i honestly think the hatred towards cats, especially by other theatre kids, is tied to the hatred for furries, and the existence of cringe culture. and probably a tad bit of... idk the word, elitism? like, 'my show is smarter and has a plot and yours is just a bunch of furries' type of thing
"Counterpoint: my headcanon about this show is so complex it could be turned into a novel so my show is actually much more intellectually stimulating than a show that gives its plot on a silver platter"
@@shadycatz85CATS was one of the longest Broadway & West End musicals at its time and was referenced countlessly on TV shows, movies etc. Sure there were criticisms and opinions but it was never hated as much until the social media/internet age.
@@shadycatz85Furries definitely existed in the 80s lmao. My mom was born in NY in 1983 and she’s personally known furries. My grandmother knows what furries are. Modern fursuits and the internet is a new concept, furries aren’t.
Okay thank god somebody else cries at the train bit with skimbleshanks. He’s the BESSSSSST. Also!!! I saw a high school production once where during mistoffelees they wheeled on a giant top hat and seven little kindergarteners dressed in mini cat getups popped out and sang the chorus 😭😭 I cried out of the sheer adorableness
I was a fan of Sideways at the time he posted his video about the Cats movie, and I really enjoyed said video - intrigued, I found the 1998 film on Dailymotion and fell absolutely in love with it. I now have it on DVD. In short, I'm one of the exceptions you mentioned, and I will be raising my kids on it, should I have any. Also, thank you for mentioning Tuggoffelees, the best ship in all of fiction - Tom Hooper didn't realise that these two dancing cats are gay, and I'm not here for that, honestly, people without a gaydar are untrustworthy (that's a joke, in case anyone thinks I'm insane).
aw yay so glad you found and loved it 🫶 it's so fun to see people actually appreciate the show and give it a chance despite it being so different 🩷 tom hooper will answer for his crimes
Oh I think Tom hooper realised! I just also think he doesn't want gay cats around (they cut the line about wives from Old Deut's song now that she's a woman, too)
Musical: I like how when everything's seems hopeless, the LAST cat you expect to step up and save the day is RUM TUM TUGGER by reassuring everyone that he knows this amazing magical cat who can save old Deuteronomy & giving Misto the limelight and his complete support when you would expect Tugger to make it all about him. It shows how much personality all these cats have and man is Misto awesome! The lightning wowed me as a kid.
People keep saying that cats don't have a plot. But it has. Its not explained in a painfull obvious way, but it is. They are going to a ball to choose who is going to be reborn. Simple, but is there. Everything that happens after is a linear story. I think, as a writer, people expect something and get something new. The structure of the show is different from your ordinary musical, sure. And I think its amazing artwork. I get sad when I see people saying that a uniqueness that goes against the common its a negative thing, while I think is positive. Opinions, of course. Its all subjective. But there is a plot '-' . And I think the way it's organized so freeing from a fit all format.
You have to listen to the music to understand the plot. Each song introduces individual cats and give their reasons for being selected forthe great prize.
you're right! It's just a common thing that everyone says and I feel like that's the most common excuse people give when i ask why they don't like it haha
Honestly, I’d say part of it is in fact, explained in a painfully obvious way. In that Munkustrap in the third song literally spells it out for us. (“Jellicle cats meet once a year” etc etc). Which I think is a good thing, to be clear, but it also shows how some people just. Don’t pay any attention to the show?
I love watching this movie with people who’ve never seen it just so I can point out all the characters and the relationships and the theories. I love this movie so much and I hate how much people shit on it even thought they have no knowledge about it.
Not too bad. :) I did not really get Cats! from a small piece we watched in high school, and only later learnt about the musical when I was 16 or 17. I saw a live performace in Moscow when I was over 18. It was amazing.
Idk how anyone can think that Mistoffoles is not gay, even if they don't ship him with Tugger like I do. Making him attracted to Victoria is some poo poo stinky. No thanks.
Cats are not gay. Cats are feline. Some have more feline traits than others. The TS Elliot writings are very true to cat nature. Cats arent gay. Thats a human condition. @jungtothehuimang
I am living for you co-opting the Lindsay Ellis style of silly repetition with “Hal… it’s about Cats” so good. I will say I only got into the Cats hype recently, between a mix of rewatching Lindsay’s video as well as Sideways and realizing how genuinely interesting and solid the OG play was and hence why Hooper is even more of a musical hack and how it could have been decent. And now I’m watching your video for more content so thanks for that!
This makes me so sad. I didn’t see Cats as a kid. I remember begging my mom for the vhs, but she never got musicals. Finding out that I’ve missed the window to be into Cats makes me want justice for my child self.
23:00 Actually, in the unadultered version of Cats, Gus didn't play "a defender cat" but a pirate. Given that is actually greatest role was "the fiend of the fell", he seemed to be good at playing bad guys.
I am currently hyperfixating on this beautifully weird god damn musical (1998) and am watching every video I can about it, while trying to make every single person my life to watch it. When I was little my mom showed me Macavity's number and I fell in love with this show instantly. (Also Demeter and Bombalurina totally turned me gay)
I have LOVED Cats since I saw the first North American tour in the late 80s. I saw it on Broadway. I was Misto in an unlicensed production. I LOVE the show. I tried to watch the 2019 film on an airplane and couldn’t get through the opening number. Still haven’t seen the rest of it. You are correct about every single thing you said bar one: they aren’t celebrating the fact that one of them dies, they’re celebrating the *rebirth* - cats have long been said to have nine lives, these cats just go about using them a little differently. It’s like they’ve been on one ride at the theme park of life, and now they get to go on a different one, and THAT is what they’re excited about. Also YES THE COSTUMES AND MAKEUP ARE INCREDIBLE!! Why torture VFX artists when Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had stripey stockings with a garter belt and a stripey undershirt‽ Or Tugger’s little ruff that he can flip up like a mane‽ And makeup designed specifically to enhance facial expressions so they’re visible from the nosebleeds‽ ARGH
I saw CATS on PBS when I was like 5 and it became a life long obsession. I still love it now at 32. It's just so good. It's a simple fun spectacle. I'm obsessed.
