Have you ever wondered why Cats the musical is so weird? We are here to answer that question. On this episode, Holly and Hilary take a deep dive into the absurd world of Cats. They discuss Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical in a global context and how Cats changed musical theatre forever. They also break down Tom Hooper’s catastrophic film adaptation that disturbed the world! They explain WHY Cats the film is so creepy, Tom Hooper’s poor directorial choices, and why a lot of live-action animated films nowadays just don’t quite get it right.

Enjoy, it's gonna be ameowsing!

Artwork by: @akalashell
Boogie Woogie Bed by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Works Cited:
BBC's "The Story of Musicals"- CATS Segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aERa3tXy0hE&feature=youtu.be
Ellis, Lindsey. Why is Cats?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6iqAip-ZNo
Gottlieb, Carl, and Peter Benchley. The Jaws Log. HarperCollins. 2010.
Film Theory: The Dark Secret of Jellicle Cats CREEPY (CATS 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6QhjZUM_1k&t=311s
Placido, Di Dani. ‘We Need To Talk About 'Cats': Why Does Hollywood Keep Falling Into The Uncanny Valley?’: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2019/07/21/we-need-to-talk-about-cats-why-does-hollywood-keep-falling-into-the-uncanny-valley/#44ecbbb8f361.
Tayag, Yasmin. “Uncanny Valley Researchers Pinpoint What Makes The ‘CATS’ Trailer So Creepy”. https://www.inverse.com/article/57870-cats-trailer-filmed-in-the-uncanny-valley
Why Adaptation from Stage to Screen Matters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JIbUZhODcI&t=206s
Cats the Musical: Hilary’s quotes come from these sources:
Burston, Jonathan. "Theatre Space as Virtual Place: Audio Technology, the Reconfigured Singing Body, and the Megamusical." Popular Music 17.2 (1998): 205-218.Siropoulos, Vagelis. 
"Cats, Postdramatic Blockbuster Aesthetics and the Triumph of the Megamusical." Image & Narrative 11.3 (2010): 128.