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‘Cats’: Film Review: Nine may not be enough lives for some of the stars to live down their involvement in this poorly conceived and executed adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical.
Variety ^ | December 18, 2019 | Peter DeBurge

Posted on 12/19/2019 6:21:35 AM PST by C19fan

Back in the summer of 2015, the co-directors of Disney’s “Zootopia” went rogue, disregarding the advice of their corporate colleagues and appearing onstage at the Annecy animation festival disguised as the talking-animal cartoon’s fur-covered lead characters, an anthropomorphic rabbit and her foxy best friend. The audience ate it up, but behind the scenes, the Disney suits were sweating. For decades, the family entertainment company had been dealing with a very specific group of enthusiasts, identified as “furries,” who get off on dressing up in full-body animal costumes, drawing inspiration wherever they can find it. By now, Disney lawyers know how to deal with that crowd, but other studios have to learn the hard way.

I mention this because it’s just one of dozens of things the folks at Universal seem not to have taken into consideration before making a movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running musical “Cats” — another being the need to define, for generations uninitiated, the meaning of “Jellicle,” a nonsense word repeated nearly six dozen times in the opening number alone. Fans of the original show may embrace it; so too will furries, I’d wager. But it’s not enough to take a blockbuster Broadway phenomenon with one iconic earworm — Lloyd Webber’s unforgettable “Memory” — and a loose plot about a community of street cats competing for a chance to be reborn, and trust it to work on the big screen.

(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: cats; costumes; furries; hollywood; legwarmers; musicals; weirdstuff
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To: ealgeone

Good rule of thumb. Thanks.


21 posted on 12/19/2019 7:07:17 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: C19fan

Midnight, and the kitties are sleeping ...

22 posted on 12/19/2019 7:08:05 AM PST by Liberty Valance (Keep a Simple Manner for a Happy Life :o)
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To: Bratch
She looks like she needs ointment for a skin condition.

Also, what is the obsession with the color orange? The trailer makes it look like every scene is orange.

23 posted on 12/19/2019 7:13:53 AM PST by yesthatjallen
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To: C19fan

Saw Cats live back in 83 or 84.

It was kind of boring, a bit strange, and a little pervy.


24 posted on 12/19/2019 7:13:56 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

“I was raped by Mister Mistoffelees.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQxY4-1I4lo


25 posted on 12/19/2019 7:17:30 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: C19fan

>Rather watch real cats on YouTube.<

Absolutely. I liked the musical. Memories actually brought a tear to my eye. What I’ve seen of the movie is ghastly.


26 posted on 12/19/2019 7:22:05 AM PST by Captain Compassion (I'm just sayin')
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To: dfwgator; C19fan; Liberty Valance

27 posted on 12/19/2019 7:29:59 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: C19fan

It just hasn’t been the same since Grumpy Cat died...


28 posted on 12/19/2019 7:33:56 AM PST by MrEdd (Caveat Emptor)
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To: C19fan

Rather drink poison than do either :)


29 posted on 12/19/2019 7:37:56 AM PST by dp0622 (Radicals, racists Don't point fingers at me I'm a small town white boy Just tryin' to make ends meet)
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To: stylecouncilor

It looks awful.


30 posted on 12/19/2019 7:49:15 AM PST by windcliff
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To: Rinnwald
My time machine is nearly ready. I am really torn between going back and assassinating Karl Marx, or T.S. Eliot.

How about Antonio Gramsci or Ludwig von Mises?

31 posted on 12/19/2019 7:50:14 AM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: C19fan
Rather watch real cats on YouTube.

I would, too. I didn't see the show because to me, the idea of humans dressed as cats is inane and fatuous. When they brought it to the screen, they should have made it an animated feature.

32 posted on 12/19/2019 7:54:00 AM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: windcliff

Looks like this movie needs to be buried in the litter box.


33 posted on 12/19/2019 7:54:37 AM PST by kaktuskid
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To: C19fan

My extremely negative opinion of Taylor Swift enables me to appreciate this review!


34 posted on 12/19/2019 8:03:20 AM PST by Guenevere (Psalm 37)
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To: Rinnwald
My time machine is nearly ready. I am really torn between going back and assassinating Karl Marx, or T.S. Eliot.


35 posted on 12/19/2019 8:10:29 AM PST by GreenLanternCorps (Hi! I'm the Dread Pirate Roberts! (TM) Atsk about franchise opportunities in your area.)
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To: tuffydoodle

-— Taylor Swift will go down as the best actress since Madonna. -—


Post of the day material.


36 posted on 12/19/2019 8:16:18 AM PST by Yardstick
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To: BenLurkin
Many years ago, we took a family trip to New York. First thing I did was find a Village Voice to see what was going on.

Everybody else went to Broadway and saw 'Cats'. I went to Bleecker Street and saw George Coleman.

37 posted on 12/19/2019 8:52:55 AM PST by real saxophonist (Never let Sean Connery teach your dog to Sit!)
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To: C19fan

My boss and I had a road trip to Long Beach. She was a stay at home, introvert. Rarely left Sacramento. I ordered two tickets to Cats in LA and tole her we were going. She asked a lot of questions and i said trust me.

We had tickets int he third row, because they had just opened two more weeks when i called for tickets. It opens with the dancers in the aisle and on the edge of the stage. One dance walked across our arm rests and her eyes were wide open.

As much as i liked the lyrics, the dancing is the heart of the play. She had a wonderful time.

My ex and i used to go to a lot of plays. i saw Mostel in Fiddler. Saw Cats, Phantom, and Chorus line multiple times. I’ll see this on cable or streaming to at least check out the start. It wouldn’t be the first time the movies messed up a good broadway play


38 posted on 12/19/2019 9:00:21 AM PST by olesigh
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To: Rinnwald
I'd substitute Andrew Lloyd Webber for Eliot.
39 posted on 12/19/2019 9:09:07 AM PST by CaptainK ('No collusion, no obstruction, he's a leaker')
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To: dfwgator

**plays do not translate to film.**

True! I hate a story made for stage redone for screen. It is too unbelievable and ridiculous. Li’L Abner is the only musical Ive seen that works on screen, because it was made to look like a stage play on film.

I almost puked with the film SOUND OF MUSIC and again with the horrid film SONG OF NORWAY.

Did I mention THE WIZ? Worst “musical” ever made on film! The play was OK.


40 posted on 12/19/2019 9:14:33 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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