#you know macavity from the cats stage musical | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cillyscribbles · 2 months

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munkuposting (metastrap?) for the jellinclined (i am so sorry)

you tell me i'm insane but i know my truth and my truth is that munkustrap wants to help her. he wants to reach out and help her up like he just helped jennyanydots during her song. he leans down and it's not just so he can look at her better. it's not just cause there's no point to his defensive stance here except for her to see, for him to communicate she's unwanted, and he knows it. shit dude the guy can't look her in the eyes for longer than 5 seconds.

like come on. munkustrap's running after old deuteronomy and the rest of the older/less agile cats so much in this goddamn film he might as well be Munkustrap the Mobility Aid Cat. man knows what he wants in life and that's going on as many walks with senior citizens hanging off his arm as physically possible and neither god nor the heaviside layer will stand in his way.

his responsibility's a whole different thing, though. look at the lad puffing up when grizabella shows up. that's a guard he uses against perceived threats like macavity and it's well and warranted then, but what in the name of ye olde cat gods is the old lady gonna do? garbage stink them all to death? it's performative as hell on purpose. both of them know she's not gonna jump him and he doesn't need to protect himself or his fellow cats from her physically.

in the macavity scares, odd as it might look on a person, The MunkuStance™ is a genuine threat. he's up above everyone else or he's one of the few cats on the stage, he's spreading himself out to look bigger, he HISSES lmao.

look at the lad. hissssss lmao i love him.

not only is he saying i won't hesitate bitch he's also establishing himself as The Guy You Fight. if you're an outsider looking in, you're probably not gonna notice Mr Mistoffelees Scampering Through The Pipes Again, but you sure as hell are gonna see the Snarling Tabby Fresh From Hell hopping around in the middle of the stage with his legs 16 kilometers apart at all times. and okay, doing that for the entire musical sure is a Choice, but it's a Character Choice, and mr michael gruber the man you are. the star that you are. i want to send him flowers and chocolate and a card. i would greatly like to do that.

with grizabella though? jesus christ she's about as threatening as a patchy sock. it's not even his first instinct to go Tall Big Puffy when he's trailing after her because there's genuinely nothing to defend against there.

he just sort of slowly stands into it as though he's forgotten he was supposed to be Protecting for a second. the stance, the threat, all that's only there to set a dynamic. it's there to say you're not one of us, we don't like you, please go away, but he's half-assing it so much it loses all its i won't hesitate bitch and turns into i have never hesitated so hard in my entire life. he still establishes himself as The Guy You Fight, but it's obvious grizabella isn't about to fight anyone, so now he's just The Guy She's Staring In Incredulous Longing At, and he can't even hold her gaze for long enough to pretend it's not getting to him because at his core he's not a bad person and he knows that all this is kind of a Dick Move.

this is what makes munkustrap so dummy god tier as a character to me. he may wish he could help grizabella. hell he may even want her back, if not as openly as old deuteronomy does. when all the cats scuttle away and turn their backs to grizabella before memory reprise, munkustrap never even fucking bothers ?? like he's straight up just watching her, and then later watching old deuteronomy watch her like with the most somber wee eyebrows up so can we finally do something about this expression i've ever seen on a performer lmao.

but that means nothing without the approval of the entire tribe! absolutely nothing! because munkustrap, in that regard, is exactly like old deuteronomy: what he wants comes second to what the jellicles want. it's harder to see in him because old deuteronomy is mostly up on the tire being cat jesus and munkustrap mingles with the rest of the ensemble way more, but it's really obvious when you look. they defer to his leadership, but he defers to their collective decisions.

he moves mistoffelees away from grizabella (just like the rest of the older cats) because mistoffelees doesn't know any better and grizabella is untouchable, but then he stalls and waits when demeter reaches out to her. like, i'm pretty sure he would've just let her touch grizabella right then and there. had demeter been a little less aware of the fact that this was the first 30 minutes of the musical, i'm pretty sure she would've just taken grizabella back in right then and there and memory wouldn't have even been necessary. munkustrap sure wasn't about to do shit about it.

he's actively leaning back to give her space!! (i know logistically that it's mr michael giving an opening for ms aeva to execute her Conflicted Scuttle Away but munkustrap is still leaning back however you put it so i'm right automatically. haw yee)

i'm fascinated by it specifically because this way it's almost as though munkustrap is an extension of the jellicle collective, if that makes sense. obviously he's the narrator so we can't give him a complex emotional storyline if we want to keep the aryas in single digits, but in turn this means that now he's a character who chooses to forgo his own feelings in favour of those of his community, and that's just, man, that's just. man. ca(s)t of all time for real. a guardian and a weapon and a storyteller and a teacher and not one of those for his own sake. Man.

tl;dr, old deuteronomy can be hella proud of his kid, and i can eventually stop crying. also here are the gifs of him finally getting to comfort grizabella a little. experience emotions with me.

unfortunately i have similar (if slightly less rambling) thoughts on tugger and why he's constantly being such a massive cunt to grizabella lmao. if you guys are unfortunate enough i may subject myself to the giffing and writing of that post too. toodlepip ✌️

#jellicle cats #cats 1998 #cats the musical #munkustrap #grizabella #cilly.txt #because lets be honest this isnt much in terms of art or writing lmao #woe. long post be upon ye #but tumblr usually shortens these one these days anyway

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thepineconelord · 5 months

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I need you to know that I'm spending so much time on my list and now I'm UNO REVERSING IT!!! What if you told me all about your top ten favorite cats characters 🥺🥺🥺

ok bestie i took a hot minute with this one but, uh, there's no reason why

ANYWAY

1.Mistoffelees

this should surprise no one. hes my magical little guy. so charming and fun and he gets a cool song and dance. he's never been played by a straight person he's winning

2.Munkustrap

someday if im lucky ill be just like him. hes such a solid and comforting presence on stage and he gets all the best character interactions.

3.Demeter

she's just,, like,, idk she grows on you. she's so important but so unseen, she's yellow! i really don't know what it is, but I couldn't put anyone else in the top 3 ok. I love her choreography and the way she's so contrary and captivating.

4. Skimbleshanks

he was my og fav when I watched for the first time and I'm always happy to see him :))). i love his song and his little vest and the way he moves, as it's a little different compared to the rest of the cats. also i love trains

5. Macavity

tbh this one really just comes down to the musical-esq silliness of him. like hes so glittery and everyone yells his name when he shows up, and he does little ballet twirls, but also he's so so evil. also obsessed with productions where he beats munkustrap's ass lmao

6. John Partrid--- I mean uh The Rum Tum Tugger (or rocky tam tam if ur french)

look, just, that's a man. an attractive man in tight black clothing who just moves his hips like crazy. but also hes like a pillar of the community and hes so goofy and fhueujfhsjkdafhajks. Never have I known a character that could steal Hua Cheng's line about sincerity and have it fit so well. tbh I could probably put him higher on my list, just due to the sheer amount of thoughts I have about him, but I'm not a basic bitch.

7. Tantomile

love the idea that a cat is psychic, love her makeup and choreography. I always watch how she interacts with other characters, and her presence on stage is always so good

8. Coricopat

they can't be separated. anyway i like him for many of the same reasons I like Tantomile, but he's lower on the list bcuz idk vibes ig? I just love the both of them as an element to the tribe ya know?

