The Confusing Lore of CATS or (The Morality of Jellicles and non-Jellicles)

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  • Опубліковано 6 січ 2020
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 471

  • @clarasoares8941
    @clarasoares8941 4 роки тому +1192

    have i ever watched CATS the musical? no. have i watched the movie yet? no. will i watch this whole video anyways? yes.

    • @kaylandra
      @kaylandra 4 роки тому +2

      me rn.

    • @Darkdaej
      @Darkdaej 4 роки тому

      @@kaylandra Same here :P

    • @TheTardisNamedSexy
      @TheTardisNamedSexy 4 роки тому

      Same.

    • @lunaamore2713
      @lunaamore2713 4 роки тому +2

      Please start with the Broadway recorded performance first . If you're a first-timer. Js

    • @clairepettie
      @clairepettie 4 роки тому +2

      I think there needs to be a suuport group for those of us fascinated by UA-cam reviews of Cats.

  • @viceroymarx406
    @viceroymarx406 4 роки тому +1383

    what were the moral implication of jason derulo almost sucking victoria cat toes

    • @TaylorJWilliams
      @TaylorJWilliams  4 роки тому +413

      Jellicles can and Jellicles do

    • @k1zm3t
      @k1zm3t 4 роки тому +40

      @@TaylorJWilliams Jellicles do and Jellicles can!

    • @rhino8817
      @rhino8817 4 роки тому +30

      is this real? im so terrified that i dont know if this is real or not.

    • @myjunkdrawer8014
      @myjunkdrawer8014 4 роки тому +6

      He kinkay

    • @irelandevr4046
      @irelandevr4046 4 роки тому +43

      Its hilarious how Jason Derulo was bragging in interviews how they had to edit out hit massive schlong. What a damn tool who can't act.

  • @TorresProductionsLLC
    @TorresProductionsLLC 4 роки тому +1008

    People don't understand. Your hair isn't just messy, you've spent so many hours thinking about Cats you're becoming one.

    • @Kristyle187
      @Kristyle187 3 місяці тому

      I feel a bit silly broadcasting this… but my thumbs-up vote brought this comment to exactly 1,000 upvotes. In all my years on UA-cam, this is the first time this is ever happened to me. So I just couldn’t help myself. Sorry 😬… this comment just made me laugh way too hard

    • @arnesahlen2704
      @arnesahlen2704 2 місяці тому

      Haha. Good one - still, he has GREAT hair! Lucky guy

  • @SeeSebastian
    @SeeSebastian 4 роки тому +1172

    His hair looks great. Leave him alone.

  • @theswagman1263
    @theswagman1263 4 роки тому +952

    This video feels like a descent into insanity

    • @jam33033
      @jam33033 4 роки тому +59

      cats also feels like a descent into insanity

    •  4 роки тому +10

      when Cats turns into Joker

    • @goliathtigerfishes
      @goliathtigerfishes 4 роки тому +2

      Share an egg for these trying times?

    • @JeddtheJedi
      @JeddtheJedi 4 роки тому +5

      Ever since I watched the movie twice, my friends have done nothing but ask if I'm okay in the comments of every social media post I make.

  • @adelinacetaj620
    @adelinacetaj620 4 роки тому +459

    I thought that the 1998 vhs tape was the scariest it could be and then Rebel Wilson took her skin off and I was proven wrong

    • @reubenfromow4854
      @reubenfromow4854 4 роки тому +21

      Does it frighten you that Rebel Wilson is less naked when she takes off her skin
      It terrifies me

    • @mcclimaestediversx219
      @mcclimaestediversx219 4 роки тому

      Updating the nightmare

  • @succulentboi676
    @succulentboi676 4 роки тому +476

    Having no knowledge of either the musical or the movie, hearing you talk about cats is like listening to someone talk about their fever dream.

    • @Verocapote
      @Verocapote 4 роки тому +12

      Dude yes I feel like that's when you try to explain your fever dream

    • @liammail3710
      @liammail3710 3 роки тому

      Hi

  • @glamazon6172
    @glamazon6172 4 роки тому +148

    I feel like I’ve been sucked into a memory of a college party. This guy I don’t know has been talking at me about Cats for 10 minutes now. Someone help me.

  • @DitisEmile
    @DitisEmile 4 роки тому +225

    Just the DEFEATED way you said 'So I guess none of it matters! You know ... Jellicles can and Jellicles do! We're all in hell!' in the end really resonated with my soul.

