About that Cats trailer....

...hoo boy. There are so many … questionable choices involved in this. I don't even know where to start. Only, I think we've passed beyond the uncanny valley. We're finding ourselves in some kind of vast, uncanny caldera, and I'm afraid it's about to blow.

Yeah... I discovered the trailer through this article here:

jezebel.com/this-is-obscene

Trigger warning: the clip at the top of the article (a repeated snip from the trailer) cannot be unseen.

Why, CGI, why. Why did you do this to yourself? You had so much potential to bring good into this world!

The stage show does it with costumes and makeup. Why could the movie not do it with costumes and makeup? The choreography looks like it'll be spectacular and the cast is great but there is no way I could get past that CGI.

Did they not run sample animations past an objective audience? This is exhibit "A" in why Mom does not make a good beta.

Full disclosure: I'm not a fan and can't stand the soundtrack so I'm the one advertising needs to convince.

I'm not convinced.

Coddiwomple said:

Did they not run sample animations past an objective audience? This is exhibit "A" in why Mom does not make a good beta.

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Hello? Sonic the Hedgehog, anybody?

What the Menckin quote, "It's so bad that a grandeur creeps in..."

I'll probably see it.

BenPanced said:

Full disclosure: I'm not a fan and can't stand the soundtrack so I'm the one advertising needs to convince.

I'm not convinced.



Hello? Sonic the Hedgehog, anybody?

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I can't wait to see the panic-redesigns of these characters, can you?

I do appreciate the makers' attempt to derail the utter shitshow the world's becoming, if only for a day, by breaking the internet with this bonkers trailer. The entire world hasn't been so united in a moment of WTFery like this since Kim Kardashian balanced a champagne glass on her arse all those years ago.

Albedo said:

The entire world hasn't been so united in a moment of WTFery like this since Kim Kardashian balanced a champagne glass on her arse all those years ago.

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There are times when I’m glad to be blissfully ignorant of pop culture. This is one.

Incoming Unpopular Opinion:

While I agree that the CGI is pretty creepy, I'm actually super excited for the movie. Cats has been my favorite musical since I was like 7 and the cast seems amazing. I don't even care that Taylor Swift is in it, I actually think she might do a decent job (maybe not great, but decent.)

Okay, running to hide from all the pitchforks now.

I saw the show twice, once in London, once in the US, both times in the mid-80s. It's fluffy and fun. Soundtrack doesn't really grab me, but there are a couple of numbers I quite like.

The film? ....I dunno, folks. I just don't know. I am mildly curious, but I'm Netflix-mildly curious, not full-theater-price curious. I may be only watch-the-trailer-a-few-times curious.

EvilPenguin said:

Incoming Unpopular Opinion:

While I agree that the CGI is pretty creepy, I'm actually super excited for the movie. Cats has been my favorite musical since I was like 7 and the cast seems amazing. I don't even care that Taylor Swift is in it, I actually think she might do a decent job (maybe not great, but decent.)

Okay, running to hide from all the pitchforks now.

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Oh no! No pitchforks! I'm sure the choreography is amazing. (Also: Idris Elba)

I'm just not sure if it would be enough to counteract the heebie-jeebies I get from the CGI. Like, could I immerse myself, give up a tiny piece of my soul maybe, and learn to enjoy it? And in the morning, would I be able to look in the mirror without shame? I don't know! And I'm not sure I want to find out...

I'll watch it, but the CGI is...disturbing. I"m going into it with....cautious optimism though. At least it's not another Disney reboot. What I'm NOT looking forward to is the song Memory being sung constantly by my niece, because it will be. Just like back in the '90s.

I mean, I'm not a Cats fan. But I'm also not a Twilight fan and I found the first movie highly entertaining and would recommend it to everyone. The cardinal sin here would have been making a Cats movie that's not totally bonkers beyond all expectation, and I'm glad that didn't happen.

Meanwhile, some folks are having fun with the trailer...

https://twitter.com/ianabramson/sta...Py8q9n6oq4alW_odvaOuqj3TCWj_LYCkY6qLyYmZd4hh4

Sage said:

The CGI doesn't bother me at all, actually.

I have no problem with Taylor Swift in the role I think she's in. Rebel Wilson, on the other hand, seems like an odd choice for...any of the roles, unless she's added. Most of the other actors look perfect.

I just saw CATS a few months ago, so the play is fresh in my mind.

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Rebel Wilson is playing Jennyanydots, which I actually think might be okay. I think out of all the cats in the musical, that's the only one that kind of fits with Rebel Wilson's personality.

I just watched the trailer again to try and pinpoint what the big problem I have with it, and I think it's the ears, or rather the lack of human ones with human faces. Looking at pictures from the musical, everyone has large wigs that cover their ears like hair. They obviously look cat-like, but they still have the general shape of a human head. Some of the actors in the trailer have similar, or wear hats, and they look more natural. But the main character and others just... no ears. And that's where it crosses into a horrible uncanny valley for me.

Maggie Maxwell said:

I just watched the trailer again to try and pinpoint what the big problem I have with it, and I think it's the ears, or rather the lack of human ones with human faces.

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The human butts with tails was my major issue. Plenty might feel different.

What's wrong with me? I liked it!

I hope the movie is not too long though. I listened to the soundtrack forever in the 1990s, but it always ran out of steam for me 1/3 of the way into the second act. I always felt every song in it should have been truncated to a more manageable-for-the-listener length.