9. Bombalurina !

obsessed with her complex portrayal of female sexuality, she's always got such a good voice, her relationships with other characters is fucking fantastic. the only reason she's not higher on this list is bcuz i don't personally relate to her that much, but she's just such a good character ;-;

10. Jemima

i just love her ok. I love the way she fits into the community and how her few moments in the spotlight hold such significance. i love the moments she gets with victoria, and i just think shes neat. a very good manifestation of the expression "from the mouths of babes"

bonus: 11. victoria (im not explaining or putting a picture you just gotta know ok)

also this list probably changes daily, i love the whole cast of characters so much

#cats the musical #pinecone moment #fern tag fern tag

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ashtonisvibing · 10 months

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okay, muffins have been consumed, let's fucking go-

so, i should preface this by saying that i haven't seen cats (2019) yet. so mayhaps i was the one mischaracterizing mr. mistoffelees, but judging on the clips i've seen, i think i've got a pretty solid idea on what they've done to him. and oh god it isn't good-

if you've never seen any stage production of the original musical... well, go watch it. right now. like straight up, here's a link to the 1998 filmed production. trust me, it is as weird as you think it is, but it's fucking amazing in how weird it is. it makes no sense and honestly that's why i personally love it.

now, if you still don't wanna watch it, fine then. might as well fill you in myself. mr. mistoffelees is one of the characters in the musical, obviously. he's described as "the magical cat". in the musical that's taken very literally, he performs magic tricks for the cast and audience, and (SPOILERS) is the one to summon old deuteronomy after he's kidnapped by macavity. i'm assuming he's supposed to represent the type of cat that causes things to happen without you figuring out how, almost like it was magic that caused it.

mistoffelees, from what i've seen, is extremely proud of his magical abilities. he's described as incredible and mystical, and he very much flaunts those titles. sure, it's not him singing his title song (that would be rum tum tugger), but there's never a moment where he seems to disagree or try to humble himself. he's the incredible and magical mr. mistoffelees and god does he fucking know it. for all my fellow jacksepticeye fans, he's just fanon marvin but as a literal tuxedo cat.

so, how did they mischaracterize him in the 2019 film? by stripping all of his confidence away. like i said, i haven't seen the movie so i'm just going off of clips i've seen from his song. but it seems that either laurie davidson (mistoffelees' actor) or some other force decided to make the magical cat this shy and under confident character. he talks about the things he can do like he's trying to prove to the cast that he can do magic. instead of just... confidently proclaiming "yeah, i can do magic!"

this may just be a me experience, but when it came to school talent shows (at least in media), there was always a joke about the one middle schooler who did a magic act. usually this magic act would be poorly done, just simple magic kit tricks. mr. mistoffelees in the 2019 film feels like that kid, but he's very much aware that he's the magic act. he knows he's just walked on stage in a goofy magician outfit with his magic kit and he's about to get laughed at. and that's not mr. mistoffelees. i don't think i need to repeat how mistoffelees is supposed to be, i've already said it multiple times.

i don't even really care that they had him sing his own song. sure, it takes away the entire point of the jellicle cats singing about each other (they're a community that loves and respects each other), but whatever. honestly, it makes a little sense that the cat that's so confident about himself sing... well, about himself. but you can't then completely reverse who he is as a character.

and this isn't the only mischaracterization we see. victoria is changed from some one off cat to the star of the show (and they by extension mischaracterized jemima by giving her relevance to victoria but that's probably a different post altogether). grizabella is shown to shy away from touch even though the whole point of her character was that she wanted to be touched by a jellicle cat, thus meaning she was accepted into the group again. bustopher jones is shown as a slob who eats out of the garbage even though he's supposed to be an aristocrat cat (an aristocat if you will) that's fed extremely well. and i can't put my finger on it but there's just something about jennyanydots in the film that just doesn't feel right.

all in all tom hooper, the director of this movie, just... did not understand anything about this production. he didn't understand the music (but if you've seen the movie adaptation of the musical adaptation of les misérables then you'd already know that), he doesn't understand the story. and he, quite probably, didn't understand the characters. cuz my god how did you fuck most of them up?

#ashton is talking #cats the musical #cats (2019)#hello to the one of you that will read this and understand anything i just wrote #and to the two that read this but understood nothing i'm sorry (no i'm not)

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forthegothicheroine · 2 years

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Some reflections on a second party screening of Cats 2019

Having now seen the actual show when it was put online during quarantine, I can appreciate a lot more of what works in the show and doesn’t in the movie. In addition to problems like “making Jennyanydots awful” and “why does Macavity even want to be reborn when he’s doing fine?” it also adds the problem that Grizabella, the May Queen Jellicle Choice, really only shows up once for an introduction and then again for the finale. This doesn’t matter in the stage show because it’s a revue and everyone just shows up for their own song and then the finale, but it’s really weird when Victoria and Mistoffelees are off having their own plot.

The fun thing about seeing it at a party screening is the reactions of the audience. Everyone sang along with Memories and unironically cheered for Skimbleshanks and booed every reprise of Beautiful Ghosts and the mere appearance of Taylor Swift. (This didn’t happen at the Boston screening- we may have had some Dedicated Swift Haters here!)

I think Ian McKellen’s problem is actually that he’s acting too intensely! As an actor rather than a singer, he puts all his focus into catlike mannerisms that interrupt the actual song. I feel you Ian, I’ve been that kind of actor before.

I still have questions about why Grizabella palling around with Macavity ruined her looks! Are we meant to assume he got her hooked on drugs and then cast her off? Her character is already sad when she’s just a formerly fancy fluffy cat who’s fallen on hard times, but that’s really dark! And yet I don’t know what else I’m supposed to think happened from palling around with Macavity!

I want to bring Bertolt Brecht back from the dead and ask him what he thinks of the Macavity number in this movie. I think he might like it!

I do still kind of love young awkward shy Mistoffelees! I’m not hung up on shipping him with anyone in particular (I’m told which other cats he gets sexy with depends on the actors in an individual production and whether they have him just dance with Rum Tum Tugger or a bunch of the others.)

I meant it when I said this movie has the same opening as Batman Returns! The people hated Mira Forthegothicheroine because she spoke the truth!

My film history professor, relating his experiences working on Moonraker, once said “Nobody sets out to make a bad movie.” I wonder at what point the general cast and crew went from thinking they would win oscars to wondering what they had gotten themselves into.

I’m always going to think of Roy Cohn in Angels in America when I talk about this musical. (”Cats! Singing cats! You’ll love it! No, you wouldn’t like La Cage aux Folles...”)

I bet HP Lovecraft would be really into the idea of Jellicles.

My new OC: the Ulthar Cat!

#cats 2019

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herooffire101 · 1 year

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Magic Cats, and Dragons too, I guess

Okay, this is going to be probably a long one, because I really was, I don't know, prompted by @dididems to infodump on my Cats Magic AUs. I love it when there is magic in stories (please don't assume in relation to that, I prefer a semi-different magic system). and in fanfic as well. My love of magic predates me first reading that author, though I don't exactly remember which book I read that had magic within it. I think it was a book titled A Book Dragon by Donn Kushner that got me into dragons and magic, alongside Dragonology books by the fictional author Ernest Drake. Keep in mind, this love of dragons is just my background on magic and fiction, not the forefront of this infodump.