I saw the Cats revival in 2017. I didn’t have high expectations, I just knew the song “Memory.” I was blown away!! It was so fun and exciting. They let us go onstage to meet Old Duet during intermission and it was amazing to see the set upclose. Since then I’ve been such a huge fan of the show and have been STAUNCHLY defending it lmfao. I wish this video existed back in 2017 because I truly was fighting for my liiiiiife!!!! This video is so great!! I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.😻😻
I don’t think I’ve ever watched your videos before, but I want you to know when that clip of Betty Buckley belting “touch meeee..!” played, my cat happened to look up and me and meowed, and I nearly burst into tears.
I think the reason the stage costumes/makeup works so well and the CGI doesn't is because the actors are made to look like the CONCEPT of a cat, not a realistic cat. The makeup and ears and face tufts and leg warmers, especially combined with the graceful movements they make, all convey the *idea* of a cat, but like the makeup artist said, the human is still present.
On stage it’s traditional that the human depicting the thing does not have to look like the thing. The Nutcracker does not look like he could crack a walnut, Odette in Swan Lake confused me as a kid, she did not look much like she had been turned into a swan so where was the plot ? So Cats on stage followed a long tradition and audiences expected what they got. Hooper however never solved the problem that this is not an expectation held by mainstream cinema audiences. Sticking a CG filter ( fixing it in post ) does not make the problem go away. Unless or until cinema audience expectations change or someone actually figures out how to make a room full of CG Lion King type dancing cats not look stupid and actually work Cats should not be filmed for mainstream audiences.
I'm so glad my current hyperfixation has such amazing video essays. This one was my favorite by far. Also, I'm 21 rn, so I feel like I've been called open-minded by an internet stranger lmao
I can't agree with you. I explored the Cats 1998 DVD 2009... I was 21 Years old. And I fell In love in an instance. And in the same year, Cats came to my town performing live and I bought a ticket an Instance. It was my Birthday Gift to me 😂
FUN DRINKING GAME: take a drink every time I say “crusty”, “incredible”, “if you will” “insane” “plot” ULTIMATE DEATH MODE take a sip every time I say CAT
Wow that was a deep and great dive! The two biggest issues with the movie for me were the terrible unnecessary CGI and the way they didn't respect the centrality of dance to Cats.
"you miss the window if you haven't seen Cats by the time you're like 10" i'm pretty sure I became a fan at like... 19? To be fair I'm autistic so I have a different approach to suspension of disbelief AND it reminds me of L'enfant et les sortilèges a lot, and i've seen that as a kid a bunch of times
I just discovered your video and channel. I was also introduced to CATS at a very young age, I know the 1998 movie by heart, this show is part of me now. Everything is so clever and impressive. Only when I turned 15 I could go watch the show in Belgium with an outstanding cast ! I was so moved and happy, couldn’t stop crying and thank my parents for finally having this wonderful experience. I somehow want to thank the 2019 movie for being a massive flop because it made some people curious to discover the original show. I am glad I can still find recent videos like yours talking about CATS ! I hope this show never dies ♥️ thank you for your hard work !
I always headcanoned that not ALL of the cats who get songs are necessarily trying to get the Choice, the Ball is also about honoring notable members of the tribe
There are people who were introduced to cats as a kid and then there are people (like myself) who were introduced after the 2019 film and got into it because of all the video essays. The sideways video is a favorite of mine (I wish he'd start posting again😭). I'm actually thinking of going to see the new ballroom cats thing. At first I was disappointed because I never got to see the orginal live but idk maybe I'll do it
love that video too! I'm seeing the ballroom cats in June I'm SO excited, hoping the regular production will tour again soon too so it can get more love!!🩷
This made me think of my introduction of cats. A family friend built sets and was the guy who had to go over it before every show to make sure it was safe. One afternoon my Aunt had to get something off them and he brought us into the theatre and I see Deaut in the process of getting their make-up done and I was instantly fascinated, then my brother and I get to play on the set for the next half hour and it was so fun! Then as we're leaving a handful of the cast had arrived and are getting into costume. I remember thinking "I have no idea what yhis is, but its my favourite thing."
Tom Hooper: The make up and costumes made it hard for the actors to express themselves. Me: Tom, Tommy, Tombo, my man! Do you even know what make up and costumes were made for?!
Was lucky as a child in southern California. Got to see RENT, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and a few others at a young age. Was seated right in front of the chandelier that drops in Phantom of the Opera. Didn't get to see Cats live, but owned the VHS tape. This, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and an addiction to Broadway (I still catch myself humming or singing songs from them randomly) shaped a fun childhood for me :)
The songs combine to tell the story. You have to pay attention to understand the thread of the plot. The movie was ruined by the creepy CGI costuming and while JHud is a fine singer, she cannot hold a candle to Elaine Paige as Grizabella.
