''Cats'' is a 2019
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
fantasy film based on the 1981
stage musical of the same name by
Andrew Lloyd Webber, which in turn was based on the poetry collection ''
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical '' Cats ...
'' (1939) by
T. S. Eliot. The film was directed by
Tom Hooper
Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker.
Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short, ...
, in his second feature musical following ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'' (2012), from a screenplay by
Lee Hall and Hooper. It features an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
, including
James Corden,
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
,
Jason Derulo,
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor. ,
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...
,
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
,
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
,
Rebel Wilson
Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...
, and
Francesca Hayward
Francesca Hayward (born 4 July 1992) is a Kenyan-born English ballet dancer and actress. She is a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. In 2019, she starred as Victoria the White Cat in the musical film '' Cats'', an ...
in her film debut.
Filming took place from December 2018 to April 2019. It was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and the United States on December 20, 2019, by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, to an overwhelming negative response from critics and audiences, who criticized the visual effects and editing. Considered
one of the worst films of all time, ''Cats'' grossed $75 million on a budget of $80–100 million, making it a
box-office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
. It is estimated to have lost Universal
between $71 million and $114 million after marketing and distribution costs.
Plot
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, a young white cat, is left abandoned by her owner in the streets of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in the middle of the night. The alley cats witnessing this introduce themselves to her as the "
Jellicles".
Mr. Mistoffelees
Mr. Mistoffelees is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and its 1981 musical adaptation, Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' Cats''. Mistoffelees is a young black-and-white tuxedo cat with magical powers ...
,
Munkustrap
Munkustrap is a Jellicle cat from T. S. Eliot's 1939 poem "The Naming of Cats". He is a principal character and the main narrator in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Eliot's poems.
Munkustrap is the storyteller and ...
, Cassandra and Demeter take Victoria under their wing and show her the world of the Jellicles as they prepare for the Jellicle Ball, an annual ceremony where cats compete to be chosen to go to the
Heaviside Layer and
be granted a new life.
Most of the Jellicle Ball competitors are introduced and sing about themselves:
Jennyanydots, a domestic tabby who sleeps during the day and by night boosts the productivity of mice and roaches; the
Rum Tum Tugger
Rum Tum Tugger is one of the many feline characters in the 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' by T. S. Eliot, and in the 1981 musical '' Cats'' which is based on Eliot's book. Rum Tum Tugger is a rebellious Jellicle cat wh ...
, an extravagant yet indecisive cat who riles up the others;
Bustopher Jones
''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'' ...
, a
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
cat who boasts about his weight and shares food scraps from the garbage;
Skimbleshanks
Skimbleshanks is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 book of poetry ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Eliot's book. The character is portrayed as a bright and energetic ora ...
, a tidy ginger cat who
tap dances and supervises the operation of a
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
, and
Gus
Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie).
It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...
, an aged theatrical cat who has played some of the biggest roles in history.
Victoria also happens to meet the mischievous twins
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are fictional characters in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. The Jellicle cat duo are mischievous petty thieves who often cause trouble for their human family. Although origi ...
, who enjoy causing trouble and messing with things in the house of their human family. They convince Victoria to join in the fun but leave her tangled up in some necklaces when the family dog is alerted to their presence. Luckily, Mr. Mistoffelees comes to rescue Victoria, distracting the dog and escaping with her. They return to the group, just in time for the arrival of the tribe's wise and beloved
matriarch
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general En ...
Old Deuteronomy
Old Deuteronomy is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 '' Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and its 1981 musical adaptation, ''Cats''. He is a wise and beloved elderly cat, further serving as the Jellicle patriarch in the musical. The role of O ...
. The Jellicle Ball commences inside the abandoned Egyptian Theatre. Victoria dances a ballet solo in the moonlight but is distracted by Cassandra harassing
Grizabella
Grizabella the Glamour Cat is a main character in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Cats''. Lonely and decrepit, Grizabella seeks acceptance from the other Jellicle cats but is initially ostracised. She sings the most famous song from the musical ...
, a former glamour cat who was banished from the tribe for, among other things, her past allegiance with
Macavity
Macavity the Mystery Cat, also called the Hidden Paw, is a fictional character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. He also appears in the Andrew Lloyd Webber 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Elio ...
, a notorious criminal capable of
apparating. Victoria relates to Grizabella's feelings of abandonment. As Grizabella slinks away into the streets, Old Deuteronomy witnesses their quiet camaraderie and assures Victoria that she can become a Jellicle herself in time.
