Andrew Lloyd Webber has opened up about the 2019 feature film adaptation of his hit musical Cats, saying he hated the "appalling" movie so much that he got a dog. Directed by Tom Hooper, the box office flop follows a group of cats as they meet to decide which cat gets to be reborn.
Inspired by Webber’s 1981 West End musical, which was originally adapted from T S Eliot’s 1939 poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the film boasts a star-studded cast.
The ensemble includes James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, and Francesca Hayward.
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Speaking recently about the film, Lloyd Webber told CBS Sunday Morning that he bought a dog to recover from the trauma of the Cats movie.
"After the appalling Cats movie, I went out and bought myself a little Havanese puppy," he said.
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He added: "It’s my therapy dog on planes. I just write a note to the airline saying, you know, reason for dog on plane and put, 'Cats movie'. And they always come back saying, 'No doctor’s certificate required'."
Lloyd Webber has spoken out about the feature film on a number of occasions. Slamming it in a 2020 interview with The Times, he said: "The problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided, as he had with Les Mis, that he didn't want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show. The whole thing was ridiculous."
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an impressively low rating of 19% from 335 reviews, with one critic describing it as "nightmarish".
FilmWeek said: "It's just baffling and yet it must be seen... It's bad, but you've got to experience it."
"Whether you think the imagery is beautiful or nightmarish, this is a film that demands to be looked at," wrote The Atlantic.
The Spectator said: "The film is flat, without any of the camp, kitsch high energy that characterised the stage show, but its wrongness is never less than mesmerising."
Vulture wrote: "There is something magical about the simple fact that this movie exists, in all its obscene, absurd wonder, its terrible filmmaking choices and bursts of jaw-dropping talent."
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