    • @aliceh5289
      @aliceh5289 4 роки тому

      read this right as he said it

  • @FPSDIESEL
    @FPSDIESEL 4 роки тому +238

    Cats was such a bad movie I needed to find everything out about the play. Looking at the play how it was structured all of that. Not only did I grow an appreciation for the play but honestly I was kind of annoyed they adapted this.
    Cats is very clearly a play for the medium of theater. The people behind the movie didn't adapt it. Really it felt so slapped together. The new additions to make it better for the medium of the film made it more confusing. Cats being a play and all the cats songs just the entire structure is meant to include the audience in the process of picking the Jellicle choice.
    Seriously I thought the movie was hot trash it's hideous to look at but honestly I don't mind the play. I'm not a huge theater person but Webber has made classics. Stuff that's definitely better then Cats. I mean I bet everyone has seen some rendition of his plays. This movie though feels like some of the most empty corporate trash since the emoji movie. I go out of my way to see bad movies but Cats is the only time I have cared enough to have wished for something better or not at all.

    • @yukikanegawa7470
      @yukikanegawa7470 4 роки тому +29

      The movie was literally incomplete. They were rushing to polish it on the premier date. The people that made it saw the finished product at the same time we did. I saw some interviews and behind the scenes and some people had to learn their choreos on the filming day and the main girl had to learn the new song Taylor swift made for her (finished the day before) on filming day as well as her choreo. The movie is bad but it was so badly managed I feel bad for the participants too. They literally had to go to cat school to crawl around and learn how to cat like cats.

    • @WobblesandBean
      @WobblesandBean 4 роки тому +15

      The musical is so odd, in that it is 100% spectacle, and almost zero substance. It's theater for the sake of theater, which is either enthralling or pointless, depending on who you ask. That's also why trying to shove a linear, narrative plot into this film is kind of missing the point entirely.

    • @eadlynjune
      @eadlynjune 4 роки тому +5

      Thank you! I've actually seen the play and...liked it kinda? It's not perfect but it's just kinda mesmerizing to watch and super creative. Also the scene never changes but it always kinds feels like it does which is interesting.

    • @lmabacus404
      @lmabacus404 4 роки тому +4

      Corporate? What was corporate about Rebel Wilson ripping off her skin and eating cockroach people? Or having characters that many people have difficulty even looking at? The Emoji Movie went for the lowest common denominator, while this movie went for, like, no common denominator.

    • @noonenowhere877
      @noonenowhere877 4 роки тому +1

      @@lmabacus404 I mean Corporate people are eldritch abomoniations in human flesh so that sounds pretty Corporate to me.

  • @luke6952
    @luke6952 4 роки тому +81

    “Hal Prince later recalled, “I looked at him curiously and said, ‘Andrew, I don’t understand. Is this about English politics? Are those cats Queen Victoria, Gladstone, and Disraeli?’ He looked at me like I’d lost my mind, and after the longest pause said, ‘Hal, this is just about cats.’””

  • @cydneyking7453
    @cydneyking7453 4 роки тому +89

    This is a lovecraftian protagonist’s decent into madness.

  • @Teaser7780
    @Teaser7780 4 роки тому +419

    I’m glad this video exists, something more than ‘looking bad’ in it’s criticism

  • @dantesdiscoinfernolol
    @dantesdiscoinfernolol 4 роки тому +42

    I can't believe I just heard the words "canonically" "lore" and "cannibalism" while talking about CATS.

    • @NothingXemnas
      @NothingXemnas 4 роки тому +2

      And that isn't enough. He should add "pedophilia" and "incest", too.

  • @VoidedMirror
    @VoidedMirror 4 роки тому +329

    A Cats video that isn't just "movie bad".

    • @satansmascara9756
      @satansmascara9756 4 роки тому +4

      A zero escape pfp in a cats video

    • @cam-tw8eq
      @cam-tw8eq 4 роки тому +13

      OK but movie bad

    • @nootnewt9323
      @nootnewt9323 4 роки тому +3

      The movie cats is really bad but I found myself engrossed in what the hell the show was about afterward.

    • @TheWonkster
      @TheWonkster 4 роки тому +2

      Movie is bad, there is nothing wrong with people saying that

    • @plus9775
      @plus9775 4 роки тому +2

      @@TheWonkster wow, your so brave with your new and innovative opinion! Everyone knows its bad, and i just couldn't give less of a shit about some gamer bro's opinion about it, unfortunately that's been the entirety of UA-cam for like a month, at least this has some substance

  • @OneAndOnlyYesMan
    @OneAndOnlyYesMan 4 роки тому +354

    The hair, beard, and fashion style is very 1970’s
    I love it

    • @redactedredacted6656
      @redactedredacted6656 4 роки тому +26

      ASMR you're seeing a film studies teacher in the 1970s lose his mind because he can see the future and sees CATS!

    • @serenitynow85
      @serenitynow85 4 роки тому +9

      I call it the "Cool-drama kid look"
      I just clicked the video because of it

    • @SpaceandGoats
      @SpaceandGoats 4 роки тому +7

      He looks like a young George Lucas

    • @WTKB82
      @WTKB82 4 роки тому +5

      Yes Man i want him to nut in me.