I think JHud could have been a great Grizzabella but bad direction screwed her over, her part was really powerful to me when I close my eyes and listen 😭
I watched "Cats" for the first time in 2018, when I was 23, and I was ***OBSESSED*** right away. I watched it with a superfan who had been obsessed since she was 3, so maybe that helped. I'm also already a musical theatre fan and neurodivergent, so that definitely helped. My mother didn't let me watch it when I was a kid, even though the '98 version came out when I was 3 and I had already started obsessively watching musicals by that point. She absolutely detests "Cats" because she just doesn't get it. She loves other ALW musicals, but "Cats" is too abstract for her, I guess.
I've never seen Cats the musical nor the 1998 movie, but I watched Cats (2019) yesterday and now I'm on a Cats deep dive because I actually liked it! Now I wanna see a stage production of Cats.
I discovered Cats in 2018 when I saw a local production (Tampere 2017 represent!!) and was HOOKED! I saw it three times over the course of about two months. I even drew fanart for the actress who played Victoria lol (she liked it :D) My brainrot sort of faded over the last five years, but it just got reawakened last week when I watched the 1998 proshot to destress from a horrible essay and now I've done a whole set of costume designs for a hypothetical world in which my university theater society puts it on 😅 Also you're SO RIGHT ABOUT THE JELLICAL BALL it goes SO HARD when I saw it live I was TRANSPORTED I may have just watched 1998 last night but now I want to watch it again....
I was interested in seeing the musical version because I heard it was better than the movie. I didn’t that memory for a long time was from the musical. Now that I’ve seen it, it’s a deeper meaning.
For the meeting Old Deuteronomy part, I think you can still go on stage and meet him in the Oasis of the Seas production! I went in 2017, so Idk if it changed because of COVID or not.
Still touring in Vancouver at 'Theatre under the Stars' in the Malkin Bowl at Stanley Park for the next month. Don't miss it if you don't have to. It broke my heart to turn down a free ticket to see the show since I was working and had an hour to go, and would have wasted half the show :( CATS is a once in a lifetime experience, don't miss it if you don't have to!
I was first introduced to Cats about 25 years ago, when I was around 15-16ish. My friend from school was having a sleepover with me at my house and she insisted that I watch this movie with her. I distinctly remember this, because this was back in the olden days when VHS movies were a thing....LONG before the modern technology we have today....but I digress. My point is, 16 yr old Keriane did not have the refined taste in movies and deep love and respect for movies that I do now, having been writing film critiques for a decade now... and while I had been exposed to other musicals, (mostly Disney and the Wizard of Oz) I really did not appreciate the subtle artistry and deep emotional story that is woven into Cats when I was a child. I found it to be boring and creepy and Macavity gave me nightmares. I didn't understand the beautiful secret that this movie was sharing with me. Now, I am 39 yrs old and have been writing film critiques for a decade and I recently watched this version of Cats because I wanted to expand the musicals section of my website and I was listening to Memory on RUclips and Elaine Paige's performance was absolutely stunning and intrigued me to the story. It has now become one of my favorite musicals. Magical Mr. Mistoffollees and Tugger are my favorite characters...and Munkustrap and Grizabella and dear, old Gus. The emotional storytelling in this movie is both beautiful and heartfelt, but I only truly appreciated it as an adult who watched this movie on a whim one night while being candied.
OBSESSED with this story, in middle school I was definitely the friend who made everybody watch cats when they came to my house LOL. so glad you made your way back to the junkyard, it's a fun place 🩷
@@KaelaCeleste It is, indeed. Particularly when Tugger is onstage. lol I do love how unlike in the new one, THIS version of Rum Tum Tugger went from being a feline sex god to being the proud son, singing praises for his father and showing him deep respect by bowing as Old Deuteronomy came to his throne to then being the one to comfort his siblings and offer them hope when their father is catnapped and getting Misto to bring their father back again.
grizabella has actually been implied to be or have been a sex worker - she haunted many a lone resort, from the grimy road of Tottenham court... her look is often sex work coded, some productions have her in thigh high boots, the fur coat... this would go a long way to explain why she is judged and shunned by society/the jellicles. It makes her character so much more beautiful and interesting and rounded rather than her being judged for no other reason than just being an old crusty cat.
i'm not sure if i personally agree with this perspective just because of the many sexual implications in the jellicle culture xD seems unlikely they would be slut shaming after having a maybe implied orgy ? but there are many other plot holes and also just a lack of plot in general so why not !
I saw a the touring company in the late eighties, when i was seven or eight; and saw Dreamcoat the next year. Went on to go to a performing arts highschool and major in theatre in college, so... I also have a lifelong love of Edward Gorey and TS Eliot - pretty sure Old Possum is at least a little bit to blame... Ps love the cat makeup, very minimalist chic 😻
42:36 The scale issue is such a problem for me, because they did so much promo about how 'good' it was going to be. When the sets are so realistic (compared to the stage show), you think about how people fundamentally don't look like cats. Like at all. A cat has a big head, short limbs and thick body compared to humans, so trying to make people 'cat sized' makes the actors seem too small. the Proportions of the set and props should have been based on a cat standing on it's hind legs (not to sound deranged). This would not have been hard get references of either.
Im a massive fan of CATS. grew up with the 1998 version which was on VHS for half my life. Been absolutely obssessed with it. I really lied to myself about the 2019 one, trying to defend it based on my love for this show. I even saw it live in 2012. Cats stan for life, but the 2019 one is a pure disgrace. Also those who say theres "no story" are just not into existentialism and life, death and reincarnation topics.