A seductive
femme fatale named
Bombalurina interrupts the ball, distracting the Jellicles present with a song and dance number praising Macavity and simultaneously incapacitating them with
catnip
''Nepeta cataria'', commonly known as catnip, catswort, catwort, and catmint, is a species of the genus '' Nepeta'' in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of China. It is widely ...
. When Macavity arrives and demands to be made the Jellicle Choice, Old Deuteronomy deems him unworthy and is subsequently kidnapped and placed with most of the other contestants he have kidnapped. As the Jellicles recuperate, distraught over their leader's disappearance, Victoria suggests that Mr. Mistoffelees use his powers to conjure Old Deuteronomy back. He tries several times, eventually making Old Deuteronomy reappear. The cats rejoice and praise Mr. Mistoffelees; he and Victoria dance together. Meanwhile, a thwarted Macavity and Bombalurina apparate away from his victims, who begin to free themselves via Jennyanydots' costume change. Macavity leaves his lackey,
Growltiger
Growltiger is a fictional character appearing in both T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical '' Cats'' which is based on Eliot's book. He is described as a "bravo cat who lived upon a barge", one ...
, to walk the plank defenseless against the emancipated cats.
Grizabella returns to the Egyptian. Victoria vouches for her and urges her to sing her true feelings. Grizabella proceeds to sing a passionate ballad about her mistakes, her former glory, and her beauty, sentiments that touch the hearts of the Jellicles. Old Deuteronomy names Grizabella the Jellicle Choice and sends her off to the Heaviside Layer in a chandelier (repaired by Mr. Mistoffelees' magic to float like a
hot air balloon
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries ...
). Macavity, in one last attempt to reach the Heaviside Layer, leaps onto a rope from the chandelier but falls onto
Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...
. The Jellicles, reunited with their kidnapped brethren, and perched on a lion statue, watch Grizabella ascend as the morning sun appears above the horizon. After the congregation disperses, Old Deuteronomy welcomes Victoria to the tribe.
Cast
Production
Development
An animated film adaptation based on the musical was initially planned by
Amblimation
Amblimation was the British animation production subsidiary of Amblin Entertainment. It was formed by Steven Spielberg in May 1989, following the success of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), and after he parted ways with Don Bluth, due to c ...
in the 1990s but was abandoned with the studio's closure. In December 2013,
Andrew Lloyd Webber, creator and composer of the musical stage production ''
Cats'', teased that
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, which had purchased the film rights to ''Cats'' many years earlier, was putting the project into active development.
In February 2016, it was reported that
Tom Hooper
Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker.
Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short, ...
was in negotiations to direct the film, and was considering actresses, including
Suki Waterhouse
Alice Suki Waterhouse (born 5 January 1992) is an English model, actress and singer. She began a career in modelling at the age of 16, and she would go on to model for several major fashion labels. Her first feature film as an actress was a min ...
, to star. In May 2016, Hooper was confirmed as director.
In January 2018, Hooper and
Working Title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
began officially casting for the film, while looking into the technical aspect of whether the film would be entirely live-action or
computer generated, with Lloyd Webber announcing he would be writing a new song for the film adaptation. On October 24, 2019, it was announced that the new song was titled "
Beautiful Ghosts", written by Lloyd Webber and Taylor Swift. The song was sung by Francesca Hayward, followed later in a reprise by Judi Dench, with a credits version sung by Swift. The version sung by Swift was released on November 15, 2019.
Casting
In June 2018, there were reports that
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...
was considered for a role in the film, but she passed due to a scheduling conflict.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...
was also offered a role by Hooper but turned it down. In July 2018,
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...
,
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
,
James Corden, and
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
joined the cast. Swift had previously tested for the role of
Éponine
Éponine Thénardier (; ), also referred to as the "Jondrette girl", is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo.
The character is introduced as a spoiled and pampered child, but appears later in the novel as a r ...
in Tom Hooper's ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'' but was given the part of Bombalurina without an audition.
In September 2018,
Laurie Davidson and Mette Towley were cast, with
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
announced to be executive producing. In October 2018,
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor. and
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
joined the cast of the film. Dench was cast in the original stage musical, but had been forced to pull out due to a
torn Achilles tendon
Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult.
Rupture typic ...
; Lloyd Webber and Hooper decided to make Old Deuteronomy a female cat and offered her the role.
