Here Are All the Catty Things the "Cats" Cast Has Said About "Cats"

Me-ow.

Did Cats really happen, or did I simply dream it after mixing medications to treat a raging case of encephalitis?

I definitely reviewed it, and a quick look at Rotten Tomatoes indicates hundreds of other critics did too. Twitter also became a scratching post for those who willingly paid to go see it, so unless this is a shared psychosis situation—a folie à deux if you will—we must conclude Cats was indeed a thing.

And what a thing! Set to lose almost $US100 million for Universal, this much-mocked musical flop became an instant punchline; withdrawn by its own studio for Oscars consideration; patched to fix its CGI blunders; memed within an inch of its life thanks to Judi Dench lifting her cat leg over her head.

That said, Judi Dench sitting on a cat bed lifting her bizarre CGI cat leg at a 90 degree angle in appreciation of a song is probably my sleep paralysis demon now

— Magical Jimster Westofeles (@West_Winds_) January 7, 2020

To begin with, much of its cast kept quiet about the backlash, not wanting to take an immediate dump on a project they just got paid for.

But as some of the stars promote new projects, they’re forced to confront this not-so-beautiful ghost of a movie. We’ll continue to update this article (originally published 30 January 2020) as the cat-ctors each comment on Cats. (Idris Elba, your silence is deafening!)

James Corden

Corden, who plays Bustopher Jones in the flick, was the first to throw the kitty under the bus. At the world premiere in New York on 16 December, he left before he could even take the stage when called by director Tom Hooper (for scheduling reasons, apparently). A week later, while promoting the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special, he told the BBC's Zoe Ball that he hadn’t yet seen it, adding, "I’ve heard it’s terrible."

He wasn’t done. On 27 January, the New Yorker published a profile on Corden in which he said, "I can’t imagine I’ll see it." Though, he added this for good measure: "It’s important to say I had the best time making it... At some point, you have to go, How am I going to judge my own experience? Am I only going to have enjoyed something if it was successful?"

Rebel Wilson

We have one of the Cats stars on tape! Here's footage of actual Jennyanydots presenting a trophy at the BAFTAs, and giving her not-nominated film a serve. Referring to her dress, she says it was stitched together from two outfits: "The red is from that one time I didn't win Miss Australia, and the black is from a funeral I just went to for the feature film Cats."

James Corden and Rebel Wilson

They couldn't resist. Corden and Wilson presented a trophy at the 2020 Academy Awards dressed as their Cats characters, with Corden remarking, "As cast members of the motion picture Cats, nobody more than us understands the importance of good visual effects." The crowd ate it up; the eventual winners, for 1917, probably not so much.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift appears briefly as Bombalurina in the flick, a one-scene character who nonetheless gets to sing the best song. And though she has no regrets about fulfilling a life’s goal—being a cat—she recently told Variety it’s "a weird ass movie."

Promoting her new Netflix doco Miss Americana, she reiterated about Cats, "I’m not gonna retroactively decide that it wasn’t the best experience."

"I never would have met Andrew Lloyd Webber or gotten to see how he works, and now he’s my buddy. I got to work with the sickest dancers and performers. No complaints."

However, when asked what her chances were of winning a Golden Globe for her nominated song "Beautiful Ghosts", she said: "Not a shot. Not a single chance. Not a snowball’s chance in hell." And yeah, she lost.

Jennifer Hudson

Grizabella herself has only good things to say about Cats, but she did tweet out the trailer for her new Aretha Franklin biopic the day Cats hit cinemas. Almost like… a distraction?

Sir Ian McKellen

The legendary thespian was technically the first to get in-front of the Cats reaction, telling The Independent prior to release that it was "a ridiculous enterprise". (He meant it as a good thing?)

"It’s not only unfilmable," he said of the musical source material, "it’s unstageable."

"It’s a ridiculous enterprise, but is one of the most successful musicals in the history of world theatre, and I suspect it’s going to be a classic film."

Still, he couldn't help negging it with some back-handed compliments: "I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw it, and I’m not really a cat person, I prefer dogs."

And: "Because I’m a devotee of the art form of pantomime, it’s not an insult to say that Cats on stage is a bit of panto, which is a plus for me, but it’s of that genre.”

Gus the Theatre Cat would say nothing less.

Jason Derulo

The man whose name echoes throughout eternity might be the biggest champion of Cats out there, hitting back at the haters by calling it "an incredible piece of art", and asking, "What the hell do they know? Have they made a film ever in their life?"

However, it’s important to note that Derulo is on a crusade of his own, and has his own highly-specific complaint about Cats: "They CGI-ed the d*** out."

That’s right, Derulo takes issue with the fact his character Rum Tum Tugger had his pants bulge airbrushed into oblivion. Fight the good fight, sir.

Francesca Hayward

The real-life ballerina starred as a newly-introduced character called Victoria in Cats, and told W Magazine that none of the cast  is "taking the criticism personally". In fact, they’re all approaching it in good humour: "When there’s one of the cast in a meme, we share it and have a good giggle with each other."

That's something!

Dame Judi Dench

The grande dame herself has finally coughed up a hairball her reaction to Cats. Unfortunately, due to an eyesight impairment, she is yet to see the movie (much like any of her recent works). However, she had plenty to tell Vogue about her outfit: "The cloak I was made to wear! Like five foxes f**king on my back." She had apaprently hoped to appear much more elegant as Old Deuteronomy, but given she was filmed in front of a green screen, she didn't know how she would turn out until she was shown a picture after the fact. She tells Vogue, apparently appaled, that she looked like "a battered, mangy old cat... A great big orange bruiser. What’s that about?" Judi has spoken!

Header Image: Handout via Getty Images Entertainment