New Cats fan, probably woulda made it my whole personality if I watched the stage recording as a kid, but I digress- The movie feels like it was done by someone who watched exactly three cat videos on RUclips while the play and original poems were all clearly done by someone who'd had fifteen cats throughout their life that they constantly watched over. The movie cats just have no sense of presence while the cats in the play are constantly moving and translating cat movements onto human bodies. It's so weird, I watch both constantly because I always notice something new and either wrong in the movie (Tugger's feet gliding over the ground whenever he moves) or fun in the play (Skimbleshanks literally falling asleep during Gus' song)
53:11 Personally I prefer the idea that Taylor Swift was sold on cat school. I believe there was an interview where she mentions being there for 4 months instead of the 3 or so days that she needed to be there for. If you ask me that seems like enough of a reason.
They simply tried too many new ways in the movie that weren't good. Another video talks in depth about how they mixed 5 different versions of getting the music in (from full playback to full live music) which was just unnecessary, they should've just gone for full playback. And likewise with CGI, they should either have made it a fully animated movie with the famous actors just doing VO, or as you said gone for 100% practical effects with some slight, almost unnoticable CGI additions. But Hooper tried to do everything in a completely new way. It was a huge gamble and it failed.
In a strange weird way, Cats is kind of made for the “wrong” (not really) audience. I had my Chinese friend who’s also a theatre nerd watch Cats, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself without even my input trying to explain stuff to him. The weirdness of the show wasn’t a turn off, it just added to the fun of it all for him. “Oh the naming of cats has cult vibes, that’s really cool” was one of his comments. A good portion of western audiences are too concerned with the idea of normalcy in art to enjoy anything that goes against that accepted standard. I’d go deep into the literary history of west Europe and how parts of it are the groundwork for what we know today as “cringe culture”, but suffice it to say that even a classic film like Titanic was once considered to be low tier commoner garbage that only the lesser people would enjoy, despite that film not even being weird or out there in the same way that a stage show like Cats is.
It's not a competition to see who gets to die. That's a fundamental misunderstanding. They are simply getting together to tell each other stories. It's a celebration of the tribe. Deuteronomy wasn't even there when Jennyanydots did her number. As for Mephisto being gay, that's entirely in your mind. You can play him gay (and some productions have) but it's not canon and there was nothing in the 1998 film to support that.
(In case it went over anyone’s head: 1st: name that “the family uses daily”, such as [insert list of what definetely are not human names. Who’s never had a cat named Augustus, Alonso, Peter or James? 😭] 2nd: unique names made out of puns and pride (which reminds many of drag names) 3rd: the name that “no research can discover”, because only they know, and will never confess - unless you prove that ur respectful and trustworthy. Then you’ll finally get to call them by their real name. Also the whole “if u ever see one lost in thought, theyre for sure practically spiralling about the thought of the thought of their name” - Do i even need explain further 😂)
Havent fully watched it yet but woah!! A whole hour of somebody talking about Cats!!!! I wonder why did this justt appear in my recommended, since ive been obsessed with the show for over a year 🥲 The algorythim does not know me 💔
i honestly think the hatred towards cats, especially by other theatre kids, is tied to the hatred for furries, and the existence of cringe culture. and probably a tad bit of... idk the word, elitism? like, 'my show is smarter and has a plot and yours is just a bunch of furries' type of thing
"Counterpoint: my headcanon about this show is so complex it could be turned into a novel so my show is actually much more intellectually stimulating than a show that gives its plot on a silver platter"
I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS!!! People are ruining actual culture, performance and creativity cause they get so insecure about the things you mentioned.
bro what, the hatred existed before furries were more mainstream, and even now, a ton of people don't know what furries are.
@@shadycatz85CATS was one of the longest Broadway & West End musicals at its time and was referenced countlessly on TV shows, movies etc. Sure there were criticisms and opinions but it was never hated as much until the social media/internet age.
@@shadycatz85Furries definitely existed in the 80s lmao. My mom was born in NY in 1983 and she’s personally known furries. My grandmother knows what furries are. Modern fursuits and the internet is a new concept, furries aren’t.
The fact that Mr. Mistoffelees' Conjuring Turn is 24 *CONSECUTIVE* pirouettes is quite impressive! :o
Imagine if we got that in the film instead of our flamboyant magic boy being a bumbling timid doofus. Tom Hooper could never.
Okay thank god somebody else cries at the train bit with skimbleshanks. He’s the BESSSSSST. Also!!! I saw a high school production once where during mistoffelees they wheeled on a giant top hat and seven little kindergarteners dressed in mini cat getups popped out and sang the chorus 😭😭 I cried out of the sheer adorableness
omg I would lose it that sounds sooooo cute haha
Love it when someone releases a video on what I've been fixating on at the *perfect* time
there are dozens of us
@@KaelaCeleste we'll take over the world...
I was a fan of Sideways at the time he posted his video about the Cats movie, and I really enjoyed said video - intrigued, I found the 1998 film on Dailymotion and fell absolutely in love with it. I now have it on DVD.
In short, I'm one of the exceptions you mentioned, and I will be raising my kids on it, should I have any.
Also, thank you for mentioning Tuggoffelees, the best ship in all of fiction - Tom Hooper didn't realise that these two dancing cats are gay, and I'm not here for that, honestly, people without a gaydar are untrustworthy (that's a joke, in case anyone thinks I'm insane).
aw yay so glad you found and loved it 🫶 it's so fun to see people actually appreciate the show and give it a chance despite it being so different 🩷 tom hooper will answer for his crimes
Oh I think Tom hooper realised! I just also think he doesn't want gay cats around (they cut the line about wives from Old Deut's song now that she's a woman, too)
Musical: I like how when everything's seems hopeless, the LAST cat you expect to step up and save the day is RUM TUM TUGGER by reassuring everyone that he knows this amazing magical cat who can save old Deuteronomy & giving Misto the limelight and his complete support when you would expect Tugger to make it all about him.
