When it comes to movie adaptations, Hollywood has held a mixed track record in its books, plays, and musicals. Many found films such as Mamma Mia! (2008) or Into the Woods (2014) to be respectable reworkings; while classics like West Side Story (1961) displayed the gold standard in film adaptations. Tom Hooper’s Cats has not improved this record. Hooper, who has previously directed reworks such as Les Misérables (2012) represented the 1981 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber in a fashion that left both myself and many other audience members confused, disappointed, or both.
Where some walked into the theatre as die-hard fans, others (including myself) walked in not hearing of the musical until the first trailer flooded every online outlet in existence. Where I think this film did succeed was in its marketing. To direct a work with base content and already solidified fanbase is a daunting task. I can appreciate Hooper’s bold changes to the character arcs and even on the CGI decisions. Still though, while going through each “act”, I had found myself questioning if I had misread or simply forgot the plotline. While distinguishable, I found the overall story void of substance and just too strange and difficult to follow along. I am not well-versed on the technicalities of choreography, film production, CGI, or anything regarding making a hit musical, play, or movie. What I did know was straying from the original to the point that it makes the story barely recognizable is bound to anger original fans, and confuse new ones. If there’s one thing to take away from Hooper’s adaptation, it’s that too much change can do very well for peaked curiosity, but can also destroy a rework when not staying true to what the original was about. One example of this could be the casting of many A-list celebrities including Taylor Swift, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, James Cordon and Jason Derulo. When making a musical-based movie, I would imagine one of the most important aspects would be casting those experienced and centered on theatre. I felt as if some of the cast members were chosen simply for their big names. Again, a very smart move when attempting to draw in a wider audience, but overall, the film suffered from it.
What I was impressed by was the camera work and its correlation with the set. Both gave a very good sense of depth and scale to the overall setting this tribe of cats were in. Seeing these huge buildings and objects sized up gave off a very cool illusion in practically any setting.
While I admit the CGI was unsettling, I wanted to be pleasantly surprised in adding a new musical that could accompany my basic, yet all-time favorite, Phantom of the Opera. The only enjoyment I got from Cats was not from the movie itself but rather, the act of going to the movies. You might as well buy a coke, make some popcorn, and literally burn ten bucks rather than seeing this cat-astrophe; you’d be more entertained.