In November 2018, ballet dancers
Francesca Hayward
Francesca Hayward (born 4 July 1992) is a Kenyan-born English ballet dancer and actress. She is a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. In 2019, she starred as Victoria the White Cat in the musical film '' Cats'', an ...
and
Steven McRae as well as
Rebel Wilson
Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...
,
Jason Derulo, and
Robert Fairchild
Robert Fairchild (born June 9, 1987) is an American dancer and actor. He is best known for originating the role Jerry Mulligan in the musical ''An American in Paris'', and as Munkustrap in the 2019 film ''Cats''. He was a principal dancer at the ...
joined the cast of the film with rehearsals commencing at
Leavesden Studios
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is an studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in South East England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film an ...
in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, England.
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler (born March 7, 1970) is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography five times, and has won three times: for '' In the Height ...
choreographed the film, after
Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...
was forced to back out due to scheduling conflicts. Blankenbuehler also choreographed the stage musical's 2016 Broadway revival. In December 2018,
Les Twins
Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois (born December 6, 1988), professionally known as Les Twins, are French dancers, choreographers, producers, models, designers, and creative directors of their brand "Eleven Paris". Often referred to by their r ...
and
Eric Underwood
Eric John Underwood AO, CBE (7 September 1905 – 19 August 1980) was an Australian scientist who pioneered research into sheep nutrition and wool production.
Personal life
Underwood was born in Harlington, Middlesex, England on 7 September 1 ...
joined the cast.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on December 12, 2018,
and wrapped on April 2, 2019. Swift said that the cast attended "cat school", in which "We would literally do hours on end of barefoot crawling on the floor, hissing at each other. We learned about cat instincts and the way they carry themselves and the way that they process information, the way they see the world, the way they move."
Music
Music for the film was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with contributions from producer
Greg Wells
Greg Wells is a Canadian musician, record producer, songwriter and audio engineer. Wells has songs on over 130 million albums sold. He has worked with John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande, Jazmine Sullivan, Kid Cudi, Adele, Rufus Wai ...
, who was initially brought in after production in mid-2019.
The recordings were created partly at Abbey Road Studios with contributions from the London Symphony Orchestra.
Wells also played a number of instruments on the music himself, including the drums, pipe organ, bass guitar and Abbey Road's fabled
Mrs Mills
Gladys Mills (; 29 August 1918 – 24 February 1978), known as Mrs Mills, was an English pianist who was active in the 1960s and 1970s, and who released many records. Her repertoire included many sing-along and party tunes made popular in the ...
piano, used in
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
songs such as "Penny Lane" and "With a Little Help from My Friends".
A "highlights" edition of the soundtrack with a running time of 59 minutes was released on December 20, 2019, by
Polydor Records
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
and in the US by
Republic Records
Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
. The song "
Beautiful Ghosts" by
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
, a single from the soundtrack album, was released on November 15, 2019.
Less than two months before the film was scheduled to be released in theatres, production was still ongoing for the music in the film.
Musical numbers
* "Overture"/"Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" – Orchestra/Company
* "
The Naming of Cats
"The Naming of Cats" is a poem in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. It was adapted into a musical number in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical '' Cats'', and has also been quoted in other films, notably '' Lo ...
"/"The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball" – Munkustrap, Mr. Mistoffelees & Company
* "Jennyanydots: The Old Gumbie Cat" – Jennyanydots, Munkustrap & Company
* "The Rum Tum Tugger" – Rum Tum Tugger, Jennyanydots & Company
* "Grizabella: The Glamour Cat" – Grizabella, Cassandra, Demeter & Company
* "Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town" – Bustopher, Rum Tum Tugger, Maitre D' & Company
* "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" – Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer & Victoria
* "Growltiger's Last Stand" – Growltiger
* "Old Deuteronomy" – Munkustrap, Old Deuteronomy & Company
* "The Jellicle Ball" – Company
* "
Memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
(Prelude)"/"
Beautiful Ghosts" – Grizabella & Victoria
* "The Moments of Happiness" – Old Deuteronomy
* "
Gus: The Theatre Cat" – Gus
* "Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" – Skimbleshanks, Munkustrap & Company
* "Macavity: The Mystery Cat" – Bombalurina, Macavity, Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, Griddlebone & Company
* "Mr. Mistoffelees" – Mistoffelees, Munkustrap & Company
* "Memory" – Grizabella & Victoria
* "Beautiful Ghosts (Reprise)" – Victoria & Old Deuteronomy
* "The Journey to the Heaviside Layer" – Company
* "Finale: The Ad-Dressing of Cats" – Old Deuteronomy & Company
Visual effects
''Cats'' uses extensive
visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
throughout to convert the live-action actors into computer-animated cats. However, during the production process, the film was originally going to include makeup effects and costume design with fur for the characters. Hooper had experimented with using prosthetics to create the look of the cats due to the then-prohibitive costs of visual effects, but the director was dissatisfied, feeling that "
u ended up with full-faced prosthetics where you lost so much emotion.