It shows how much personality all these cats have and man is Misto awesome!
The lightning wowed me as a kid.
People keep saying that cats don't have a plot. But it has. Its not explained in a painfull obvious way, but it is. They are going to a ball to choose who is going to be reborn. Simple, but is there. Everything that happens after is a linear story.
I think, as a writer, people expect something and get something new. The structure of the show is different from your ordinary musical, sure. And I think its amazing artwork. I get sad when I see people saying that a uniqueness that goes against the common its a negative thing, while I think is positive. Opinions, of course. Its all subjective. But there is a plot '-' . And I think the way it's organized so freeing from a fit all format.
You have to listen to the music to understand the plot. Each song introduces individual cats and give their reasons for being selected forthe great prize.
you're right! It's just a common thing that everyone says and I feel like that's the most common excuse people give when i ask why they don't like it haha
Honestly, I’d say part of it is in fact, explained in a painfully obvious way. In that Munkustrap in the third song literally spells it out for us. (“Jellicle cats meet once a year” etc etc). Which I think is a good thing, to be clear, but it also shows how some people just. Don’t pay any attention to the show?
@@corinneeaglebridgemedia literacy is so dead even the critics couldn’t understand such a simple plot lmao.
I love watching this movie with people who’ve never seen it just so I can point out all the characters and the relationships and the theories. I love this movie so much and I hate how much people shit on it even thought they have no knowledge about it.
I'm 29 years old and was just introduced to Cats about a month ago and I love it. The songs get stuck in my head daily
welcome 🙏🙏
Not too bad. :) I did not really get Cats! from a small piece we watched in high school, and only later learnt about the musical when I was 16 or 17.
I saw a live performace in Moscow when I was over 18. It was amazing.
Old Deut is Rum Tum Tugger's and Munkostrap's dad. That's the only bit of canon lore. That and Rum Tum Tugger is definitely dating Mr. Mistoffelees.
oh love that. it's canon🫡
Idk how anyone can think that Mistoffoles is not gay, even if they don't ship him with Tugger like I do. Making him attracted to Victoria is some poo poo stinky. No thanks.
But let's be honest. While it may not be official canon, Macavity is definitely the third brother and Grizabella is definitely the mom.
Cats are not gay. Cats are feline. Some have more feline traits than others. The TS Elliot writings are very true to cat nature. Cats arent gay. Thats a human condition. @jungtothehuimang
@@ethanlivemere1162holy sh-t I love this theory!!
I am living for you co-opting the Lindsay Ellis style of silly repetition with “Hal… it’s about Cats” so good. I will say I only got into the Cats hype recently, between a mix of rewatching Lindsay’s video as well as Sideways and realizing how genuinely interesting and solid the OG play was and hence why Hooper is even more of a musical hack and how it could have been decent. And now I’m watching your video for more content so thanks for that!
This makes me so sad. I didn’t see Cats as a kid. I remember begging my mom for the vhs, but she never got musicals. Finding out that I’ve missed the window to be into Cats makes me want justice for my child self.
tbh she actually is just gatekeeping
23:00 Actually, in the unadultered version of Cats, Gus didn't play "a defender cat" but a pirate. Given that is actually greatest role was "the fiend of the fell", he seemed to be good at playing bad guys.
I am currently hyperfixating on this beautifully weird god damn musical (1998) and am watching every video I can about it, while trying to make every single person my life to watch it. When I was little my mom showed me Macavity's number and I fell in love with this show instantly. (Also Demeter and Bombalurina totally turned me gay)
I have LOVED Cats since I saw the first North American tour in the late 80s. I saw it on Broadway. I was Misto in an unlicensed production. I LOVE the show.
I tried to watch the 2019 film on an airplane and couldn’t get through the opening number. Still haven’t seen the rest of it.
You are correct about every single thing you said bar one: they aren’t celebrating the fact that one of them dies, they’re celebrating the *rebirth* - cats have long been said to have nine lives, these cats just go about using them a little differently. It’s like they’ve been on one ride at the theme park of life, and now they get to go on a different one, and THAT is what they’re excited about.
Also YES THE COSTUMES AND MAKEUP ARE INCREDIBLE!! Why torture VFX artists when Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had stripey stockings with a garter belt and a stripey undershirt‽ Or Tugger’s little ruff that he can flip up like a mane‽ And makeup designed specifically to enhance facial expressions so they’re visible from the nosebleeds‽ ARGH
I saw CATS on PBS when I was like 5 and it became a life long obsession. I still love it now at 32. It's just so good. It's a simple fun spectacle. I'm obsessed.
I saw the Cats revival in 2017. I didn’t have high expectations, I just knew the song “Memory.” I was blown away!! It was so fun and exciting. They let us go onstage to meet Old Duet during intermission and it was amazing to see the set upclose. Since then I’ve been such a huge fan of the show and have been STAUNCHLY defending it lmfao. I wish this video existed back in 2017 because I truly was fighting for my liiiiiife!!!!
This video is so great!! I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.😻😻
omg going on stage sounds soooo amazing
I don’t think I’ve ever watched your videos before, but I want you to know when that clip of Betty Buckley belting “touch meeee..!” played, my cat happened to look up and me and meowed, and I nearly burst into tears.
I think the reason the stage costumes/makeup works so well and the CGI doesn't is because the actors are made to look like the CONCEPT of a cat, not a realistic cat. The makeup and ears and face tufts and leg warmers, especially combined with the graceful movements they make, all convey the *idea* of a cat, but like the makeup artist said, the human is still present.
