"Cats" trailer reveals Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, Jason Derulo as singing felines
"Cats" first premiered on London's West End 38 years ago and the hit musical, which also ran on Broadway for 18 years, will soon be back and bigger than ever — on the silver screen, that is. The first trailer for the upcoming "Cats" film was revealed on Friday, and fans got a glimpse of what Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift and other stars look like as singing and dancing felines.
As Jennifer Hudson belts the iconic song "Memory," the star-studded cast makes their first introduction in the trailer. Hudson plays Grizabella, Idris Elba plays Macavity and James Corden is Bustopher Jones.
The all-star lineup does not end there: Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, Taylor Swift, and Jason Derulo also star in the film adaptation of the legendary musical. Newcomer Francesca Hayward will star as the Ballerina.
A combination of makeup and CGI appears to be used to transform the human actors into cats — and some fans found the metamorphosis unappealing. Several Twitter users used words like "weird" "disturbing" and "horrifying" to describe the cat makeovers.
The #cats trailer is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen.
— kat (@smolone4) July 19, 2019
Follow up thought: I think if their faces were much more cat-like/anthro, the weird worm fur bodies would probably not be as jarring. Just make them cats, go broadway or go steps closer to furry LOL not this weird what we do in the shadows in between
— manda manda manda (@Manda_AMSBT) July 19, 2019
The fact that Cats is basically a more realistic Avatar is horrifying but I literally CANNOT WAIT
— Georgia Kate (@Georgia_Kate18) July 19, 2019
While the costumes are not what fans of the stage show had in mind, the music by Andrew Lloyd Webber remains the same. Only this time, star recording artists are belting out the hits.
There are also several powerhouses who worked behind the scenes of the film. Academy Award-winning director Tom Hopper directed and wrote the screenplay, which is of course based on the stage production — which, in turn, was based on poet T. S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats." Hopper also directed best-picture winner "The King's Speech" and the musical-turned-movie "Les Misérables."
"Hamilton" choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler choreographed the film, which is due out this holiday season.