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Cats - A Movie Review

The cast of 'Cats' had to go to 'Cat School' before filming this movie.

By Marielle SabbagPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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Meow! It’s time for the cats to roam the street under the moonlight.

Cats is a 2019 released film based on the musical that has premiered since 1981. A group of cats is on a mission to decide who the next Jellicle cat will be. While the curious cats feverishly pick, a sinister being snatches the cats.

After seeing negative reviews spew out from viewings of Cats, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have never seen a performance of Cats. Thinking that I wasn’t going to enjoy it I actually came out of the theater pleasantly surprised. Cats is a very different film that captures a fun story about the world of felines.

I was impressed with newcomer Francesca Hayward’s performance as Victoria. Hayward is no stranger to the world of the theater having performed in a multitude of ballets. As the new cat, Victoria is curious about this exciting world, following mischievous cats along with gracefully dancing to her heart.

Before filming this movie, the cast had to go to ‘cat school’ to get a better sense of what being a cat was like. One of my favorite aspects of the film is that the cast was having fun acting like cats and frolicking about. Acting is all about challenging yourself.

Every cast member was given a chance to shine. To name a few, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Robbie Fairchild, and Mette Towley were all great. They worked well together as an ensemble. Elba was sinister as Macavity capturing the cats with his touch of dark magic.

Jennifer Hudson outdoes herself in the phenomenal number ‘Memory’. This is the favorite of songs among myself and my friends as we were sitting in the theater, humming along to the tune. Hudson’s character opened up the minds of the cats, making them learn never to judge anyone just by their appearance.

James Corden and Rebel Wilson were the highlights of the film! They added in their own comedic touch. The downside was that they were hardly in it. They’re only in the beginning briefly until captured. I would love to have seen more moments dedicated to them because these two actors brought more of comedic originality to the film.

And now it’s time I talk about the CGI. Filmmakers could have paid more attention to detail. There were some scenes where I didn’t find the cat makeup believable. Yes, it could have been better at some moments of the movie, but it was impressive.

Originally, this movie was supposed to be animated. Arguably, I prefer it as a live-action movie because it marked a challenge for creators to maneuver. The designs overall were impressive, but it still looked strange for a movie. The cat-like makeup sold the design.

I felt as if I was watching an onstage performance of Cats which is more of the setting for this type of musical. The human-sized furniture next to these cats who were bouncing around also looked strange and didn’t fit. Other than that, the musical numbers were well-performed. They were the best parts of the movie.

I get what Tom Hooper was aiming for and I think he succeeded in bringing this well-known musical to the big screen. However, Hooper could have spent more time with the outlook of the film and how to present it. Already, the film was sent back twice to fix the CGI to make it look more realistic. I think that the decision hurt the outlook of the film for audiences.

Yes, Cats is a different movie, but it’s a project that was testing new boundaries. What sold this movie for me were the performances. Don’t skip out on seeing this movie. I am glad that I went to see it in theaters for my New Year movie tradition.

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About the Creator

Marielle Sabbag

Writing has been my passion since I was 11 years old. I love creating stories from fiction, poetry, fanfiction. I enjoy writing movie reviews. I would love to become a creative writing teacher and leave the world inspiring minds.

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