Now, before me diving into my Cats headcanons with magic, I want to give a generic background on my stance on magic. No, I'm not talking about those silly wand-wavers. I'm talking about Wandless magic. The kind in DnD, The Dresden Files (I haven't even read them, I only know about it because of what I call pop-culture osmosis), in most fantasy genres. Magic is energy, and can be exercised and increased, strengthed. In one original story, and many fanfictions in my head, there can be three general categories. One is Power-type, which means that they can't cast a lot of magic, but the spells they can do are powerful. Another is Technical-type. They have access to a lot of spells, but they don't have a lot of power behind them. The third type is the combo type. Power-Tech. They are the semi-rarest, and the strongest of casters. They can understand a lot about magic in general, and have not only variety, but also the strength to put behind them. In my magic system, those with Autism, especially Asperger's and High Functioning Autism, are more likely to be the combo type. And this isn't getting into Elemental Magic. In my magic system, users have a main element type, and leanings to more subtype elements. For example, one of my fanfics main character has a Fire element main and Lightning sub type (and she's a dragon but this is my fanfic.) She is absolutely weak to Ice, so she can't use Ice.

With this as an example, it's time to go into my Cats Magic AUs. What I do is give them Elemental Magic. Mainly, Fire-Water-Earth-Lightning elemental magic. This is mainly towards Bombalurina, The Rum Tum Tugger, Munkustrap, and Demeter ( and Macavity but we'll get there). Bombalurina I personally associate with Fire, and Demeter is Lightning (color-coded for our convianance). With the Deut bros, Tugger is Earth, and Munk is Water. For Cats, I will not be using my usual Magic system of three spell-casting categories. I didn't do this when I gave them magic, so I will make it easier on myself. You are welcome to use the system in your stories, I just request that you credit me.

Now, onto my reasoning behind these associations. Bombalurina is definitely a powerful character, that much is true. She has the ability (definitely aided by magic) to draw attention. This can be used in a multitude of ways. I acknowledge that this can be a double edged sword. Reason why in my Cats fics, I make Bombalurina the granddaughter of Gus the Theater Cat. He has the same power, and has taught her how to use it correctly. But, seeing how she is autistic/"a weird little kit", it's hard to figure out that she is unintentionally drawing attention to herself. Both Tugger and Munk are drawn to her, though in different ways. Through Gus and Asparagus Jr, she inherited what is known as the "Flames of Creation". These flames are going to be important later. Gus, well, is the Theater Cat. He's an actor on stage. He can create and define roles. Asparagus Jr is creative through music in my fics. He is a songwriter, a composer. Bombalurina has both of that. But, more than anything, she's a dancer. She can draw attention through dance. Hell, her interruption in the Jellicle Ball is her bringing order from the beginning chaos. She is a bright flame, and also warm. Bomba is the warm campfire, where you sing songs, share stories, roast marshmallows.

Demeter, I feel, is sparky. She's staticy, and filled with attention-bringing boom. Demeter has Lightning, or I say Electric sometimes because English is hard, elemental magic. She also has the same attention grabbing magic Bomba has, regardless when they are sisters or not. When they are sisters, Demeter inherited lightning from Jellylorum, who I personally headcanon as Bomba's and Demeter's mother. When they are not sisters, I...haven't thought that far head yet. There is a reason why, in my Cats fics that I posted here, I hinted to both of Bomba's and Demeter's tempers. Bomba has a burning temper, and Demeter has a lightning-quick temper. For example, in my entry to @jelliclekay 's Tuggerulina week prompt "Protection", I wrote this: "Angry Bomba he could deal with. Angry Demeter? No way in hell. He will stay away from that thunderstorm if he could help it." Even Tugger is afraid of Demeter's temper, and that's saying something, because of what I associate his element to be. Demeter is both the essential boon of electricity and yet the dangerous current that comes down from the sky.

Tugger's element is what we walk on every day. He is Earth. He's a solid foundation of the Jellicle Tribe. I headcanon Grizbella as Macavity's, Munkustrap's, and Tugger's mother, so in a sense, Tugger inherited his Earth element and the ability to draw attention to himself is from Grizabella. Above, I mention that Tugger is afraid of Demeter's temper, even though Earth nullifies Electric, ala real life and Pokemon Logic (I play Pokemon, not competitively). He is the calming voice, something he got from Deuteronomy, for not only for Bomba and Demeter, but Munk as well. Bomba and Tugger are drawn to each other, thus Tuggerulina. He's the slowest to anger, but when he does get angry, his is earthshaking. I believe that we all know what can happen with earthquakes, and if not, please refer to Animanics "A Quake" song.

Munk, calm as a river, is Water. He's the calmest, though he can become the devestating wave when need be. Water is also Old Deuteronomy's element as well, thus he is next in line. Munk I find, from reading a lot of fanfics and also @munku-collar 's stuff, is a very calm individual and loving, so he is that calm body of water, the protector, and can sleep heavily (really, he's not an imsomiaic). But, when his loved ones are threatened, then his water turns to Ice. He is that freezing, driving rain, that soaks you to your bones. He is the opposite of Macavity. Munk will protect his family, including his lovely wife Demeter.

Now, Macavity. He's Fire as well, but the bad kind of fire. He is the fire that destroys homes, forests. He is the Wildfire, holding the "Flames of Destruction", the opposite of Bomba's "Flames of Creation." He may be warm, but his flames will burn you. The only cats that he can't burn is Bomba, and Munk, mainly because of her fire resistance and his element puts the flames out. Tugger does have a resistance to Macavity's flames because of his Earth element, but not much. Macavity is drawn to both Bomba and Demeter, mainly because they hold very similar spark of magic like Grizabella that enables them to bear the heirs of Deuteronomy.

Now, what does that mean to kittens? Depending on what AU I'm using, the familial relationships differ. What kind of familial relationship there is, can decide what magic the kittens get. In AUs where Jemima is a Demecavity kitten, then Jemima has more of Lightning or Water, mainly because alternate elements than the parents own element can appear in the kitten/child. That's how Macavity's fire appeared from the pairing of Deuteronomy (Water-element based) and Grizabella (Earth element based). In AUs where Jemima is a Demestrap kitten, then most likely Water. And, in AUs where Jemima is a Tuggerulina kitten, Jemima is definitely Fire, having the Flames of Creation. The reason why I used Jemima is because of many different views of who Jemima's parents are. I will never, ever, give Jemima the "Flames of Destruction" because she's very compassionate and can't ever see her having it. Her magic in the story is more kind, more...ethereal. She can never have the Flames of Destruction.

With this out there, I can go in more depth with certain characters and how my magic system work, once I can figure out more of it. Anyway, this was a fun thing to do and I hope that this is a fun read for you all.

#cats the musical #magical cats #bombalurina #the rum tum tugger #demeter cats #munkustrap #jemima cats #cats headcanons #macavity #I was prompted for this #didiems enjoy!#I like magic how about you

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quibbs126 · 1 year

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So I was listening to the Macavity song from the Cats musical earlier, and now I want a Cookie Run character like that. Though specifically, the “Napoleon of crime” bit (which I’m given to understand is a title also given to Moriarty, and a real person too), and the idea of this Cookie being the boss of other notorious thieves, who are just agents for them

Granted, if you go that route, it’d probably be best to wait until you have more thief or criminal characters, and to set up that they have a possible boss. Right now, as far as I can tell, we really only have Roguefort and Chili Pepper, and Chili Pepper I know at least is entirely self serving, so she wouldn’t be working for them (Roguefort I don’t know)

Like, maybe if you want to tie them into the plot somehow, they try (and likely succeed) to steal the Soul Jams, for whatever reason they have for doing so (maybe just money, but that feels too basic. Same thing with more power, considering they’re already the biggest criminal). Maybe you could also tie Chili Pepper in, since she’s part of the Gingerbrave group, and while not a part of this Cookie’s payroll, she as a thief knows about them

For the character themselves, probably something relatively elusive. Like, no one’s sure exactly who they are, and they aren’t sure if they use actual magic or if it’s all staged, stuff like that. Oh also, they’re a Super Epic, given their status (like Clotted Cream and Oyster)

Also maybe they have a song about them. I dunno

#also given the Macavity being ginger thing make this cookie something a red/orange color #I just think this’d be cool #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run oc #cats musical #random stuff

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cassandra-has-moonlit-eyes · 1 year

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Macskák Budapest 06.11.2022

I finally have some time and the right mood to write something about this pruduction. It was very confusing but I have a ticket for March ... I think ... I hope next time will be less confusing. Have some unorginzed thoughts about this pruduction which I scribbled in my note book on the train ride back.