    • @umaganguli5797
      @umaganguli5797 4 роки тому +2

      @@SpaceandGoats its actually scary how much he does, even the clothing and the film studentyness

  • @LordSandwich97
    @LordSandwich97 4 роки тому +58

    The J in Taylor J. Williams is for Jellicle

  • @ruthielalastor2209
    @ruthielalastor2209 4 роки тому +68

    The realization alone that 'Jellicle' is actually spelled like that instead of how I thought it was has broken and rebuilt my mind anew.

  • @brynn8443
    @brynn8443 4 роки тому +209

    is this just taylor having an emotional breakdown over cats for 20 minutes

    • @amia560
      @amia560 4 роки тому +2

      yea lmao

  • @MiguelHerrera-nh9qw
    @MiguelHerrera-nh9qw 4 роки тому +47

    The thing I’m most surprised by in this video is that you actually managed to remember all the Cats’ names

    • @ashlynnheller8400
      @ashlynnheller8400 4 роки тому +2

      I love Cats. Im also suprised I remeber everyones names.

  • @gcooper642
    @gcooper642 4 роки тому +60

    He mortgaged his house for the monstrosity of stage show Cats?! Wow, that's daring.

  • @Davey647Returns
    @Davey647Returns 4 роки тому +14

    I've only now realized, 13 minutes and 23 seconds into this video, that I'm watching a video called "The Confusing Lore of CATS or the Morality of Jellicles and non-Jellicles" at 1 in the morning. What even is my life anymore?

  • @overwhelmed_cactus6820
    @overwhelmed_cactus6820 4 роки тому +61

    ”Lets face it guys, Cats takes place in hell”
    Aaaaannd you’ve won yourself a subscriber

  • @VideoBloggerify
    @VideoBloggerify 4 роки тому +72

    With that hair you look like the literature teacher all the girls have a crush on because he is too deep.

    • @TheNameIsNym
      @TheNameIsNym 4 роки тому +8

      That’s really specific niche but he fills it well

  • @emijstarovic9657
    @emijstarovic9657 4 роки тому +36

    “Jellicles can and jellicles do. We’re all in hell.” I kind of want to put that on a t shirt not gonna lie

  • @Advent3546
    @Advent3546 4 роки тому +94

    That hair is looking pretty jellicle Taylor.

  • @patavinity1262
    @patavinity1262 4 роки тому +31

    A 'fable' isn't necessarily about animals - that's not what it means. The word comes from 'fabula' in Latin, which just means 'story'. The most famous stories called fables (Aesop's) just happen to be about animals.

  • @danielsimmich1858
    @danielsimmich1858 4 роки тому +17

    I just remember in grade 1 we were made to watch the Cats musical on VHS so after that whenever I wanted to force myself to cry I’d think of the scene where the old cat lady sings memory and walks up the stairs and it would work. I can cry on command now without having to think of the old cat lady so I guess this is character growth for me

  • @fionaburgos6109
    @fionaburgos6109 4 роки тому +62

    Thank you smart man for taking your time and attempting to break down the storyline of cats. I appreciate it

    • @robrick9361
      @robrick9361 4 роки тому +3

      Thank you smart woman for taking your time and attempting to understand his thoughts. I appreciate it

  • @SirDankleberry
    @SirDankleberry 4 роки тому +31

    “Cats takes place in Hell”
    It certainly felt like it.

  • @KittyDelRey
    @KittyDelRey 4 роки тому +29

    The more people talk about how crazy this movie is, I want to watch it, I’m into masochism, what a way to find that out, also thank you for trying to explain the plot/story.

    • @chesterstevens8870
      @chesterstevens8870 4 роки тому +3

      Don't bother. I also went to see it out of morbid curiosity, expecting it to be a "so bad it's good" type psychedelic horror-comedy. What I ended up with was a mixture of revulsion and frustration, but mostly boredom. The only denominator this movie seems to appeal to are pretentious theater geeks and people who are into musicals/byzantine choreography.

    • @noonenowhere877
      @noonenowhere877 4 роки тому

      @@chesterstevens8870 To be honest...as someone who has always liked Cats 1998, I think you might be doing us all a diserrvice by claiming we'll like the movie version. What if someone actually believed you and went to see it?

    • @chesterstevens8870
      @chesterstevens8870 4 роки тому

      I didn't claim that, I said that seems to be the core demo that this movie, very poorly, is trying to appeal to. It's also the core demo of people defending the premise of the film, if not the film itself; I don't know anyone who actually WANTED a _Cats_ movie, but the only ones who are sating they would are the same sorts of people who went to go see _Wicked_ and _Hamilton._

  • @masonweaver5455
    @masonweaver5455 4 роки тому +111

    he just really is going for the young George Lucas look

  • @theotherghostgirl337
    @theotherghostgirl337 4 роки тому +22

    EVERYONE has cryptic memories of watching cats on vhs as a kid

    • @noonenowhere877
      @noonenowhere877 4 роки тому

      My memories weren't that cryptic to be honest. I watched it over and over again. I never really got what it was about except that they were all cats and Grisabella was dying. Also got read the poems...those made more sense to me though I was always confused where Grisabella was till I learned just recently her poem was scrapped from the book for being too sad.