On stage it’s traditional that the human depicting the thing does not have to look like the thing. The Nutcracker does not look like he could crack a walnut, Odette in Swan Lake confused me as a kid, she did not look much like she had been turned into a swan so where was the plot ? So Cats on stage followed a long tradition and audiences expected what they got. Hooper however never solved the problem that this is not an expectation held by mainstream cinema audiences. Sticking a CG filter ( fixing it in post ) does not make the problem go away. Unless or until cinema audience expectations change or someone actually figures out how to make a room full of CG Lion King type dancing cats not look stupid and actually work Cats should not be filmed for mainstream audiences.
The key changes throughout the opening song is when I first felt goosebumps from music as a child. I was 10 and it was my first ever musical.
I'm so glad my current hyperfixation has such amazing video essays. This one was my favorite by far. Also, I'm 21 rn, so I feel like I've been called open-minded by an internet stranger lmao
haha glad you liked!!🩷
I can't agree with you. I explored the Cats 1998 DVD 2009... I was 21 Years old. And I fell In love in an instance. And in the same year, Cats came to my town performing live and I bought a ticket an Instance. It was my Birthday Gift to me 😂
FUN DRINKING GAME: take a drink every time I say “crusty”, “incredible”, “if you will” “insane” “plot”
ULTIMATE DEATH MODE take a sip every time I say CAT
The impossible challenge: take a drink every time they say the word "Jellical".
Wow that was a deep and great dive! The two biggest issues with the movie for me were the terrible unnecessary CGI and the way they didn't respect the centrality of dance to Cats.
glad you liked and totally agree! the dancing is such a huge part of what makes the show so good 🫠
"you miss the window if you haven't seen Cats by the time you're like 10" i'm pretty sure I became a fan at like... 19? To be fair I'm autistic so I have a different approach to suspension of disbelief AND it reminds me of L'enfant et les sortilèges a lot, and i've seen that as a kid a bunch of times
you may be a rare but valuable exception🩷
@@KaelaCeleste thanks ghfdksl
me too! i was 21 years old at my job watching cats and i havent shut up about it since!
I just discovered your video and channel. I was also introduced to CATS at a very young age, I know the 1998 movie by heart, this show is part of me now. Everything is so clever and impressive. Only when I turned 15 I could go watch the show in Belgium with an outstanding cast ! I was so moved and happy, couldn’t stop crying and thank my parents for finally having this wonderful experience. I somehow want to thank the 2019 movie for being a massive flop because it made some people curious to discover the original show. I am glad I can still find recent videos like yours talking about CATS ! I hope this show never dies ♥️ thank you for your hard work !
I always headcanoned that not ALL of the cats who get songs are necessarily trying to get the Choice, the Ball is also about honoring notable members of the tribe
There are people who were introduced to cats as a kid and then there are people (like myself) who were introduced after the 2019 film and got into it because of all the video essays. The sideways video is a favorite of mine (I wish he'd start posting again😭). I'm actually thinking of going to see the new ballroom cats thing. At first I was disappointed because I never got to see the orginal live but idk maybe I'll do it
love that video too! I'm seeing the ballroom cats in June I'm SO excited, hoping the regular production will tour again soon too so it can get more love!!🩷
This made me think of my introduction of cats. A family friend built sets and was the guy who had to go over it before every show to make sure it was safe.
One afternoon my Aunt had to get something off them and he brought us into the theatre and I see Deaut in the process of getting their make-up done and I was instantly fascinated, then my brother and I get to play on the set for the next half hour and it was so fun! Then as we're leaving a handful of the cast had arrived and are getting into costume.
I remember thinking "I have no idea what yhis is, but its my favourite thing."
Best recap on Cats and that film-accident Kadz, to date. Thank you for the research and the best overview.
Tom Hooper: The make up and costumes made it hard for the actors to express themselves.
Me: Tom, Tommy, Tombo, my man! Do you even know what make up and costumes were made for?!
"going to the Heaviside Layer" is not dying, it is being reborn.
Mistoffelees is both gay and transmasc. I will die on this hill.
Also, maybe Mick Jagger was the original model for Rum Tum Tugger, but every production I've ever seen has had huge David Bowie vibes.
You are the most correct person, actually.
no you're correct actually
YAY another cats musical fan!!
Was lucky as a child in southern California. Got to see RENT, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and a few others at a young age. Was seated right in front of the chandelier that drops in Phantom of the Opera. Didn't get to see Cats live, but owned the VHS tape. This, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and an addiction to Broadway (I still catch myself humming or singing songs from them randomly) shaped a fun childhood for me :)
The songs combine to tell the story. You have to pay attention to understand the thread of the plot. The movie was ruined by the creepy CGI costuming and while JHud is a fine singer, she cannot hold a candle to Elaine Paige as Grizabella.
I think JHud could have been a great Grizzabella but bad direction screwed her over, her part was really powerful to me when I close my eyes and listen 😭
I watched "Cats" for the first time in 2018, when I was 23, and I was ***OBSESSED*** right away. I watched it with a superfan who had been obsessed since she was 3, so maybe that helped. I'm also already a musical theatre fan and neurodivergent, so that definitely helped.
My mother didn't let me watch it when I was a kid, even though the '98 version came out when I was 3 and I had already started obsessively watching musicals by that point. She absolutely detests "Cats" because she just doesn't get it. She loves other ALW musicals, but "Cats" is too abstract for her, I guess.
I recently read that old d channelled a psychic message to jemima through the psychic siblings.