Budapest is the oldest still running non replica as far as I know. They changed some things over time but it still feels like a relic from another time but in a very good way. You may want to say it “conserved” some of the more early aspects of the production especially musically which I really enjoyed.

The theatre, the Madách Szinház, seemed very old. The sitting rows were very narrow and I loved the whole flair it had a lot. (Auf Wienerisch würd ich urig sagen) It was fully booked, a lot of family with children.

I had some problem with the ticket and very few people in Hungary speak English (compared to other european cuntries) but they were very nice and helped me a lot. After showing them my receit they wrote the ticket per hand on a piece of paper and got me to the only english speaking person to show me my seat. Very friendly.

They do not sell merch or a programme, which is, what an Hungarian friend told me, quite usual for hungary.

The play itself is performed in Hungarian. I do not speak Hungarian (apart from 3 words and 3 phrases) so I can make no comment about translation or lyrics but the language is very beautiful in my opinion and the songs sounded amazing.

It doesn’t use the Lynne choreo but they use their own choreo.

The orchester and the singing was absolutly amazing and I loved it a lot. There were 17 actors on the list but I think there were more on stage, more dancers especially but I didn’t count them.

At first I was very confused with the characters. So it could be that I mix some of them up in the review. Before I go next time I’m going to watch the video 2-3 beforehand lol. I was so confused so I didn’t notice much character vise. I only remember I really liked the Quaxo character but more to him later.

There is no Demeter, but a character called Lengelingéla who is a mixture of Jellylorum, she sings opera with Gus, Jemima, she sings the sunlight part, and Demeter, she sings Grizabella the Glamour Cat. So yeah, she basically sang half of the time.

But she doesn’t sing Macavity. There are like two Bombalurinas doing that and I couldn’t tell them apart.

There are also two people filling the role of Munkustrap, one of them being Quaxo. I loved that Quaxo character a lot. Munkustrap played one of the pirates while he played one of the Siamese. All in all this Quaxo character sang a lot what Munkustrap would sing usually. He sang the Old Gumbie Cat instead of him and he sang Old Deutoronomy with Munkustrap. So Tugger isn’t part of that number. The Gumbie Cat Number was all in all very diffrent. She hid a large drum and Quaxo did the tap dancing. Didn’t seem like a battle either.

And because Demeter doesn’t exist the Macavity screams also went to Munkustrap and Quaxo.

There are also two Mistoffelees. The dancing Mistoffelees is also Macavity so a very stressful role towards the end of the play. There is also a singing Mistoffelees who only came out during his number.

Even though we had two actors for some roles, Bustopher and Gus were still played by the same actor. Now some notes to some numbers: in no order.

I loved the Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer a lot because it was the first time hearing the original version and really fits so much more. It sounds so much more crimy.

There were no pekes and pollicles and the ball choreography was much more ball like than the Lynne choreo.

Also Bustopher pops out of a trashcan which has Szinház (theatre) written on it so that was a fun entrence.

The most new/weird one was the Growltiger number. It was that original version with the Billy song. At one part Gorwltiger and the Jellylorum/Jemima/Demeter character were sitting on a swing and and swinging over the heads of the audience. I was lucky to sit very much on one side of the rows so it wasn’t over my head lol. The siamese wore east asian inspired costumes and had fans which made for an interesting dance but it looked really ... yeah I’m not going into that. I just say they kept some more of the old stuff of cats which is criticed nowadays. And yes, they fought with pencils against each other not with knives and forks.

Apart from these “asian” costumes I really liked the costume choiuces. Some of it locked crocheted.

Mistoffelees did some magic tricks and threw cards into the audience.

I found it little bit sad that Tugger basically only has his number, because his other numers are given to Quaxo and Mistoffelees II.

They also had a child on stage during the Mistoffelees number, which was kind of fun.

All in all I would say it was a very interesting and different experience then watching a replica but in my opinion that is what makes theatre so great and differantiates it form cinema. You have one text but the text is changeable and it changes with each production and each evening.

I will propably watch it more often because it’s a very short trainride (2,5 hours) form Vienna, the tickes are very cheap compared to other production (I think like 20-30 Euro for first or second row) and I simply love hearing it live. I didn’t enjoy the choreography as much because I’m obsessed with the Lynne choreo but the actors put so much fun into it and the orchester was really great as well as the singing and this is worth a lot to me too.

I hope next time I’m not as exhausted as last time and that I can observe and write a little bit more because it was an experience.

#macskák #cats the musical #text #spät aber doch

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munku-collar · 2 years

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OK so let's talk about demeter and how sexy she actually is cause there seems to be an ignorance in these parts.

Shes just straight up rubbing herself while reminiscing of Macavity, getting horned up, and it always gets missed? No one else does that in the musical. It is probs the most sexual part.

Macavity wants to get her back for a reason, and its probably cause of her body. How damn lively and hot she is. That fierceness she has. No one in the junkyard can throw it down like she can. People say Bombalurina has to be the sexy one, but why not both of them?

exactly this like she and bomba are literally a package deal of sexiness. that's why they have a duet. they're the 'It' girls of the tribe. and while bomba is flirtier/looks for outward sexual attention from others demeter is arguably the more sex-centered one, expressing her own sensuality in the show in a self confident way. she may not want to be touched by anyone else at present but she is not shy about touching herself and showing what she's got!!

what really gets me is like. it's only ever deme who has her sexiness stripped away. why the hell is she not allowed to be on the same level as bomba??? what makes her lesser than bomba??? and like you said macavity is literally obsessed with her and you can't tell me it has nothing to do with his physical attraction to her. she's gorgeous as fuck and has a dangerous edge. you can just tell by the way she sings and moves that she is EXPERIENCED and she knows exactly what she likes and doesnt like. like you said she basically touches herself in the song lmao that's why i posted a screenshot earlier like her hand is literally inches away from her clit in the choreography like HOW CAN YOU IGNORE THAT

and just in general sexual behavior and sex confidence is a major part of Cats as a show and people keep trying to sanitize it???? rum tum tugger does hip thrusts, shoves his ass in people's faces and fondles bomba's chest. plato and victoria have dance-sex on stage. rumple has at LEAST 3 ass shots. alonzo and cassandra are bending each other over and touching all the time. bomba flirts and shakes her ass and demeter touches herself and rolls her hips everywhere. like how do people look at all of that and decide that sexuality is not a key theme and think it's possible to completely detach it not only from the show itself but from character personalities and expressions???

like if you cant handle the fact that these cats FUCK you really shouldn't be here im sorry. grow up and accept it

#asks #ok to rb

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chasing-posts · 2 years

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Just finished Cats 2019... it was mostly bad. But I could almost see what they were going for. Because there are concepts and ideas where ALMOST works, but there are things that keep messing it up for one reason or another.