    • @Moony1568
      @Moony1568 4 роки тому

      I dont

  • @MoDotS
    @MoDotS 4 роки тому +36

    If you think this has confusing commentary on society, religion and other things you should watch guardians of Ga'hoole. It's about talking owls and a metaphore for the nazi empire.

    • @WobblesandBean
      @WobblesandBean 4 роки тому +2

      Yeah, that one was a real headfuck. I mean, kids can't pick up on the obvious allusions, but I saw it as an adult, and HOO BOY OWLS BE FUCKED UP

    • @joejellyfish
      @joejellyfish 4 роки тому

      I loved that movie as a kid

    • @johannesseyfried7933
      @johannesseyfried7933 4 роки тому

      I liked the first three Books the best. :)

  • @pedroxqui
    @pedroxqui 4 роки тому +34

    I think there's a mistake in trying to find logic mixing stuff from the show and the movie, because both seem to work differently... In the show you can assume that anyone CAN be the jellicle choice, the introductory songs are just for us the audience, but, in the movie it's said that the songs are a way to submit yourself to be chosen... Also, in the show, the "ascention" is clearly magical (a lightly staircase that comes from the heaven) when in the movie it's a literall hot air balloon (that might take you to a literal death)...
    Any way. The only real "problem" with your logic I'd say it's you getting locked on the assumption that the reborn cats don't remember their past lifes... when I'd say it's the opposite... they remember always reborn and remember, it's when you go to the heavysight layer (or however it's spelled) that you can choose how to rebirth and even if remember or not, you can get to chose the life you want to have and born into it (that's a small detail they just mention in a passing)

    • @noonenowhere877
      @noonenowhere877 4 роки тому +3

      Here's another interpretation: Only through ascension can a cat forget. They aren't competing to be reborn they are competing to be reborn without the shadows of their past tainting their new life.

  • @itgirlarchive
    @itgirlarchive 4 роки тому +64

    your hair. i love it.

  • @alyssaking3663
    @alyssaking3663 4 роки тому +10

    0:51 theater kids at my school were extremely popular and self centered, the CATS poster was front and center. 🐈 To this day, I hesitate to show my love for theater because of how judgemental everyone was in high school.... if you showed interest they had to prove their knowledge and "special understanding."

    • @shahinaakthar2112
      @shahinaakthar2112 4 роки тому +4

      Urgh exactly the same from when I was a teen! it's the same in any kind of group... Mine was was the Metal heads... "Oh you like slipknot? ... That's cute"
      I guess we're all trying to fit into our boxes...MEMORIES.... ALL ALONE IN THE MOONLIGHT.

    • @pyroshayniac1090
      @pyroshayniac1090 4 роки тому +3

      Theatre kids at my high school were terrible. I moved there as a junior, and they absolutely refused to let anyone new into the group. They had an increadibly high opinion of themselves, all hidden under the guise "I'm so quirky and different! Lol I love Hamilton!"

    • @shahinaakthar2112
      @shahinaakthar2112 4 роки тому

      Sending you hugs, that must've been a horrible experience!
      Kids can be so mean :(

  • @thevoidcritter
    @thevoidcritter 4 роки тому +5

    I've been planning a tabletop campaign this year and I literally stole the plot of Cats for a sidequest. So now my players are going to find a cult of people who choose one person a year from their cult to die and be reincarnated, etc.

  • @mariezschommler2224
    @mariezschommler2224 4 роки тому +62

    5:35 that's actually Trafalgar Square, not Piccadilly Circus

  • @alissonfranca9162
    @alissonfranca9162 4 роки тому +38

    Watch this movie while drunk with friends sounds like a good time?

    • @PeachFlavoredKaiju
      @PeachFlavoredKaiju 4 роки тому +4

      No it's boring, watch the fanatic instead

    • @CaptPolybius
      @CaptPolybius 4 роки тому +3

      I (very high) went with my boyfriend (sober) and his coworker (drunk) and it was a fantastic time. To me at least.

  • @agroteraaaa
    @agroteraaaa 4 роки тому +10

    7 am is too early to be watching this, it feels like a fever dream.

    • @flawedsanity
      @flawedsanity 4 роки тому +1

      5AM here. I need to take my meds. Heh.

  • @qwerty_and_azerty
    @qwerty_and_azerty 4 роки тому +20

    I didn’t even know cats existed until I heard about the movie, and I certainly haven’t seen the movie. But am I going to watch this video essay with my full attention? Absolutely!

    • @megan.best.
      @megan.best. 4 роки тому

      I knew cats existed. I have two as pets.

    • @gillian1242
      @gillian1242 4 роки тому +1

      Meg The Square Peg but are they jellicle cats

    • @megan.best.
      @megan.best. 4 роки тому +1

      Gillian ; / No, but that’s probably a good thing. The one scares me enough as it is.