..So all the paths seemed to lead me back to visual effects." Other reasons of changing visual direction was due to difficulties for most actors and dancers when testing the catsuits, giving much heat and sweat during rehearsals.
When production moved to digital options, companies like
Technicolor SA
Vantiva SA, formerly Technicolor SA, Thomson SARL, and Thomson Multimedia, is a French multinational corporation that provides creative services and technology products for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Vantiva's headq ...
subsidiaries
Mill Film and
MPC joined in for the visual effects. To aid this, the actors performed in
motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
suits with tracking dots on their costumes and faces. The bodies of the cat characters were rendered with
digital fur which was blended with the actors' actual faces.
Substantial work on the VFX for ''Cats'' was performed at MPC Vancouver, which had previously worked on re-doing the visual effects for ''
Sonic the Hedgehog''. A report by ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' revealed a troubled production, where sources within one of the VFX studios reported the staff was working 80–90 hour weeks to try and finish the effects by the release date while Hooper would send them denigrating emails about their work and insult them during conferences.
This was additionally complicated by Hooper's lack of familiarity with the visual effects process and animation as a whole, where the director would demand entire complete renders be made at great cost or that real-life references of cats be used for every movement. The team spent six months producing the film's two-minute trailer, leaving just four months to finish the entire 110-minute film. The film's visuals were completed just hours before its premiere.
At the
92nd Academy Awards
The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 p ...
, Corden and Wilson appeared in character as Bustopher Jones and Jennyanydots, mocking the film's CGI while presenting
Best Visual Effects. This led to criticism from the production's VFX animators, many of whom were
laid off
A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...
when MPC Vancouver closed following the film's production, as well as condemnation by the
Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society (VES) is an entertainment industry organization representing visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and ...
, an organization representing the VFX industry.
The film's visual effects were also mocked in the 2022
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
film ''
Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers'', in a scene where the titular characters notice two alley cats resembling the ones in the film as they venture through an "uncanny valley" part of town.
Marketing
On April 6, 2019, Hudson performed "
Memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
" at the Las Vegas CinemaCon, along with a behind-the-scenes look with the film's cast and crew. On July 17, 2019, Universal released a behind-the-scenes featurette detailing the various aspects of production and featuring interviews with the cast and crew.
The first trailer was released on July 18, 2019, and received overwhelmingly negative reactions from viewers. Many viewers were unsettled by the mix of CGI and live-action used to portray the cats, and cited the effects as an example of the
uncanny valley
In aesthetics, the uncanny valley ( ja, 不気味の谷 ''bukimi no tani'') is a hypothesized relation between an object's degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The concept suggests that humanoid object ...
, with some comparing it unfavourably to the design of
Sonic in the first trailer of the then-upcoming film ''
Sonic the Hedgehog'', which sparked similar criticism that ultimately resulted in the character being redesigned and the film being delayed. The studio spent about $115 million on global promotions and advertisements.
Release
The film premiered at
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...
at the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
in New York City on December 16, 2019 and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and United States on December 20, 2019.
CGI errors and modified release
The film's original release contained numerous CGI errors and glitches, such as one scene in which Judi Dench's human hand, complete with her wedding ring, appears instead of Old Deuteronomy's cat paw. After poor reviews, Universal notified cinemas on opening day that an updated
Digital Cinema Package
A Digital Cinema Package (DCP) is a collection of digital files used to store and convey digital cinema (DC) audio, image, and data streams.
The term was popularized by Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC in its original recommendation for packaging ...
with "some improved visual effects" would be available for download on 22 December, urging them to replace the current print as soon as possible. Studio executives and cinema owners said that the decision to release a modified version of a film already in wide release was "unheard of".