For instance I'll list some things I liked that work as a movie.

I like the idea of Macavity going around and kidnapping cats who sang in order to make himself the next Jellical choice by default. It's different than the play but in a good way, and is actually a good idea for a movie where rescuing the cats is part of the end goal. His intro is also pretty good, with him jumping on the sign and turning it into his wanted photo. The shot of him there along with his line and how he says it are good build up to him being a credible threat. (Pity they don't deliver)

Two numbers that really work in the movie and stand alone are the Rum Tum Tugger's number, and Skimbleshanks. Skimbleshanks was the BeST song in the movie and honestly, I would love to see Jason Derulo get to play Tugger on stage some time. I think he would do a really good job in the roll if given the chance.

I like Demeter taking on a more protector roll. In the play she's more skittish, but the movie gives her quite the defensive personality, where she almost acts like defender of the tribe, instead of that roll given to Munkustrap. It's different, but it's good different.

I like the Mungojerry and Rumpleteezer song. It's a lot slower, and has a bit more of a villianous vibe, but it's a lot of fun to watch. And it sort of fits their new rolls in the movie.

And that's it... how unfortunate.

Sadly the story falls flat and because it's less about "Cats" and more about Victoria. They gave her the roll of main character, when they really shouldn't. Victoria is a lovely cat in the play and her white fur stands out in a sea of colours and patterns that all the other cats have, but making her an audience insurgent waa a bad call because in this movie, she actually lacks a consistent character.

Sometimes she's confused and doesn't know what's going on, and other times she's on the same wavelength as everyone else. She also gets a weird amount of attention from...everyone. which at times almost makes it seem like the world is revolving around her, rather than her being a part of the world. We never learn why she wants to help Grizabella so much, and at the beginning, she was being side eyed and almost rejected, but then in just a few signs "Munkustrap" is worried about her and Mistoffelees because they disappeared, when all the cats scattered at the same time as she did!

There were also scenes that did not work for the movie, like the "Naming of Cats." In the show, it works because it's a part of the world building as well as an introduction to a lot of the cats who will not be getting musical numbers about themselves, but are still valuable members. Such as Alonzo, Demeter, Bombalurina, and Munkustrap. These cats never get their own songs, so it's important to drop the names here. As well as get into the psyche/ beliefs of a Jellical Cat and what their names means to them. (Its also creepy and cool!)

But the movie makes this seem like it might introduce a character arc for Victoria. When Demeter says "Victoria? That can't be your only name..." implying that Victoria was just a name that humans who abandoned her gave her, and so it's a name that will drag her down. So while she is exploring the life of a Jellical over the night, it might lead to her discovering who she truly is, and as such, discover her true name.

But...none of that happens. They don't even introduce a VERY important character in that number. Munkustrap! Without this name drop, he becomes a nameless character! Which is a really weird choice since he's Victoria's sort of mentor figure, as well as a pseudo leader until Old Deuteronomy arrives. Unless you saw the play, I'm sure most people would just call him "that grey cat who sure was in a lot of scenes."

(How can you go through a whole musical and introduce a main character, AND FORGET TO NAME THEM!!!)

And there's just a lot of inconsistencies with the music and the character actions. Songs will say and action or describe a character, and the cats will wither be doing said action, making it redundant, or they'll look completely opposite of how they were described. (Cough cough, Macavity).

There's just a lot of problems with the music, and effects that causes problems for the dancing.There is obviously a lot of thought, effort and practice into the dance of this movie, and sometimes, it looks lovely.... for moments at a time. But something always comes along to ruin it. Whether a sequence be interrupted to make poorly timed, unfunny jokes, the music becoming distracting due to a bad performance or choice or choice, or most often, the CGI getting in the way!

The CGI is atrocious and I hate the cardboard cut out effect it has on almost everyone's face at one point or another. But what I hate more is the fact that all the CGI covers up the dancing! There's so much caked on to cover the people or to make them jump/ move awkwardly, that it stops being a spectacle like it should be and instead covers up all the hard work the dancers originally put into the project to begin with. I can not for the life of me not understand why they would do this! They could could have used costumes, than CGI'd in a tail or moving ears. But instead what we got was somewhere between awkward and horrific in a lot of places!

In the end, this movie was a mess! And I've already thought of a few ways to improve the movie that I'll share later. But yeah this was... not good.

Also too many of the cats were straight! Where the f*ck is bisexual legend The Rum Tum Tugger. Gay AF Mistoffelees, queer/ poly everyone! The only poly ship we got in the movie was Victoria/Rumpleteezer/ Mungojerry, and they demonized it by the twins leaving her to die via dog for no reason. And the we only got a bit of queer subtext between Munkustrap and Skimbleshanks, and a touch of Mistoffelees/ Munkustrap in the Mistoffelees...."Number."

Which by the way, how DARE they mess up the Mistoffelees number so much. Not only did they kill all momentum repeated by his CONSTANT failure, not ONLY did they remove his signature dancing, not ONLY did they remove the amazing vocals (which by the way, Rum Tum Tugger should be saranating!!! (But he did do a little but of extra leg work in the final attempt to bring back Old Deuteronomy. I heard you sing Jason. You're vocals were amazing. Way to sneak that In)) but the song no longer works plot wise! Due to it's length and how many failed attempts there were, Old Deuteronomy would have drowned in the ocean by the time Mistoffelees was done singing. Growltiger/ Macavity were immediately trying to murder her after they brought her to the ship. And it should not take that long to push an old, senile cat off the plank, when you already got her lined up and a stick ready. It was a poor decision that should have been avoided.

But yeah I'm done for now. I'll offer my thoughts on how to fix/ improve the movie later. Because this movie can be fixed, it just needs some serious leg work and script editing.

#cats the musical #cats 2019 #movie thoughts #it was bad #but there was good in it #it could have been saved #jason derulo #Munkustrap #rum tum tugger #Mistoffelees #Jennyanydot #bustopher jones #Victoria #unedited thoughts #I wanna fix this

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jelliclekay · 2 years

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Cats 4/14/2022 in Roanoke, Virginia: My Thoughts and Review!

So, Roanoke itself is about 5.5 hour drive from me. It's a big longer than I'm comfortable driving, especially since I am unable to stay overnight in a hotel in the area due to work stuff. However, with it being so close to my birthday AND knowing this would be my last chance to see the current cast live, I decided to make the drive out.

I had two friends agree to go, one being my best friend who knows nothing about Cats but likes musicals, and another friend who not only loves Cats, but is literally named after Victoria the White Cat. I'll add their reviews at the end!

Act 1

Right away, the second Nick appeared on stage, someone in the audience shouted "FUCK YEAH MUNKUSTRAP" I knew at this moment I was in for a good time.

During Jellicle Songs, my best friend leaned over to me and went "Am I supposed to know what Jellicle means?" I know it isn't part of the show but it made me laugh anyways

The Naming of Cats is much better live. It's one of my least favorite songs/moments in 98, but seeing it live is such a different experience.

Hyla was amazing during the White Cat Solo! When I went to see the show in January, I saw a lot of swings and Gracie was on as Victoria at that one. She was great, but it was such a joy to see the primary cast.

The Rum Tum Tugger is always fun. Obviously, I'm bias here but the energy Zach puts out in his Tugger performances is next level. He got the entire audience roaring. Also, every time he interacted with Misto and Bombalurina I was living!