  • @alexanderchippel
    @alexanderchippel 4 роки тому +7

    My highschool tired to put on a production and it was going well all things considered. But I guess one of the main cats shat himself on stage and they just decided to shut the whole school down.

  • @ebudae2000
    @ebudae2000 4 роки тому +12

    I'm just here for the hair, the beard and the voice.

  • @seopark7467
    @seopark7467 4 роки тому +9

    "So is this just the jungle? You think you're cool with someone and then they just eat you?"

  • @houston-coley
    @houston-coley 4 роки тому +3

    "Skimbleshanks has the entire railway relying on him! If he gets reborn, everyone is fucked!" was delivered with such earnest solemnity that I couldn't help but adore it

    • @TaylorJWilliams
      @TaylorJWilliams  4 роки тому +3

      All the guards and all the porters and the station master’s daughters would be saying “Skimble, where is Skimble” and they’d never find him!!

  • @MissXaverie
    @MissXaverie 4 роки тому +5

    100% with you all the way through the intro and then the sentence "Let's face it guys, CATS takes place in Hell" punched me so hard directly in the gut. I still can't breathe, send help.

  • @peanutbuttersquid6124
    @peanutbuttersquid6124 4 роки тому +21

    Unrelated but just look at this! The hands ewwww this is literally a nightmare... 5:37

    • @angierpg
      @angierpg 4 роки тому +2

      Peanut Butter Squid omg I just noticed noooooo 😭

  • @lalas181
    @lalas181 4 роки тому +30

    Broke: A video about the Cats movie that's just one hour of "the cgi is scary" "haha FURRIES!" and "This has no plot [proceeds to then explain the entire plot]".
    Woke: The Philosophical and Moral Implications of Jellicle Culture and the Parable of Grizabella the Fallen One

  • @kaydwessie296
    @kaydwessie296 4 роки тому +5

    Did anyone else freak out because they finally just now figured out what the hold music Princess Carolyn uses in Bojack Horseman is?

    • @WobblesandBean
      @WobblesandBean 4 роки тому

      Most of us already knew.

    • @kaydwessie296
      @kaydwessie296 4 роки тому

      @@WobblesandBean Well I'm an idiot and not well-versed in musicals lol

  • @bababo1396
    @bababo1396 4 роки тому +7

    I FREAKING LOVE this video. Finally someone who is as invested in the Jellicle Religion as I am. One thing I wanted to point out is that while it seems like the one that is most deserving of the Jellicle Choice is the cat that suffers the most, let us not forget that Munkustrap, Deutoronomys right hand man (and possible bastard child)'s choice was Jennyanydots for her hard work - at least, that's what it seems on the surface. He himself describes how gumbie cats are lazy and lay around all day, while the other cats chime in to correct him by saying Jennyanydots is actually a very hard working cat. I had my suspicions during the stage show but watching the film, I sensed that Munkustrap was... Fond of Jennyanydots, be it an infatuation or sexual. Would it be too far to interpret that a high ranking member of a religion chooses someone based on sexual desire, and since you pointed it out, it wouldn't be a huge stretch to say that Munkustrap recommends cats he would want to be surrounded by in the heaviside layer once it's his turn. Somehow I think the other cats are oblivious to Munkustrap's intentions in recommending Jennyanydots, however, as in the film it's explicitly stated that it's the quality of the perfomance that could elevate your chances of being chosen. Rum Tum Tugger comments on how Jennyanydots perfomance is lacking, and she of course clarifies that it was just practice. This has me believing that Jennyanydots, and the other cats, believe Munkstrap prefers Jennyanydots for her perfomance (which wouldn't be a stretch since they dedicate time describing her whole cockroach and mice backup dancers), and thus some have deluded themselves into thinking that's what will grant them the heaviside layer. Older cats like Gus probably have seen through this facade, however, and just makes his case that hey, he's pretty fucking old, maybe he should die now.
    I also wanted to point out the weird implications in Mistoffolees's magic and it's inconsistency. From what I understood, it was the power of all the cats singing and channeling it through Mr Mistoffolees, and of course having it happen under the right circumstances (a jellicle moon, as they say) that gave him the ability to summon Deutoronomy. But again, if this were true, how tf did Macavity gain this power? Perhaps it's because he has his own fan base cheering him on, though idk if the power of one Taylor Swift kitty cat is that strong...
    Anyway I could talk about the Jellicle Religion for ages. I saw the film a few days ago but it feels like it's been inhabiting me for years. Thank you so much for making this video and addressing the hell scape (ha) that is this universe instead of brushing this off. This is the best CATS related video I've seen so far. May you have a jellicle year.

  • @greatergoodguy1
    @greatergoodguy1 4 роки тому +3

    I love how gentle your delivery is. There are a lot of critics that go for that angry style that avgn popularized. Even those that aren't angry can still be the loud type. But listening to you feels like having a good discussion with a patient intelligent friend.