Home media
''Cats'' was released
digitally on March 17, 2020, and on
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on April 7 in the United States. The film was released on April 29, 2020, in Australia and on June 1, 2020, in the United Kingdom.
Reception
Box office
''Cats'' grossed $27.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $47.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $74.6 million against a production budget of about $95 million.
''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
'' calculated the
net loss Under U.S. Federal income tax law, a net operating loss (NOL) occurs when certain tax-deductible expenses exceed taxable revenues for a taxable year. If a taxpayer is taxed during profitable periods without receiving any tax relief (e.g., a refund ...
of the film to be $113.6million.
In the United States and Canada, ''Cats'' was initially projected to gross $15–20 million in its opening weekend. Universal hoped that the film would
appeal to young women as
counterprogramming against ''
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'', and emphasized Swift in marketing; however, she did not heavily promote the film to her fans, as she only appeared for one song. After making $2.6 million on its opening day (including $550,000 from Thursday night previews), estimates for ''Cats'' were lowered to $7 million.
Ultimately, the film only debuted to $6.5 million, finishing fourth at the box office. The poor performance was attributed to negative reception of the trailers, poor reviews, and competition from ''The Rise of Skywalker''.
In its second weekend, ''Cats'' made $4.8 million (for a total of $8.7 million over the five-day Christmas period), finishing in eighth place. It then made $2.6 million in its third weekend, finishing tenth.
Critical response
The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported that 19% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 328 reviews, with an
average rating
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Despite its fur-midable cast, this ''Cats'' adaptation is a clawful mistake that will leave most viewers begging to be put out of their mew-sery." On review aggregator
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100 based on 51 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at
PostTrak
PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios.
History
The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film ...
gave it an average 0.5 out of 5 stars, with 30% saying they would definitely recommend it.
[ In a June 2021 editorial titled "Rotten Tomatoes is Wrong about ''Cats''", they asked if the film was shaping up to be a "]cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
in the making".
Peter Debruge of ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "one of those once-in-a-blue-moon embarrassments that mars the résumés of great actors (poor Idris Elba, already scarred enough as the villainous Macavity) and trips up the careers of promising newcomers (like ballerina Francesca Hayward, whose wide-eyed, mouth-agape Victoria displays one expression for the entire movie)." He criticized the direction and effects, and predicted that the film would appeal to furries
The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term ...
, though many in the furry fandom also found the effects disturbing. David Rooney of ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' felt that the film was "hobbled by a major misjudgment in its central visual concept", lamenting its execution (such as the poor proportions of the "cats" to their environments) and deeming the film "exhausting". Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' rated the film 0 out of 5 stars, stating it was "bizarre", had terrible special effects, and made the audience "want to cry for mercy", while Hooper "traps the actors in an airless, lifeless bubble of a film that scarcely gives them room to breathe, much less develop a character".
In the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', Justin Chang
Justin Choigee Chang (born January 3, 1983) is an American film critic and columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He previously worked for ''Variety''.
Early life
Justin Chang graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004. Chan ...
wrote that "With its grotesque design choices and busy, metronomic editing, ''Cats'' is as uneasy on the eyes as a Hollywood spectacle can be, tumbling into an uncanny valley between mangy realism and dystopian artifice." Debruge said that the film should have used "face paint and Lycra" like the musical. Simran Hans of ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' agreed that "many of its uncanny images are sure to haunt viewers for generations". Her one-star review described the film as "a clear career low" for most of the actors, wondering whether they "are aware of what they've gotten themselves into". Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''.
Early life and education
Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...
for ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' agreed with the one-star rating. In a review parodying "The Naming of Cats
"The Naming of Cats" is a poem in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. It was adapted into a musical number in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical '' Cats'', and has also been quoted in other films, notably '' Lo ...
", he criticized the visual style and particularly the character design, while lambasting the film as a "dreadful hairball of woe". Manohla Dargis
Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Career
Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' felt that Hooper had made "a robust effort" to adapt the stage musical—which "was always going to be difficult, particularly once the decision was made to create a live-action version rather than an animated one"—and "enlisted some talented performers", but that the film version suffered from a lack of the human connection that theatre involves, where performers and audience share a space, without which "all that's left are canned images of fit-looking people meowing and raising their rumps high in the air".
''The Hollywood Reporter'' named ''Cats'' one of the ten worst films of 2019, Travers said it "easily scores as the bottom of the 2019 barrel—and arguably of the decade", and Adam Graham of ''The Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...
