if the P&A cost wasn’t factored into the original budget. A musical about singing cats, no matter how famous, would have to bring in $400-$500 million to be considered a success.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED: THE HUGE CAST
There’s been many big names attached to this show, most notably famous singers like Barbara Streisand who have made their name synonymous with it. No less is true now, with the absolutely enormous cast of stars attached to both large and small parts. It seems celebrities were lining up to get to ne sized for their very own catsuit.
The cast include such stars as Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Dame Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Rebel Wilson, James Corden and many more. Each bring their own particular personality to their roles, ensuring larger than life purr-formances.
WHY WE’RE TERRIFIED: PAST MUSICAL FAILURES
There was a period of time in Hollywood when musicals were king. Singing in the Rain, My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music were all huge commercial successes, establishing the genre. In the past several decades, clamor for musicals has faded, leaving just a few to be released every decade.
While some musicals like La La Land proved commercially successful others, like Les Miserables (directed by Tom Hooper, director of Cats), despite an all-star cast and plenty of publicity, did not. What differentiates a good musical from a bad musical is often a matter of subjection, timing, and talent. Even though Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia achieved some modicum of success, doesn’t make their success the norm.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED: IT HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Cats enjoys a significant position in pop culture for a Broadway show due to its famous songs, famous actors associated with it, and the fact that it continuously ran for 38 years. Longtime fans will go to see it, young fans will go to see it, Swifties will go to see it, and other people will go out of morbid curiosity.
Given that it’s coming out around the holidays, it offers an uplifting message for families to flock around. Not only does it have a positive feel, will guarantee a soundtrack to be played on repeat, it’s also based on the wonderful literary writings of T.S. Eliot.
WHY WE’RE TERRIFIED: UNIVERSAL’S TRACK RECORD
The last big film Universal Picture’s produced that also happened to have a high-fantasy concept was Mortal Engines in 2018. That film barely made Universal $100 million with a world wide distribution on a $87 million budget. Prior to that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom cost $200 million and only made Universal about half that back in profits, nowhere near what the company received for Jurassic World.
Universal has done well with the Fast and Furious franchise as well as Hobbs and Shaw, but high-fantasy films never seem to get marketed well, or the final product seems to differ from what has been marketed.