  • @KarlMarxhaswifi
    @KarlMarxhaswifi 4 роки тому +6

    Hipster level over 9000. We missed the content dude. No one does a deep dive as well as you do bud, hope to see more in 2020

  • @raticoochiesmith9819
    @raticoochiesmith9819 4 роки тому +3

    Grisabellas involvement with Macavity was in fact canon with the musical, it was just never alluded to in a solid way.

  • @loferx
    @loferx 4 роки тому +2

    It honestly feels like this is the voice within my head, after years of me just saying " please just watch it and cry when Grizabella sings", free at last to analyse EVERYTHING

  • @mc1382
    @mc1382 4 роки тому +19

    Speaking as something who actually liked the new Cats film (I know, shoot me) I thought this was very insightful and made me reconsider some of the lore and philosophy of Cats. I think that Cats has always been more about themes and the lore/plot is only there to carry things along. Cats have always been about hitting the emotional core of the viewer and asking more how they emotionally react to it. By using themes and imagery from the songs it allows for the viewer to attach their own feelings onto it. That's why when people try to find a solid plot, characters, arcs etc. they are left disappointed because it's not something that Cats is focused on doing. Honestly, this is something that really resonants with me and I totally understand if other people don't, guess you just have to be a certain type of person.

  •  4 роки тому +4

    This is genuinely the very first deeply entertaining thing I've watched this year.

  • @Theyungcity23
    @Theyungcity23 4 роки тому +2

    Rebirth and specifically the loss of memory is a common fantasy. You see it all the time to the point of ascending from worn out cliche to identifying structure of a pulp genre in anime. To start from the beginning without memories is appealing to many people.

  • @trinaq
    @trinaq 4 роки тому +33

    The word "Jellicle" will never leave your head after watching this movie, and it's not even real!😹 Plus, at least Judi Dench, Ian McKellan and Jennifer Houston managed to make this movie better than it was.😻 James Cordon and Rebel Wilson, on the other hand...🙀

    • @AJ-pu9jq
      @AJ-pu9jq 4 роки тому +6

      Trina Q for a second I thought Judy Dench was the same person as Judy Garland, was like “damn a dead woman did that, she saved a movie”

    • @chesterstevens8870
      @chesterstevens8870 4 роки тому +3

      Honestly? I'm not going to lie and say that McKellan's song was terrible, but watching him brokenly mumble "meow meow meow..." like a befuddled old man legitimately hurt my soul.

    • @TSD3Lux
      @TSD3Lux 4 роки тому +2

      That Asshole in The Comment Section agreed, I thought he was actually one of the worst parts of the movie lol

    • @chesterstevens8870
      @chesterstevens8870 4 роки тому +1

      One of the most painful to endure, sure, because I remember him being awestruck by him in the LotR movies. But pinpointing a "worst" part of this movie would be hard: Rebel Wilson's song at the beginning of the film was disgusting (as everything involving that wallowing sow is) but forgettable. The song with the two cat-burglars was probably the worst in terms of being the most flagrant ear-worm, and Taylor Swift's number made me the most uncomfortable on grounds of it's hyper-sexualized nature. On the level: I would say that the best thing about this movie was Idris Elba, by virtue of his role pissing me off the least.

    • @theweehooyeah
      @theweehooyeah 4 роки тому +1

      when I hear "Jellicle" I hear the end of "evangelical." if it's all a cat cult then that actually... makes sense... :(

  • @provoactivee
    @provoactivee 4 роки тому +4

    This was a beautiful rant about something so initially trivial, that almost engulfed you whole it seemed. Loved all 22 minutes of it !

  • @Mitula_elven_warrior
    @Mitula_elven_warrior 4 роки тому +6

    I just scrolled down to write that your hair is beautiful! Fantastic! Lovely! And now I‘m disappointed that I‘m not he first. Sooo lush!

  • @juliamavroidi8601
    @juliamavroidi8601 4 роки тому +7

    Wait, Pekes and Pollicles is IN the movie? Why? It is the most superfluous song in a musical of superfluous songs and almost all productions cut it...
    Also I'm pretty sure that Jenny Anydots is meant as commentary going as far back as T S Elliot. She's a pardody of the "socialite" type ladies who think they're doing good for the working class, but actually just perpetuate the system (symbolized in the movie by cannibalizing them apparently)
    Edit: Also, also do they leave in the line about the Pekes being "heathen Chinese", bc that would certainly support your reading

    • @thememeslinger7506
      @thememeslinger7506 4 роки тому +1

      Pekes and Policles aren't in the film
      Neither is The Rumpus Cat by proxy

  • @gigi3843
    @gigi3843 4 роки тому +7

    first of all, YES I THRIVE ON CATS THE MOVIE CONTENT THANK YOU
    secondly, my theory after seeing the movie was that in the cats-verse cats are actually immortal (this would also explain why deuteronomy and gus have lived for so long) the jellicle ball is their only chance at death and however happy anybody is in their life, they still feel depressed by the notion that they would have to live forever
    you can interpret cats as a study of a world in which the norm is immortality and therefore it is also normal to want to die
    in their immortality they might have had centuries to learn magic and they might have already borne witness to the end of human civilazation (or some less grave disaster) that caused every street, alleyway and the picadilly circus to be abandoned.
    My thoughts on this are ever evolving, i dont have the recourses to watch it in the cinema again, but i think about it at least twice a day

  • @tarynestrada3760
    @tarynestrada3760 4 роки тому +2

    Your videos are always my favorite. This was dope. Thanks, man.

