Cats (2019)

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blackcauldron85
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Re: Cats (2019)

Post by blackcauldron85 »

We just saw it!!! I LOVED it!!! My husband even liked it...maybe "liked" isn't the best word, but he doesn't understand the hate the film's getting (but he kept asking me questions during the whole film!). I cried during "Beautiful Ghosts:" I'm a rescue dog mom, so I took it from the perspective of an abandoned animal... I still wanted cat noses the whole time, and paws, but yay whiskers! I noticed the cat boobs were less pronounced then the trailer had, so I guess that came with the new version.

My husband liked "Beautiful Ghosts" and "Skimbleshanks" the most. He knew nothing at all before going in, and he expected to laugh at it the whole time, based on the reviews, but he was positively surprised. He wanted more of Grizabella's backstory.

Oh, Tom Hooper. First Anne Hathaway snot, then Jennifer Hudson snot. :p
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Re: Cats (2019)

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I am so glad you (and your husband) enjoyed it!
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blackcauldron85
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Re: Cats (2019)

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Thank you! I forgot to mention: It played in the smallest theater in the multiplex, and it was pretty full. The little girls behind us laughed anytime Jennyanydots did anything. I thought she was pretty funny, too.
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Re: Cats (2019)

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I had to double post so you see it, UF: On YouTube I'm showing my husband the 1998 filmed versions of the songs; he just said "put on the real one," meaning the 2019 soundtrack! Lol, I said this *is* the "real" one. But he's intently watching 1998 Rum Tum Tugger. :p
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Re: Cats (2019)

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I don’t think I ever mentioned it, but the theatre I saw it in seemed relatively full, too. It wasn’t packed, and the seats closest to the screen were empty but I had expected much fewer people based on the then projected box office gross.

Ahh, they say people tend to prefer the first version of a song they hear. I think Betty Buckley’s Tonys performance of “Memory” is the greatest rendition of the song, and of course— it was the first version of the song I ever heard!
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Re: Cats (2019)

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UmbrellaFish wrote:Ahh, they say people tend to prefer the first version of a song they hear. I think Betty Buckley’s Tonys performance of “Memory” is the greatest rendition of the song, and of course— it was the first version of the song I ever heard!
That's not always the case. Betty Buckeley's rendition of "Memory" was the first one I heard too but I much prefer Elaine Paige's.
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Re: Cats (2019)

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I just re-watched Buckley and Paige. And see, Sotiris was right, because I'm used to Paige, but I actually preferred Buckley. But both of them sing the song phenomenally!!! But Helen Massey, the voice of Jemima in the filmed stage version, you know who sings, "Sunlight through the trees in summer", omg, she is hands down the best one who did that part!!!!
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Re: Cats (2019)

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Disney Duster wrote:TheSequelOfDisney, I can't believe any fan of Cats think it's stupid. It's actually about how all these cats' relationships with each other, for instance the one cat was Macavity's lover, but she hated him. There is a fan theory Grizabella abandoned her kittens. And the whole play is really about how we all, sad lives or not, but especially with sad lives, want a chance to live in the sun again. "Endless Masquerading". One could even say the lines, "I must wait for a new life, and I musn't give in", are about waiting for heaven and not giving in to killing yourself. Don't call that stupid. The original costumes were way better than the fugly visuals for this film, because this film uses CGI instead, and goes into the uncanny valley.
First of all, I used stupid along the lines of Cats being a generally harmless and inconsequential musical, which it is. That doesn't mean there can't be meaning in it, but I've never approached Cats as a deeply meaningful production--it's meant to be fun. Second of all, I can call anything stupid that I want; that's not up for you to decide. Third of all, yeah, if you have a fabricated backstory for a cat that you willingly believe in, then you would probably feel more sad for that cat. I know that it's just a cat. "Memory" isn't even in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats anyway; it's a construction of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn, inspired by one of Eliot's poems not from Practical Cats, and you'd have to ask those two whether or not that's what Grizabella's backstory is. It's also my opinion that the CGI is better than '80s fashion, because it's also my opinion that '80s fashion was absolutely horrendous, full stop.