Lauren during Grizabella almost made me cry. You can tell her portrayal of Demeter is a Demeter who still cares so much for Griz, and seeing her reach out to her and then force herself away from her just made my heart hurt.

Bustopher Jones. My best friend leaned over to me and went "big chungus cat." That's all.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer! I saw Allison and she was incredible. Her Rumpleteazers were so cheeky, and her and Max have great chemistry! Also the double cartwheel is back! The audience cheered super loud as they did it too.

Old Deuteronomy. I saw Nick Munk, and he really reminds me of Gruberstrap. He plays Munk a bit more seriously than Devon did, and him and Zach sound phenomenal together.

The Jellicle Ball! It's always so good. Tugger and Bombalurina danced a lot during it, which of course made me really happy. Also seeing Grizabella in the back attempting to dance along with them but being unable to hurt a lot.

Act 2

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer showed up late for the Moments of Happiness and got a stern look from Old Deut

Brianna Kim's Sillabub voice is honestly adorable. She embodies such a childlike wonder in her singing and I loved it (and so did my best friend, she complimented Sillabub so much after the show)

Gus! Okay, here's the part I really wanted to talk about. The other performance I went too, the audience was silent all through Gus. This audience, however? Wow. Every little gag and joke Jelly and Gus did had the audience laughing. And the Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles was phenomenal. You could tell John could feel the energy of the audience, and he went all out during Pekes and the Pollicles. It was an absolute riot and I'm so glad I got to see Gus and Jelly get the applause they deserve.

Skimbleshanks! So happy I got to see Chris' Skimble. He radiates JOY.

Macavity. GOD, do Lauren and Chelsea sound incredible together. Chelsea's Bombalurina kills me, her voice is so smoky and deep and also she's hot. Lauren also is obviously inspired by Aeva May in her Demeter portrayal, which I love because Aeva May's Demeter is the blueprint.

Mr. Mistoffelees! What else can I add that hasn't been said- Paul and Zach kill it everytime. Paul clearly loves being in Cats and being Mr. Mistoffelees and you can see it in his dancing and facial expressions how happy he is.

Memory. Probably a moment I will never forget. Taylor Harris' singing is amazing, and right before she belted the climax, me and my friend who knows Cats just held on to each other and sobbed.

The Ad-Dressing of Cats is one of my favorite songs in the world, and they all sounded amazing and I have to give shout out to the booth singers because I know we have them to thank for making the final of the musical as magical as it is!

My best friend who knew nothing about Cats came out of it really liking it! She said it isn't in her top musicals, but she had a deep appreciation for the work the cast puts into their singing and dancing. Also hrt favorite cats are Sillabub and Skimbleshanks.

That's all I have! Sorry for the ramblings- I had some issues with the way the orchestra rushed certain parts, but my criticisms are so miniscule. The show was phenomenal and I'm so glad I got to see this cast live one more time!

#cats the musical #cats us tour 6 #cats us tour 2021

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the-metaphorical-jellicle-cat · 2 years

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Macavity the Mystery Cat (2019)

This analysis was a long time coming. I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve written one and I brought that up on Tumblr. After posing the question, a few mutuals said they were still interested in what I had to say. And here we are.

When I first heard Taylor Swift was cast as Bomablurina in the Cats 2019 film, I was very skeptical. I was going through a phase where I did not like Taylor Swift for some reason or another. I don’t know. Anyway, Like with Jason Derulo, I had to put my opinion aside to try my best to write an unbiased analysis. I didn’t even know Taylor Swift could sing Broadway or in that style. I’ll save my final comments about her performance and version of the song to the end like I usually do. So here we go.

Also, this ended up being 7 pages. The longest I have ever written for any of my analyses of this film.

Warning! The following is what I think and found in this particular scene. If you reblog and comment, please be respectful. Thank you.

Right at the start of the track, I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard the classic instrumentals for close to 10 seconds. This is then given a simple boost by an electric guitar, high hat, and piano which tells me and the audience this is going to be both familiar and new. This section also has what I like to call “Macavity’s theme” which is heard throughout the show on stage as well as in the film. But this is also 30 seconds of instrumentals to open this song. And we learn a lot about this version and the character singing it. It is suave, seductive with a bit of jazz to bring our attention to the who is singing. Speaking of seductive, Swift uses a breathy style of singing (if that makes any sense) to enforce this style of music.

Great touch there.

This is where I pretty much zone out. But for a good reason. I couldn’t stop listening because of how this is sung as well as the musical arrangement.

Then we get to about 1:32ish into the song and I think this is normally where the second character would start(?) but you can tell that there is at least a change in scenery due to how the brass do a “BAM!” type sound. This is a great idea since there is only one character singing.

The following is great instrumentation and another great example where the music is a character in itself. It’s very reminiscent of the stage version but it’s given an extra oomph much like the other songs in the film.

But then we get to what I think is another transition in the movie that doesn’t correlate to the track. This is around the 2:00 mark. She goes really quiet giving us a nice decrescendo but then we get sudden noise. It’s like she’s yelling at the camera or microphone which sounds off. However I can see the purpose in this in the next phrase and part of the song but as a listener, it made me uncomfortable.

We then hear a sharp noise when she sings the word “like”. This could mean many things such as telling us to listen to her. But it is an odd choice to have in this type of recording.

I still need to give kudos to the instrumentation because it sounds like a character in itself that improves upon what the artist is singing about.

Back to the song. We hear more about this cat called Macavity by this unknown female cat. She keeps repeating the same thing. He is a bad cat and has done some terrible things. However, this is constantly curbed by the fact it sounds like she is talking to herself rather than an audience. This is especially evident in a question/answer part of the song where she has a back and forth with herself. The speaker is constantly out of breath (though only in this section) and one can hear where there is supposed to be another person in the question/answer section. For those who want a reference, this is from 2:33-3:23. This is a huge chunk of the song.

But right after, we get to a section where other characters join in for a huge finale. The band goes all out with the horns, percussion, and strings creating an atmosphere of immersing the audience in the setting.

However, as I kept listening, I noticed that the character became out of sync with the chorus which took me out of the experience. But the character’s voice brought me back in when they sang by themselves.

The last fourth of the song is where it gets interesting.

The character is once again singing by herself, but she lists other cats who are agents of Macavity. Two of which we have met earlier in the story. But we still don’t know what her name is.

At 4:13 we get a new voice of a male character with whom we can only assume is Macavity himself. This is interesting since we have heard so much about him and he suddenly appears.

He then joins in to sing with the other cats and the one who’s been singing all along. This is an interesting choice and adds to the story of this specific song as given to us.

I do like how the music goes all out once again, highlighting the musical themes while also creating something new.

A great example of this is right after Macavity introduces himself. We hear an electric guitar. This creates and reminds us that this is something new.

However, the ending is a giant compilation of the song itself. It’s over the top. It’s bombastic. It’s telling us that even though Macavity is a dangerous creature, he also is an over-the-top showman who wants attention and wants something but we don’t know what.

Now onto the scene itself. In the film, this takes place immediately after Skimbleshanks is catnapped.

This scene takes full advantage of the old theater aesthetic. From the painted clouds to the crescent moon. The first shot is beautiful with (again) the painted clouds and a spotlight highlighting the interruption. The spotlight especially showcases the shadow of the crescent moon and because of the ceiling being the way it is, the audience can’t tell who is on it. All of which brings the mystery even further.