  • @chillingsnowflake
    @chillingsnowflake 4 роки тому +1

    Your videos will always be the most anticipated things in my subscription box

  • @Sirvaria
    @Sirvaria 4 роки тому +4

    No idea who this dude with the bomb hair is, and ive neither seen CATs the musical nor the movie but im glad im here

  • @infinitemausoleum721
    @infinitemausoleum721 4 роки тому +2

    Part of me wonders if "Heaviside layer" was chosen specifically because it's used for radio, and the story was something along the lines of "Cats compete to get radio famous" at the very first stages of writing. It'd have had to get way out of hand to get here though.

  • @anumuthusamy8065
    @anumuthusamy8065 4 роки тому +5

    First of all, gorgeous hair!
    Now on to the point, I love the musical, (the broadway show and the 1998 movie, not the 2019 movie, don’t know what to make if that yet), not because of the philosophical ideology, but because the songs are catchy and the dancing is amazing.
    I can’t imagine that there is a philosophy that actually makes sense of this hodgepodge series of songs and dance. You might as well try to find a Philosophy that makes sense for Alice in Wonderland or the nutcracker. I don’t think you can. And to try so hard to make sense of CATS philosophically is just doing this unique musical injustice.

  • @lauraaaxlu
    @lauraaaxlu 4 роки тому +2

    this was incredibly insightful and entertaining! please upload more! :-)

  • @flawedsanity
    @flawedsanity 4 роки тому +2

    Your hair is so fitting to this video. It's like you grew out your hair just to philosophize over "Cats". I love it.

  • @goodnightmidnight
    @goodnightmidnight 4 роки тому

    This video was so different from what i was expecting but in such a great way.

  • @Verocapote
    @Verocapote 4 роки тому +4

    The content of this video feels like a fever dream. I'm so confused

  • @Theyungcity23
    @Theyungcity23 4 роки тому +1

    16:22 well the set up is that they don't understand the difference between a magician and a wizard and they're expecting him to be able to basically summon Deutoronomy. And just from the sheer number of times that he tries and fails it's pretty clear that it didn't really work for him and Deutoronomy was on her anyway. But she gasses him up because he's too rough on himself.

  • @nduffy12
    @nduffy12 4 роки тому +6

    Wow you’re really going for the Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire hair aren’t you

  • @rebeccavon9321
    @rebeccavon9321 4 роки тому +3

    “taylor j williams becoming more and more stressed out with cats for 23 minutes straight”

  • @ssuiter2
    @ssuiter2 4 роки тому +2

    I always got the sense that the Cats musical was for cat lovers. People would watch the musical and say oh look that cat reminds me of my cat or look that cat reminds me of my friends cat. And that's it. That's where it got its charm. It's bizarre how people are trying to overanalyze something so simple and fun

  • @dominiqueknight6707
    @dominiqueknight6707 4 роки тому +2

    Cool and fun Cats Lore (tm):
    Grizabella and Macavity did have a thing together, it wasn't just added for the sake of the movie. She left the Jellicles to be with him, and then was later dumped for Bombularina (Taylor Swift Cat)
    Macavity can't teleport in the original, but he can levitate
    Mr. Mistoffelees CAN teleport, and actually does bring back Old Deuteronomy
    Jenny Enny Dots doesn't eat cockroaches in the original, she would've never done that and Rebel Wilson must be arrested for Jellicle crimes.

  • @hyperion3145
    @hyperion3145 4 роки тому +3

    Maybe the real reasoning behind CATS are nightmares we made along the way
    Or that cats are just sacrificing each other to Azathoth

  • @aeronshade
    @aeronshade 4 роки тому +4

    When comes to why the other Cats are competing, well there is a decently popular interpretation that they are not competing. In the baseline plot of this interpretation, Munkustrap is hosting the Jellicle ball and essentially putting on a show with the other cats. (This is supported by the song the battle of the pekes and pollicles as the cats are themselves and acting in constumes) Viewing it this way means that not all of the cats are competing but are instead putting on a show.
    Edit: I would like to note this is only about the musical not the movie. Also what the hell is the Cats movie, I haven’t watched it, but just from the descriptions in this video I am deeply confused and concerned ( wHy wOuLD jEnNyAnYdOTs EaT tHE rOAchEs! ARE THE POLLICLES SHOWN AS ACTUAL DOGS?! AaaaAAaAa)

  • @anapaomv7620
    @anapaomv7620 4 роки тому

    love the new look! Please keep recording ridiculously deep analysis of not very deep movies because I'm all about that

  • @blinkfilms1
    @blinkfilms1 4 роки тому +11

    Am I crazy or are jellicle cats a commentary on evangelical christianity?

