We know FFF really loves Cats….

Dionysos

Dionysos

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So how do you all feel about this film?


Excited?

Scared?

Traumatised?

-

I'll probably go and see it. I know about the musical, obviously, but I have never seen it and I don't fully know what the plot is about. I am quite curious (no pun intended) to see what this will be like.

Once I get over the feeling that I've had a nightmare where I've slipped into a cat-based dimension where all familiar faces are now feline.



:purrsephone: 🔑
 
o_o

Not to offend anyone who may identify or are associated with the furry fandom... but this looks like something straight out of a furry nightmare.

I think I remember hearing they were making a Cats movie, but honestly I'm surprised it took them this long to make one. Just like Dan mentioned, I know of the musical but I don't know much else beyond that it was one. I don't think I'll see this one, not in the cinema anyway.

I can't exactly pinpoint what scares me the most. It isn't like I haven't seen anthropomorphic characters before but these really are kinda odd looking, Lol! Maybe they're too realistic? To be fair, they really aren't scary, but they definitely are offputting to me.

😬 Whoever does watch this I look forward to hearing your take on it.
 
DaggerTribal said:
I can't exactly pinpoint what scares me the most. It isn't like I haven't seen anthropomorphic characters before but these really are kinda odd looking, Lol! Maybe they're too realistic? To be fair, they really aren't scary, but they definitely are offputting to me.
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I think I'm with you on this one. For me it's the faces that are too realistic and put me off a bit. I have seen images of the musical production and I think it works better there.

Like most so far, I haven't actually seen the play. But I enjoy going to see musicals in the theatre so I'm usually a bit more tentative when they make movies out of them.

I probably won't go to see this one at the cinema when it comes out, but might watch it later on if I'm curious enough.
 
As people have already been saying, it looks like a sleep paralysis nightmare or a fever dream. This is something that might've worked better in classic 2D animation...
 
Just no.

-__- That doesn't even look good to me.
 
I don’t think it’s the furry aspect. Most furry costumes have cartoon faces and don’t look very human-like. This is definitely uncanny valley territory.

Reminds me of my old avatar on here where I photoshopped my face onto Cait Sith. I had it for years but once people realized it wasn’t Cait Sith’s actual face it stared to creep people out, and it always creeped me out. I don’t really know why I even did it in the first place.
 
To me, the CG just seems like a logical step up to face paint and body suits. I can see where some would view it as an uncanny valley type thing, but I don't see an outstanding difference between what we see in the movie trailer to the that of theatre production that would deem it nightmarish to be honest. It's probably not something that would majorly benefit from a movie production per-say but it would bring this somewhat unwatched musical to a wider audience I guess. I don't honestly see the point of turning Cats into a movie but I would likely see it in cinema since I love the music a whole, whole lot!

:star:
 
DaggerTribal said:
I can't exactly pinpoint what scares me the most. It isn't like I haven't seen anthropomorphic characters before but these really are kinda odd looking, Lol! Maybe they're too realistic? To be fair, they really aren't scary, but they definitely are offputting to me.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing the trailer at the cinema when going to see Joker and this pretty much sums up how I felt on initial viewing.

Whilst I've not actually seen Cats other than advertising media, the theatre production works because the cast are wearing costumes that, in essence, become a representation of cats - they're not actually trying to convince the audience that they are literally cats. The imagination is then essentially allowed to creatively fill in the gaps to make the cast become cats, but at its heart, you still know they're simply people in costume.

CGI removes all those gaps because the cast are designed to look like that; they're no longer a representation of cats, but a deliberate and literal cat-human hybrid. I think the mind struggles with the designs (in my case, anyway) because it's neither a cat, nor is it a human, but at the same time it's trying to be both.

I think a large part of the problem with Cats (musical) vs Cats (film) is that CGI is the wrong production format. To me, it falls into the category that just because it can be made, doesn't mean it should. The fact the film has seriously, seriously bombed probably highlights that it shouldn't have been made to begin with (albeit, I hope the people that have seen it don't form an opinion based on critics - if people enjoy it, great!).

My two cents on this anyway.
 
Same as DaggerTribal and some of the others, I've seen the trailer and it didn't gave me the will to go see the entire movie. I found it very creepy and unsettling. I'm a cat lover and I'm furry friendly but in this trailer the human/animal mixing is giving something a bit frightening
 
I almost went to see this just before New Year's Eve. But then I decided against it as I didn’t want my last film of the entire decade to be... Cats. :argor:
I love that review which called this film “the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs”
I find that hilarious. :D

I’m genuinely curious (that wasn’t an intentional cat pun) about what this film is actually like. I’ve seen images from the film and the humanoid cats look tiny compared to the furniture that they are dancing on. Something isn’t quite right with the scale and I think that adds to the feeling of uneasiness people have experiences with the film.

But I really must see this one day.
 