If you look closely, the clouds move downward as the moon piece does. We also get a quick look at the Misto, Victoria, and the rest of the Jellicles who have a constant look of curiosity. Victoria is more so than the others which tells us that they might know who this is.

The first glimpse of the crescent moon tells us three things. First, the moon prop is glittery, has stripes, and lights meaning it is over the top. Second, the cat on the said prop is a queen wearing heeled shoes. And third, they are holding something.

The camera gives us another quick shot of the Jellicles, but this time it’s of Old Deuteronomy and Munkustrap.

When the camera is brought back to the cat on the moon, we can see more of the shoes and the object they are holding. The shoes are very reminiscent of the showgirl shows of the 1930s which is period-accurate since the film takes place in the 1930s. The object looks to be a miniature shaker of some sort that has red, silver, and gold rhinestones as well as the word CATNIP on it in silver rhinestones.

This tells us that this is going to be a show whether we like it or not.

Then we get a shoe of everyone looking up and the camera shows Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer holding the same bottles as the guest. Rumpleteazer is looking down as if she is looking at the rest of the Jelllicles while Mungojerrie is looking up at the sudden guest.

Right away when the guest sings, her tail keeps in time with the song which could mean various things but in this case, it means the animation is perfect for what we know about the character so far.

As the camera pans over the guest, we notice that she is settled into the moon and we get a great view of the set as well as the stage itself.

Now the guest taps some of the catnip powder onto the Jellicles which causes them to start acting odd. However, I don’t like what the camera does here or it might be because of the editing. It would have been better to stay on the Jellicles a bit longer to see the choreography the catnip makes them do rather than have a jump cut to the guest pouring more catnip. It would just make more sense from an audience point of view. They start doing choreography, but it stops because of that cut.

Back to the scene, we notice right away that this is not normal catnip. It is gold in color and has more severe effects than normal catnip.

In the next scene, we see Munkustrap encouraging Mistoffelees to take Victoria out of the theater. But the question is if he will succeed.

The guest then signals for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer to pour their catnip over the Jellicles. But on their cans, we get a quick shot of the 1930s style art of the catnip bottles. You can also see that these two are having fun with it all and not thinking of much else.

Then we get to the big moment where the guest pulls the lever with her hand and tail all while the moon prop is moving across the theater. We also get to see some of the mind-controlling effects of the catnip where the Jellicles are moving in sync with the music

Then there is a sudden jump cut to the guest, Mungo, and Teazer on the bar and the rest of the cats taking in the mind-controlling/magic catnip. There is a moment where Victoria (still not affected for some reason) is curious and it seems like the guest is trying to entrance the young cat with the words of the song rather than the catnip itself.

I do like the cut when the guest sings the line “his eyes are sunken in” because it shows more tail animation between the three on the bar from behind rather than the front.

We get more catnip effects.

Then comes a bit I find interesting. Usually, an actor tries to stay in the center of the frame since that's where most of the audience’s attention is going to be. Especially since the frame is normally in thirds. However, the guest goes from the center to the right third of the screen with Rumpleteazer AND wraps her tail around said queen’s neck and gets close. She does nothing to Mungoherrie who is now farther away.

Anyway, there is more sync dancing and Victoria is curious about what is happening.

Next, we get a jump cut that I hate. I understand that there needed to be something to show that the character needed to get from point a to point b. I get that. But the way it’s done makes it not only hard for my ears, but also what is she holding onto? If you track the shot, It should be bar to either moon prop or stool to ground. But instead, it’s bar to curved structure to the ground. The only clues we have are the light coming from the moon and Victoria’s gaze being upward. I am confused and the audience is probably confused too. Unless this is on purpose to make the viewer see this as an optical illusion but no I don't see that.

Back to the scene. After this, Munkustrap tries to dissuade Victoria from listening or even watching the guest.

I don’t have much to say for the next couple of seconds except that the dancing is really good.

Munkustrap finally gets hit with catnip from a third cat while victoria hides under the table.

The guest does her thing in trying to intimidate the last two cats trying to protect Old Deuteronomy (Maitre D and Cassandra)

I also just noticed that the guest’s entourage has bows on the backs of their collars and is pretty much in this scene to make sure the guest is the center of attention.

However, this is furthered from a ceiling shot where we see the spotlight on the guest which creates an interesting shadow on the floor of the theater.

She keeps singing and because of the way it is shot, we don’t see all the choreography that's being done. You cant see it. But we do have a quick scene showing how Munkustrap is out for the count while holding a glass. He has fallen under the catnip's effects. If you look closely you can still see Mistoffelees on the floor getting used to the same effects.

When we get back to the guest, she is still singing toward Old Deuteronomy while Victoria is still wondering what is going on. We also get a sense that the guest is trying to seduce either the audience or is creating a distraction. Either way, she is moving along with the music rather than just reacting to it. She uses it to her advantage.

With Victoria, we get a hit-or-miss moment. Even though she is in clear focus, we get a fuzzy movement from that other cat I mentioned before. It took me several times to notice it but it keeps the song moving forward story-wise because Victoria is still one of the few characters not under the catnip’s effects.

Then we come to another problem. After this, we come to a section that’s all choreography but we can't see it. We only get glimpses of it. Because of this, we don't get to see what the pairings are doing. We only get the spotlight on her. Which, while working for the scene, takes away from that part of the choreography. It would have been cooler if the camera was further out so you can get the effect of a circle or something like that.

Then there is Cassandra who jumps over Munkustrap to try to move Victoria from this danger once again which does not work. Cassandra falls for the distraction from the guest after being teased about failing to protect Old Deuteronomy.

When the guest is approaching Cassandra you can see in the background the other cat, Mungo, and Teazer being successful in dousing Victoria in catnip. Also if you look in the background at 3:33 you can see Mistoffelees still on the ground and not with the rest of the group. He has trouble moving and (right before the cut) looks like he is trying to reach out to stop the other cat. Then at 3:42 Munksutrap has some consciousness and it looks like he is trying to see if Victoria is okay.

But when the guest is on a new stage Victoria is front and center gazing at her. You can also see Tugger and Mistoffelees very clearly in this part. But right afterward Mistoffelees, Plato, and Socrates are given another dose of the catnip as if to reaffirm the effects once more.

And now we know the name of the third cat. Griddlebone seems to be an agent of Macavity.

And Mungojerrie finally gives Maitre D a dose of the catnip to take him out. Though it does look like he was about to say something, Mungojerrie had a mischievous grin so it was all a bit of fun.

Then we get the next line. But if you look behind her you can see a spotlight turn on right before Macavity shows his face. He announces himself and then transports himself to the floor.

The sequence is pretty good since it shows the relationship between him and the guest. I wouldn't say there’s tension but they know each other pretty well and know how to distract the Jellicles. The choreography adds to that relationship.

When the frame jumps from close to wide, we see a lot. Munkustrap is on the guest’s side with a wide stance yet is still under the control of the catnip. It’s as if even though he can’t control his body, he is ready to protect everyone. You can also clearly see Tugger in the back.

Then we get a reference to movie musicals and styles from the 1920s and 30s. The huge over-the-top staircase to the Heaviside layer. This styling was popular during this period due to the invention of sound in the film industry. It could also just be a reference to the way theater was during that period too.

Then, as they are walking up the stairs, we see a few things. Munkustrap looks like he is enjoying himself. Cassandra finally gets a dose. And the other cats look like they are having fun.