'' said "''Cats'' is the biggest disaster of the decade, and possibly thus far in the millennium. It's '' Battlefield Earth'' with whiskers." Alex Cranz of io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
warned "I have seen sights no human should see" but said others "must witness" Hooper's, the actors', and Hollywood's hubris, citing a human being appearing in a group of cats, a cat-coloured woman without fur, and other examples of how "the shit's just ''not finished''." Ty Burr
Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who currently writes a film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist" on Substack. Burr previously served as film critic at ''The Boston Globe'' for two ...
of ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''s half-star review said "there are moments in 'Cats' I would gladly pay to unsee" and warned small children to not watch the film. He reported that the preview audience laughed like the reaction to ''Springtime for Hitler
''Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp With Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden'' is a fictional musical in Mel Brooks' 1967 film '' The Producers'', as well as the stage musical adaptation of the movie, and the 2005 movie adaptation of the musical. It ...
'' during Dench's "The Ad-dressing of Cats", because each pause in her lyrics seemed to be the end of the film ("at long last") before continuing. Patrick Gibbs of SLUG Magazine said that "There is not enough kitty litter in the world to cover up this mess."
Pete Hammond of ''Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...
'' complimented Taylor Swift's performance as Bombalurina and her signature "Macavity" number, as well as "Beautiful Ghosts", which she wrote along with Lloyd Webber. Critic Guy Lodge called Swift "the best thing in the film" and "the one performer who completely hits their marks and pulls off the lone successful number," while critic Rebecca Lewis described Swift's performance as "one of the few genuinely good parts of the film". Patrick Ryan of ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' stated that Swift "makes the most of her brief screen time, bringing her unabating charisma to the flirtatious feline ... if there's one thing that's disappointing about Swift's performance, it's that there isn't more of it". Hans said that she was the only actor "who seems to be having fun, perhaps because she only appears in the film for approximately 10 minutes." Jennifer Hudson similarly received praise for her rendition of "Memory", with some critics describing it as "the best part" of the film and "the sole musical number in the new movie that summons real feeling".
Lloyd Webber himself was critical of the film, calling it "ridiculous" in an interview with ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'', saying, "The problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided that he didn't want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show." He later revealed in an interview with ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' that "I wrote to the head of Universal and said, 'You've got a car crash on your hands unless you get a grip on this thing', a year before they made (it). I didn't even get a reply." In a 2021 interview with ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', Lloyd Webber claimed his negative reaction to the film had even directly inspired him to adopt a Havanese dog
The Havanese, a bichon-type dog, is the national dog of Cuba, developed from the now extinct ''Blanquito de la Habana'' ("little white dog of Havana"). The ''Blanquito'' descended from the also now-extinct Bichón Tenerife. It is believed that ...
.
Rich Juzwiak of '''' predicted in early January 2020 that ''Cats'' might become a cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
like ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show
''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...
'', noting that costumed screenings in Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and sing-along
Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spiritual ...
screenings in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
were selling out. , Milwaukee's Oriental Theatre, Coolidge Corner Theatre
Coolidge Corner Theatre is an independent cinema in the Coolidge Corner section of Brookline, Massachusetts specializing in international, documentary, animated, and independent film selections and series.
History
Coolidge Corner Theatre was origi ...
near Boston, and FilmScene in Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
are among notable small theaters showing ''Cats''. Coolidge Corner gives ''Rocky Horror''-like viewing instructions to audiences at its monthly showings.
Accolades
On December 26, 2019, it was reported that Universal had removed ''Cats'' from its For Your Consideration web page. The film was not available on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
' private streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
platform for award contenders.
In popular culture
It was parodied by RiffTrax
RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...
on September 2, 2022.RiffTrax
/ref>
See also
* List of films considered the worst
The films listed below have been cited by a variety of notable critics in varying media sources as being among the worst films ever made. Examples of such sources include Metacritic, Roger Ebert's list of most-hated films, ''The Golden Turkey ...
References
External links
*
*
Official RiffTrax preview
{{Navboxes
, title = Awards for ''Cats''
, list =
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo
2019 films
2010s musical fantasy films
Amblin Entertainment films
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British musical fantasy films
Cats (musical)
Films about cats
Films based on adaptations
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Films directed by Tom Hooper
Films produced by Eric Fellner
Films produced by Tim Bevan
Films set in London
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Films shot at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden
Films with screenplays by Lee Hall (playwright)
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