I still enjoyed the film and wouldn't mind seeing it again, especially now that the improved effects should be in theaters.
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Re: Cats (2019)

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Yes you can be mean and call people's struggles with life and death stupid and hurt people's feelings. No you do not know it's just a cat. Of course for the rest you are entitled to your opinion.
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Re: Cats (2019)

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blackcauldron85 wrote: Oh, Tom Hooper. First Anne Hathaway snot, then Jennifer Hudson snot. :p
I'm actually a bit disappointed in JHUD's version now I've sat on it for a while. I thought she would go higher in the final chorus... Every version of the song I've ever heard does that, and it leaves quite the impact emotionally, so it's a shame the film version doesn't. Perhaps the scene is emotional regardless.

Not to go off-topic, but JHUD's supposed to be playing Aretha in a new film, picked by Aretha herself. I'm really excited for it. I just hope her performance here isn't an indicator that she'll be avoiding some of the higher notes on Aretha's songs for the film's soundtrack (like the bridge of "Ain't No Way," my personal favorite Aretha song along with "Don't Play That Song").
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Re: Cats (2019)

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Re: Cats (2019)

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I wouldn't like the cats to look that scary, but I would have liked the cats to look like actual cats like in that concept art.
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blackcauldron85
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Re: Cats (2019)

Post by blackcauldron85 »

I didn't realize this is already out on digital & Blu comes out on April 7th!!!

Some revelations from the audio commentary:

https://www.cbr.com/cats-weirdest-revel ... ommentary/
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Re: Cats (2019)

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I saw Cats and i give it the rating 8 put of 10. :)
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Re: Cats (2019)

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^ Were you a fan of the musical before seeing the film? I'm glad you loved it too!

So for my birthday my coworkers got me an e- gift card for Amazon, so of course I pre-ordered this Blu. It comes out on April 7th but my order won't arrive until April 21st...is that because I'm not a Prime member or because a Blu isn't an essential coronavirus item?
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Re: Cats (2019)

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blackcauldron85 wrote:^ Were you a fan of the musical before seeing the film? I'm glad you loved it too!

So for my birthday my coworkers got me an e- gift card for Amazon, so of course I pre-ordered this Blu. It comes out on April 7th but my order won't arrive until April 21st...is that because I'm not a Prime member or because a Blu isn't an essential coronavirus item?
I have seen the show but after i saw the fruist trailer listen to the two cast recodrings on Spotify like TEN TIMES :lol:

It was kind of ALL i listen to while in Irland last years for four days rotfl rotfl
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Re: Cats (2019)

Post by Farerb »

Lindsay Ellis video on Cats:
https://youtu.be/G6iqAip-ZNo
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Re: Cats (2019)

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This is fascinating read. It paints the director as both incompetent in his job and horrible as a person.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/i-edited- ... -nightmare
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Re: Cats (2019)

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^ I thought the Butthole Cut was a made-up rumor...?!

That's unfortunate that Hooper wasn't more schooled on how an animated movie is made. But, even Jeffrey Katzenberg made a mistake before fully understanding how animation is created... Maybe Cats was Hooper's The Black Cauldron in a sense, and next time he will do better? (Or not and he'll never give a crap... :()
Some aspects of the production, the source alleges, became simply absurd—like when Hooper would demand to see videos of actual cats performing the same actions the cats would do in the film. “And as you know,” the source said, “cats don‘t dance.”
To be funny, they should've turned on the DVD of Cats Don't Dance, to show dancing cats. :p I do feel for the artists that worked on this movie. I loved it, and while I'd rather they looked more like cats, I still adored it.

Hopefully if Hooper does choose to make another animated film, he can have a producer or someone be the intermediary, or people can steer clear if they're not desperate for work and they can find a different project to work on.
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Re: Cats (2019)

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I think if he wasn't abusive to the crew, they would have forgiven his ignorance and maybe tried to help him understand. Unless, they had already tried and he refused to listen, which seems likely given his terrible attitude.
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