My husband keeps telling me he wants to see it just so he can join in the group of people who were mortified by it. We keep laughing at that same review, too - “the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs” How funny! I still probably won't run out and see this one (and waste a perfectly good babysitting Kupon with my brother!) but if/when it hits the stores it definitely looks like a gag gift for my father in law for us to borrow and be mortified by :wacky:

Dionysos said:
Something isn’t quite right with the scale and I think that adds to the feeling of uneasiness people have experiences with the film.
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I was thinking about this just the other day when I saw a preview for it again. I wonder if the scale seems off because they actually built the sets to appear bigger? I'm all for keeping things traditional here and there but I wonder if it would have been achieved better if it too was CGI. I still think that the uneasiness about this film is just the cats themselves. I don't want to come across prude but it almost feels provocative watching them dance with their human curves and their 'I'm naked but not really because I have fur' looks.

I've had my fair share of fever dreams and this seems like one of those 😅 I hope someone reports back if they've watched this film! I know I'll have a lot to say if we bite the bullet and go to see it for some reason!



​
 
So did anyone see this yet? :grin: Maybe it isn't as much as a fever dream as the trailer lead on? Probably not?

:purrsephone: More importantly, Is Purrsephone in this?
 
DaggerTribal said:
So did anyone see this yet? :grin: Maybe it isn't as much as a fever dream as the trailer lead on? Probably not?

:purrsephone: More importantly, Is Purrsephone in this?
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I still haven't seen it.

Paddy McGee joked about streaming it and watching it with us but I don't know if that's even possible. Adam might have seen it already by now anyway!

I am curious if anyone has seen it. I don't actually know anyone who has who can report back on what it was like. I want to see it one day, but probably not immediately before bed in case I have furry nightmares!
 
Dionysos said:
I still haven't seen it.

Paddy McGee joked about streaming it and watching it with us but I don't know if that's even possible. Adam might have seen it already by now anyway!

I am curious if anyone has seen it. I don't actually know anyone who has who can report back on what it was like. I want to see it one day, but probably not immediately before bed in case I have furry nightmares!
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Tell me when suits and we'll do it!!! This Saturday???
 
Paddy McGee said:
Tell me when suits and we'll do it!!! This Saturday???
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I know we've spoken about this on Discord since you replied to me here, but for the benefit of others on this site who might want to join in I'll repeat it here!

So it seems like Friday might be the purrfect night for this since Saturday is when KupoCon's second free online event will be taking place instead! 😹
 
That unexpected 30 minute interlude was probably the best part.




Normally I like running movies in the background while I'm doing stuff but I had a hard time following & overall was just disinterested. Made it to the end just so that I could say I was a true Jellicle.
 
Look... I've never been a theatre kid. It's not in my blood, the singing or dancing, so I try not to judge musicals all that much. Ultimately, they're not for me.

But I'm sorry: Cats (2019) isn't for ANYONE.

It's plot is a pointless meander across what seems to be a hyper-distorted version of London, made up of introductions from any celebrity they could grab for the top billing of the film. It's basically American Idol but all the candidates are cats and we're all pissed off Simon Cowells, watching the Cronenberg body horror unravel. I can probably name roughly 4 of the cats after the fact- I think the most interesting part was how terrible each actor looked as a cat and the very sad depths they had to go down - poor, poor Sir Ian. Ray Winstone will never have a "fackin' Geezer" role ever again.

Apparently, the film's take on the source is much more focused and tied together to reflect the directness of cinema versus the stage; that sort of artistic and music-based focus works on a stage because, ultimately, you've gone to the show for the songs. With a film, it's different; you have a wider audience, so you need to apply the commonalities across films - protagonists, arcs, narratives, climaxes. It just doesn't work here.

The technology used to create the humanoid cats is... it's just body horror mixed with uncanny valley. It doesn't help that each dance movement (or general movement turned into dance) is some sort of strange interrpretation of what's being done; each step has a strange "pop" of a shoulder, a flourish of a foot. I'm sure it's impressive to watch if you're in the in-group for theatre - but for the layperson, it's a little distracting. I do think we can all pick out a favourite - personally, Choo-choo train cat was my favourite; his hipster 'stache and red pants set my world on fire.

The dancing and music is decent - but some of the compositions were very uninspiring - particularly the opener. All these cats that (I'm assuming) reflect personalities of cats or something, but they come, have their song and then waffle to the background again. The size of the cast makes it feel like a second Class (third grade; year four in US and UK respectively) nativity play, where everyone needed a role to play. Repeating a word over and over and over and over again does not allow the viewer to understand the word.

Ultimately, I sat through an hour and a half of waffle and I still do not know what the absolute fuck a Jellicle Cat is. Seriously, someone tell me. Is it a cat that's missing a butthole or something? Is this something we learn from the butthole edition?
 
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