Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Cats musical, based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, is the fourth-longest-running musical in Broadway history and the sixth-longest-running show in West End history. It’s a global musical phenomenon that’s been an easy reference since it debuted in the 1980s and now, it’s getting a film adaptation starting some of today’s biggest talent. Unfortunately, we aren’t talking about real cats, such as the ones who starred in Captain Marvel. We’re talking about humans-as-cats, which is decidedly different. Anyway. On Thursday, the first Cats trailer was released, and to no one’s surprise, it is super dramatic.
Although the trailer was teased for Friday, it hit Twitter Thursday evening, to a raucous chorus of likes, retweets, and comments from fans and critics alike. Some expressed weird feelings over the cat-sized-cats with human hands (valid), or the mildly terrifying face makeup (also valid), while others questioned the trailer’s tone. Cats has always been a love-it-or-hate-it property. It doesn’t seem like the movie will change that, though diehard fans of the stage musical may find themselves on the other side of the coin once they see the movie. Who knows?
In addition to ballerina Francesca Hayward, who plays Victoria, the film also stars James Corden, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench, Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo and Taylor Swift. The first trailer features Hudson belting it out while the characters are introduced in snippets and spotlights.
The film is set to hit theaters just in time for Christmas. Check out the Cats trailer below and stay tuned for more.
I’ve never been able to become fully invested in ‘Cats’. It’s got some great songs, but I never felt that the ‘book’ fully worked; the story lacks a central conflict.
CATS has no plot, which is probably why Hollywood has avoided it until now. Guess they’re counting on Hudson and Swift to bring in audiences.
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