Also skimbleshanks is the best!
obsessed with that theory
I've never seen Cats the musical nor the 1998 movie, but I watched Cats (2019) yesterday and now I'm on a Cats deep dive because I actually liked it! Now I wanna see a stage production of Cats.
I've never related to a video more in my life. Cats has such a special place in my heart and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one♥
Im so glad more people are talking about Cats!
As a long time kaela Celeste fan, I really appreciate hearing from the source, why you are so damn devoted to this show. A privilege if u will
thank u for your longtime support of the brand
I discovered Cats in 2018 when I saw a local production (Tampere 2017 represent!!) and was HOOKED! I saw it three times over the course of about two months. I even drew fanart for the actress who played Victoria lol (she liked it :D)
My brainrot sort of faded over the last five years, but it just got reawakened last week when I watched the 1998 proshot to destress from a horrible essay and now I've done a whole set of costume designs for a hypothetical world in which my university theater society puts it on 😅
Also you're SO RIGHT ABOUT THE JELLICAL BALL it goes SO HARD
when I saw it live I was TRANSPORTED
I may have just watched 1998 last night but now I want to watch it again....
I was interested in seeing the musical version because I heard it was better than the movie. I didn’t that memory for a long time was from the musical. Now that I’ve seen it, it’s a deeper meaning.
For the meeting Old Deuteronomy part, I think you can still go on stage and meet him in the Oasis of the Seas production! I went in 2017, so Idk if it changed because of COVID or not.
also I've learned that if James Cordon is in the movie adaptation of a musical, it's going to be bad.
I've still not watched the movie version of Into the Woods because I don't know if I can watch them butcher my favorite show lol 🥲
loved this! I think you should still do a full CATS stage makeup video 😂
tbh I'm really thinking about it LMAO
Now it truly is a Happy Pride 🌈
Omg true
Still touring in Vancouver at 'Theatre under the Stars' in the Malkin Bowl at Stanley Park for the next month. Don't miss it if you don't have to. It broke my heart to turn down a free ticket to see the show since I was working and had an hour to go, and would have wasted half the show :( CATS is a once in a lifetime experience, don't miss it if you don't have to!
Ive only gotten into musical theater as an adult and i adore Cats, probably because i LOVE camp
25:25 To dancers in this show this song is explained as 'a song about why women fall in love with bad guys'.
I was first introduced to Cats about 25 years ago, when I was around 15-16ish. My friend from school was having a sleepover with me at my house and she insisted that I watch this movie with her. I distinctly remember this, because this was back in the olden days when VHS movies were a thing....LONG before the modern technology we have today....but I digress. My point is, 16 yr old Keriane did not have the refined taste in movies and deep love and respect for movies that I do now, having been writing film critiques for a decade now... and while I had been exposed to other musicals, (mostly Disney and the Wizard of Oz) I really did not appreciate the subtle artistry and deep emotional story that is woven into Cats when I was a child. I found it to be boring and creepy and Macavity gave me nightmares. I didn't understand the beautiful secret that this movie was sharing with me. Now, I am 39 yrs old and have been writing film critiques for a decade and I recently watched this version of Cats because I wanted to expand the musicals section of my website and I was listening to Memory on RUclips and Elaine Paige's performance was absolutely stunning and intrigued me to the story. It has now become one of my favorite musicals. Magical Mr. Mistoffollees and Tugger are my favorite characters...and Munkustrap and Grizabella and dear, old Gus. The emotional storytelling in this movie is both beautiful and heartfelt, but I only truly appreciated it as an adult who watched this movie on a whim one night while being candied.
OBSESSED with this story, in middle school I was definitely the friend who made everybody watch cats when they came to my house LOL. so glad you made your way back to the junkyard, it's a fun place 🩷
@@KaelaCeleste It is, indeed. Particularly when Tugger is onstage. lol I do love how unlike in the new one, THIS version of Rum Tum Tugger went from being a feline sex god to being the proud son, singing praises for his father and showing him deep respect by bowing as Old Deuteronomy came to his throne to then being the one to comfort his siblings and offer them hope when their father is catnapped and getting Misto to bring their father back again.
grizabella has actually been implied to be or have been a sex worker - she haunted many a lone resort, from the grimy road of Tottenham court... her look is often sex work coded, some productions have her in thigh high boots, the fur coat... this would go a long way to explain why she is judged and shunned by society/the jellicles. It makes her character so much more beautiful and interesting and rounded rather than her being judged for no other reason than just being an old crusty cat.
that makes so much sense and I love that interpretation!
i'm not sure if i personally agree with this perspective just because of the many sexual implications in the jellicle culture xD seems unlikely they would be slut shaming after having a maybe implied orgy ? but there are many other plot holes and also just a lack of plot in general so why not !
I saw a the touring company in the late eighties, when i was seven or eight; and saw Dreamcoat the next year. Went on to go to a performing arts highschool and major in theatre in college, so...
I also have a lifelong love of Edward Gorey and TS Eliot - pretty sure Old Possum is at least a little bit to blame...
Ps love the cat makeup, very minimalist chic 😻
My longest yeah boi ever
where is the Conjuring turn stage clip from,plz? want to see this😊
It's this video: ruclips.net/video/g7OrFAlcJYw/видео.htmlsi=i5ECM7jB8Y19e6mw Matt Landel performing on Oasis of the Seas :)
42:36 The scale issue is such a problem for me, because they did so much promo about how 'good' it was going to be. When the sets are so realistic (compared to the stage show), you think about how people fundamentally don't look like cats. Like at all. A cat has a big head, short limbs and thick body compared to humans, so trying to make people 'cat sized' makes the actors seem too small. the Proportions of the set and props should have been based on a cat standing on it's hind legs (not to sound deranged). This would not have been hard get references of either.