    • @neuromuscular_lava
      @neuromuscular_lava 4 роки тому +1

      blinkfilms1 that’s what I was thinking the entire time!!

  • @hotdiggedydemon
    @hotdiggedydemon 4 роки тому

    good video!

  • @purplecatpaws9636
    @purplecatpaws9636 4 роки тому +3

    You mentioned nihilism, and you mentioned Eliot's poems as inspiration, and I would like to note that Eliot was a modernist and especially a nihilist, which could be where that perspective is coming from

  • @mikaylaloneragn5292
    @mikaylaloneragn5292 4 роки тому

    If you made a follow up video, even if any answers you find/concoct feel as though they weren't considered when cats was stitched together, i would love it entirely

  • @traceyedits
    @traceyedits 4 роки тому +1

    i love the 1998 film! it fits in this loophole where its not really a movie, just a recording of the theatre show.

  • @xomegsxo
    @xomegsxo 4 роки тому +1

    I deadass love you. 😆❤️

  • @patavinity1262
    @patavinity1262 4 роки тому +3

    Not a fan of 'Cats' (or any musical), but I think the original costumes look absolutely fine and so does the CGI version, which doesn't look any worse to me than the humanoid designs for, say, the Avatar or Star Wars aliens. I have no idea what all the fuss is about and I suspect a lot of other people who've jumped on the 'Cats' hate bandwagon don't either. It's really not that bad.

  • @billvolk4236
    @billvolk4236 4 роки тому +2

    So Old Deuteronomy is sort of the Jellicle pope and has allegedly lived as many as 99 lives. So does that mean that whenever a young Jellicle rises through the ranks of the priesthood and wins enough favor among the other priests, that Jellicle is declared to be Old Deuteronomy reborn? And so is Munkustrap stuck against a glass ceiling by virtue of being alive at the same time as a confirmed Old Deuteronomy and therefore never eligible for consideration as a reincarnation thereof himself?

  • @SuperLoves4
    @SuperLoves4 4 роки тому +1

    Haven’t finished the video yet(so sorry if this comes up later) just, isn’t the song/poem “99 wives” instead of 99 lives as you said?

    • @TaylorJWilliams
      @TaylorJWilliams  4 роки тому +1

      There’s the line “he’s a cat who has lived many lives in succession,” so I was estimating one wife per incarnation. It’s possible though that Old Deuteronomy just gets around.

    • @SuperLoves4
      @SuperLoves4 4 роки тому

      Taylor J. Williams (I have finished the video, it’s great) Well, I’ve only seen the 1998 version, and Rum says he buried 9 wives (and thus one per life) and then Rum says almost like a rumor that Old D had 99, but maybe it could be they just keep reincarnating (and in a way making their “religion” a lie) but the heavyside lair is cat version of nirvana, or maybe garantees a last happy reincarnation (and thus in a way truth?)

  • @introxgrunt
    @introxgrunt 4 роки тому

    loving the hair

  • @kyootips790
    @kyootips790 4 роки тому +12

    your hair is cute.

  • @dianaenelespacio
    @dianaenelespacio 4 роки тому

    I love just how you go around and around it!!!

  • @TheKinoCorner
    @TheKinoCorner 4 роки тому

    My acquaintance Filmmaker IQ really liked this movie. You should have a discussion with him about it. I think it would be an interesting video.

  • @udryx
    @udryx 4 роки тому

    Thank you for this delightfully jellicle descent into the Cats void. I was genuinely engaged and pulled in like I haven't been for a very long while. Your channel rocks.

  • @animon613
    @animon613 4 роки тому +1

    After you said it takes place on hell and that music came in. . . . I legit got scared and had to turn on my lamp cuz I FEEL THE EXACT SAME WAY 😂

  • @MikeJ4196
    @MikeJ4196 4 роки тому +1

    My only experience with Cats was the movie on Christmas day, this almost makes sense of it

  • @terrenceswiff
    @terrenceswiff 4 роки тому

    I'd love to see a setting where wizarding was a serious roll of the dice as to whether what you wanted to happen did. Like magic is this completely chaotic force nobody quite understands or particularly wants to screw with

  • @gingerspice231
    @gingerspice231 4 роки тому +1

    Dope vid thanks for making it

  • @xrobertjr408x
    @xrobertjr408x 4 роки тому +1

    Can you tell me what microphone you’re using? Sounds great

  • @perrilewis180
    @perrilewis180 3 роки тому +1

    I'm glad someone else has these questions. I do think that you could get a weird almost secret of nimh type story out of cats and you just pulled me down deeper.