Let's Talk About CATS THE MUSICAL 🐈⬛ ✨ why we're no longer pretending this is a bad stage show!!!!
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
- HELLO and welcome to my very first video essay! And what a topic for it to be about! 🐈⬛ A few weeks ago we went to see CATS on tour in Vancouver (vlog linked below) and I was so inspired that I felt a calling to share every thought in my head about this show and the terrible movie adaptation. It’s deranged, it’s silly, it’s fun, and I made this hour long video about it. I hope you enjoy!
🇨🇦 Vancouver vlog: • Seeing CATS on Tour in...
▶ Subscribe for more vlogs and videos! ua-cam.com/users/kaelac42...
00:00 intro
02:18 part 1: the history of CATS
09:09 part 2: the “plot” or lack thereof
32:13 part 3: the unspeakably bad 2019 film
53:55 wrap up
55:05 breaking news !!
📚 Articles referenced/used in my research:
NYT Review of original Broadway run: www.nytimes.com/1982/10/08/th...
‘Cats’ Director Tom Hooper Didn’t Finish Movie Until Hours Before World Premiere: variety.com/2019/scene/news/c...
Andrew Lloyd Webber bought a therapy dog because he was ‘emotionally damaged’ over Cats www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...
How Do Furries Feel About the New Cats Movie?: www.thecut.com/2019/07/how-do...
Cats Production Was Almost Slavery For VFX Artists screenrant.com/cats-movie-201...
VFX Artists Are Still Working On ‘Cats’ Even Though The Film Is Already Out In Theaters www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/vfx-a...
Cats VFX Editor Confirms the “Butthole Cut” Was Very Real, Very Terrible: www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the original musical 'Cats,' calls movie 'ridiculous' www.usatoday.com/story/entert...
The Category Is... Cats Realness, Coming to Lower Manhattan in 2024 playbill.com/article/the-cate...
🎥 Videos I watched/referenced/just good things for more discussion of this topic:
Cats the Musical Behind the Scenes • Cats the Musical Behin...
Why is Cats? • Why is Cats?
VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi 7: • VFX Artists React to B...
How CATS (2019) Goofed - Let Me Explain • How CATS (2019) Goofed...
Why the Music in Cats (2019) is Worse than you Thought • Why the Music in Cats ...
Cats 2019 vs Cats 1998 - Film Review • Cats 2019 vs Cats 1998...
How To Achieve The Cats Look | Cats The Musical Backstage • How To Achieve The Cat...
🩰 And while you’re at it please watch some actual good videos of Frankie Hayward performing:
Nutcracker - Sugar Plum • NUTCRACKER - Sugar Plu...
Swan Lake Pas de Trois • SWAN LAKE - Pas de Tro...
Giselle - Peasant Pas de Deux (with Yasmine Naghdi) • GISELLE - Pas Paysant ...
Like Water for Chocolate (with Matty Ball) • A stunning pas de deux...
👚 My Greta Gerwig shirt is from SuperYaki: superyaki.com/collections/lif...
🐈⬛ And if you want to buy the same cat ears as me they’re here lmao rstyle.me/+2jh7J70xSppMGTU0T0...
Don’t forget to use Rakuten to get cash back while shopping - use my link to sign up for a free $30: www.rakuten.com/r/KAELAC33?ee...
Find me on instagram @kaelaceleste and at kaelaceleste.com!
Thank you for watching!
♡♡♡
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!!
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.
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.
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
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
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)
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.
hi, it's me, i'm the exception!!! never seen cats in my childhood, never even heard of it until the movie came out, but i didn't care about it at that time. fast forward to 2022 and i come across a video essay by sideways about how much the music in the 2019 movie sucks. i really enjoy watching video essays about stuff i know nothing about, so i had a really great time with it (it's still my fav yt video ever lmao). in the video, he spends like 20 minutes talking about the stage show and how it works, showing clips from the 1998 recording and i was MESMERIZED. stayed up that entire night to watch the 1998 movie TWICE after i finished the video and it's been my fav musical since then. realizing just how much the world hates cats without actually knowing everything about it was so hard for me bc like??? at least educate yourself before shitting on something. had a friend who's REALLY into musical theater laugh at me multiple times for enjoying the show, but she couldn't tell me ANYTHING about it except for "tHe CoStUmEs ArE sO sCaRy AnD uGlY" while i was there like "i can tell you the name of every single cat, even when they're only in the background of some super blurry bootleg and i could talk to you for HOURS about all of the different theories about the relations of the cats" like UGH just shut up
love this comment, i totally agree. the clips in sideways' video is really what got me interested since i'd also never seen it as a child. and after watching it with a group of friends a few years ago i was obsessed. i wish i could relive the magic of watching it for the first time. currently very very fixated on it, so im glad that ive seen someone else who knows all the cats' names and all :) very sorry about your friend tho. never trust someone who doesnt like cats
same here. i saw clips from the 1998 cats in sideways’ video and was mesmerized by the costumes and the amount of character overflowing from each performer as they committed their feline roles. i was like, wow, i gotta go watch these fabulous freaks frolic and nuzzle on stage like the bizarre, lovable little tribe of cats they are. i think it helps that i have had cats and love cats, and t.s. eliot’s poems capture the charm of the creatures so well, and andrew lloyd webber took that and expanded on it and didn’t try to explain the unexplainable about cats - except in their own terms (“all cats are jellicle cats, fundamentally” - hearing him say that in complete earnestness really cemented for me that that guy Got It). cats has so much charm if you meet it on its own terms.
omg yes that sideways video is so good!! so glad you made your way to the fandom despite the movie's reputation haha
@@ErikaCartet love how it’s a common experience to get into cats because of sideways 😭😭
@@KaelaCeleste it’s a shame that it has so many censored parts, it really is my absolute comfort video, i watch it at least once a week 😭
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 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
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".
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!!🩷
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 🫠
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 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.
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
YAY another cats musical fan!!
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!!🩷
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 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 !
Now it truly is a Happy Pride 🌈
Omg true
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 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....
Im so glad more people are talking about 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♥
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."
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
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 😭
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
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 :)
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 😻
"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
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.
Okay. Watched to the end and I loved it. So opinionated and so you!
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?!
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 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.
This is so good thank u 🐈⬛
glad u liked 🫶
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 UA-cam 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)
My longest yeah boi ever
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 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 UA-cam 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.
Loved it. Could easily get an A for some class.
I graduated with honors from CATS University
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 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.
where is the Conjuring turn stage clip from,plz? want to see this😊
It's this video: ua-cam.com/video/g7OrFAlcJYw/v-deo.htmlsi=i5ECM7jB8Y19e6mw Matt Landel performing on Oasis of the Seas :)
Macavity was my sleep paralysis demon
2:58 CATS the Musical is a taurus with no taurus energy at all
real
52:01 Lea Michele in Funny Girl?
Off Topic. but for a second i thought you were *LDshadowlady* when i saw the thumbnail in my recommended-
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.
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!
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
dont know how i ended up here but im enjoying my stay
welcome nonetheless 🫡
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! 🩷