Im a massive fan of CATS. grew up with the 1998 version which was on VHS for half my life. Been absolutely obssessed with it. I really lied to myself about the 2019 one, trying to defend it based on my love for this show. I even saw it live in 2012. Cats stan for life, but the 2019 one is a pure disgrace. Also those who say theres "no story" are just not into existentialism and life, death and reincarnation topics.
2:58 CATS the Musical is a taurus with no taurus energy at all
real
i could be wrong but i heard the actor who plays rumbleteaser has actually played her on stage before
Macavity was my sleep paralysis demon
Off Topic. but for a second i thought you were *LDshadowlady* when i saw the thumbnail in my recommended-
Loved it. Could easily get an A for some class.
I graduated with honors from CATS University
New Cats fan, probably woulda made it my whole personality if I watched the stage recording as a kid, but I digress-
The movie feels like it was done by someone who watched exactly three cat videos on RUclips while the play and original poems were all clearly done by someone who'd had fifteen cats throughout their life that they constantly watched over. The movie cats just have no sense of presence while the cats in the play are constantly moving and translating cat movements onto human bodies. It's so weird, I watch both constantly because I always notice something new and either wrong in the movie (Tugger's feet gliding over the ground whenever he moves) or fun in the play (Skimbleshanks literally falling asleep during Gus' song)
53:11 Personally I prefer the idea that Taylor Swift was sold on cat school. I believe there was an interview where she mentions being there for 4 months instead of the 3 or so days that she needed to be there for. If you ask me that seems like enough of a reason.
omg lmao I love this theory. she heard cat school and was all in
I haven’t started this but It’s scaring me this is almost an hour long
the scary part is i could have talked longer
I died watching the 2019 movie, what did they do Mr Mistoffelee?I
Problem with makeup artists and costumers are all unionized so they have to pay them properly and have them work human hours 🙃.
bloop!
Ive always loved this show. I didn’t even know people hated it???
They simply tried too many new ways in the movie that weren't good.
Another video talks in depth about how they mixed 5 different versions of getting the music in (from full playback to full live music) which was just unnecessary, they should've just gone for full playback.
And likewise with CGI, they should either have made it a fully animated movie with the famous actors just doing VO, or as you said gone for 100% practical effects with some slight, almost unnoticable CGI additions.
But Hooper tried to do everything in a completely new way. It was a huge gamble and it failed.
Okay. Watched to the end and I loved it. So opinionated and so you!
I'm pretty sure there was a person who played the same character in the theater and movie. half of the double cartwheel.
rumpleteaser?
Yep. But the Direction was shit so it didn't help much.
This is so good thank u 🐈⬛
glad u liked 🫶
Less than 400 subs is a CRIME
Im your ride or die now
dont know how i ended up here but im enjoying my stay
welcome nonetheless 🫡
Time for a group trip to Japan
I’ll add comments to this so I don’t flood your comment section, but the tap dancing in this musical is ELITE
Anytime I need to smile I think of Rum Tum Tugger doing a lil shimmy shimmy
Justice for Grizabella
I like when he stick his tongue out at the camera
This is a Skimbleshanks stan account
In a strange weird way, Cats is kind of made for the “wrong” (not really) audience. I had my Chinese friend who’s also a theatre nerd watch Cats, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself without even my input trying to explain stuff to him. The weirdness of the show wasn’t a turn off, it just added to the fun of it all for him. “Oh the naming of cats has cult vibes, that’s really cool” was one of his comments.
A good portion of western audiences are too concerned with the idea of normalcy in art to enjoy anything that goes against that accepted standard. I’d go deep into the literary history of west Europe and how parts of it are the groundwork for what we know today as “cringe culture”, but suffice it to say that even a classic film like Titanic was once considered to be low tier commoner garbage that only the lesser people would enjoy, despite that film not even being weird or out there in the same way that a stage show like Cats is.
52:01 Lea Michele in Funny Girl?
Fun fact: John Partridge (1998 Rum Tum Tugger) is openly Gay.
It's not a competition to see who gets to die. That's a fundamental misunderstanding. They are simply getting together to tell each other stories. It's a celebration of the tribe. Deuteronomy wasn't even there when Jennyanydots did her number. As for Mephisto being gay, that's entirely in your mind. You can play him gay (and some productions have) but it's not canon and there was nothing in the 1998 film to support that.
11:30 - as a trans person, that song hits my feelings /hard/, ngl. Most of the show fits queer allegories perfectly, but. That one. Ouchies.
(In case it went over anyone’s head:
1st: name that “the family uses daily”, such as [insert list of what definetely are not human names. Who’s never had a cat named Augustus, Alonso, Peter or James? 😭]
2nd: unique names made out of puns and pride (which reminds many of drag names)
3rd: the name that “no research can discover”, because only they know, and will never confess - unless you prove that ur respectful and trustworthy. Then you’ll finally get to call them by their real name.
Also the whole “if u ever see one lost in thought, theyre for sure practically spiralling about the thought of the thought of their name” -
Do i even need explain further 😂)
(To be fair i did have a cat named Miguel 😭🤣 but i did choose that /because/ it’s an oddly human name)
I'm a heterosexual man and I love Cats. The musical, not the film.
I don't "pretend" anything when it comes to hating on Cats.
Havent fully watched it yet but woah!! A whole hour of somebody talking about Cats!!!! I wonder why did this justt appear in my recommended, since ive been obsessed with the show for over a year 🥲 The algorythim does not know me 💔
haha hope you enjoy! 🩷