But this also gives us a better look at the set. You can see how run-down it is. The Egyptian cats on the walls. They scratched on the floor. And even how the outside lighting affects the reds, yellows, and blues of the inside.

Time for the overall thoughts!

Alright. When I first watched this scene, I didn’t know what to think since I was unsure if a duet could be successfully turned into a solo. The numbers before this didn't give much promise either since those were silly and not entertaining.

With that in mind, I believe it was successful. It was entertaining, gave us some story, and wasn’t that bad.

However, this song could still have been done the same way in a duet style. Let me explain. You can still have the character in the song still singing but add in other characters like Cassandra or even Demeter to fill in that other side of the duet. Because it is a solo, it makes the question/answer section very confusing to a new listener.

Now to Taylor Swift. I have nothing against Taylor Swift. I thought she did well, similar to Jason Derulo’s performance as Tugger. Her acting in this scene was better than I thought and her singing was like listening to one of her concerts. You can tell she was having a lot of fun bringing this character to the screen.

My only problem with this scene has nothing to do with the music, staging, acting, or choreography. It has to do with this simple fact that her character’s name is never mentioned once by another character. When I first began this analysis I posted a simple question on Tumblr. Is her name ever mentioned or stated? The answer was no.

Taylor Swift plays the character Bombalurina who (in the stage version and most non-replicas) never interacted with Macavity personally and is always by Demeter’s side during this song. But in this case, the only time her name is mentioned is in the very beginning during the “Naming of Cats”. This could have easily been solved if there was a simple line of dialogue in between the last number and this one.

I also believe the set added to the performance. It was huge, detailed, and the lighting created a sense that this was a performance that is necessary to watch and should not be skipped. The only problem with having a big space like this is that (like the Jellicle Ball) you can’t see a lot of the choreography because the camera is so focused on Swift’s character. There were some cool shots that I mentioned above but it was hard to see a lot of the dancing.

There were also a lot of background moments. From the constant need to protect Victoria to Mistoffelees and Munkustrap showing the audience the effects of the catnip.

Is this song terrible? I would have to say no. I would definitely listen to this one more than a couple of notable ones.

@uppastthejelliclemoon @storyweaverofgondor @roxycake

@thenightjillcamehome @imdumbandaproblem @bombaswife @jellicle-chants @falasta @queen-with-the-quill @indianasolo221 @gortys-and-loaderbot @falasta @cxsmicbrownies @hysperia

@skimblyshanks @scorpiofangirl1109

#FINALLY!!!#it has been written #it's been what 5 or 6 months since I've started this #but it is here #cats the musical #macavity the mystery cat #macavity 2019 #cats 2019 analysis #cats 2019 #taylor swift #Bombalurina 2019 #please heed the bold text above and be nice #i dont actually like how i wrote the film part though

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sevenkittensinatrenchcoat · 2 years

Text

Cats 101: WTF the Fuck Is Going On: Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats

So, this is the beginning of a sort of illustrated guide to Cats 1998. If you wanna see this thing and, like me, have no money, or maybe you just don’t like paying for things, the whole thing is available on Dailymotion* and can also be found in various places online. My screenshots are from a subtitled version created by @per-the-jellicle-magician. This means that it’s not mine and I don’t have permission to link it, but it’s publicly available, and that’s where I found it. The subtitles are convenient for occasions in which in which the lyrics actually matter, because I won’t have to type them all down myself.

*DO NOT use Dailymotion without an ad blocker. There are ads that will suddenly take you to another site, and when you get back, the video will restart and you’ll have to find your place and hope you aren’t abducted by ads again in a vicious cycle. If you Google ad blocker, you can find plenty of free ones online and they all work to prevent this.

So, we start with some opening credits over the Overture.

These yellow eyes are what was traditionally on posters for Cats. In this video, they’re here for another reason. If you went to watch Cats in a theatre, during the Overture, some of the cast would crawl through the aisles wearing glowing yellow/green glasses, purely for the purpose of weirding people out, which is the goal of most of the first 10-15 minutes of the show.

The 1998 VHS wasn’t filmed in front of an audience, but on a copy of the stage set where multiple takes were filmed and (often poorly) edited together. The audio for the songs was recorded in a booth, so the choreography wouldn’t get in the way of the vocal performances. During a live performance, in a big theatre, it’s harder to hear when actors run out of breath and go slightly out of key. This is not the case in a nice, recorded production, so the audio is done separately so it doesn’t sound bad. In the visual footage you see, the actors are actually singing, not lip-syncing, because lip-syncing often looks noticeably like lip-syncing, but the audio you’re hearing isn’t the same audio. Until fairly recently, most musicals on film did this.

The yellow eyes in the opening credits represent the weird glasses thing.

The first thing you see after the credits is Demeter sneaking around the stage. She’s just escaped from Macavity, who’s been keeping her as a prisoner for some time. She knows that an entire tribe of cats is going to gather in this junkyard tonight, and they’ll hopefully be nice enough to protect her when Macavity inevitably tracks her down.

Still, she’s paranoid about everything, so she hisses, runs away, and hides from the headlights of a passing car, even though she’s not in said car’s path.

Some of the other cats hanging around in the junkyard sense a disturbance and come out of hiding to investigate. There’s no specific reason why they were hiding before this. It doesn’t matter.

Now, something weird happens. Cats has no fourth wall. The cats are always aware that the audience is there. Since there isn’t an audience there in 1998, they’re just looking at the camera and pretending, but they know you’re watching them, even if they don’t know you’re not in the same room as them.

For the next ten minutes or so, the plot stops. The Cats address the audience, singing about all the cool stuff cats, especially Jellicle cats, can do, that you can’t. You’re not cool enough to be at this party, but since you’re here, you can stay as long as you don’t talk or touch anything.

There are a few cats who both are and aren’t themselves. This is Tugger, but the more attention-grabbing parts of his costume are missing. The first two numbers sort of don’t exist within linear time, so these are either older versions of the characters setting up the story they’re about to tell you, with most of the play being a flashback, or they’re younger versions of the characters just sort of existing before we jump ahead to when the story takes place.

This is either Grizabella before she left the tribe, or the reincarnation of Grizabella after her journey to the Heaviside Layer.

This is either a young Old Deuteronomy (Young Deuteronomy?) or a reincarnation from when he moves on to a new life a few years down the road.

The cats form a choir on the tire. Though the audience hears the cats singing as actually human singing, any humans that exist within the show’s world probably hear obnoxious caterwauling while they’re trying to sleep. So, a human who lives nearby throws a boot out the window to shut the cats up. It works for about five seconds.

The musical changes to what sounds more like typical choral music and the cats sing a sort of Jellicle National Anthem.

The Everlasting Cat is often thought of as the Jellicle god. The cycle of reincarnation that the Heaviside Layer provides is a sort of near-immortality that makes me thing that the Everlasting Cat is something that exists within every Jellicle. To put it in a Christian way, the Everlasting Cat is less God the Father, and more Holy Ghost.

NOTE: This probably won’t be the last time I try to explain Jellicle theology by comparing it to Christianity. It’s what I was raised in, so I tend to see religious and spiritual stuff in those terms and I don’t know enough about other major world religions to create analogies that apply to something that everyone who reads this might personally connect to. Since the subject is inherently spiritual, secular analogy is impossible and I’ve gotta go with something. Please don’t take this as a dismissal of other religious and spiritual beliefs. Everyone’s valid if they’re not hurting anybody.

So, the number finishes after like a dozen key changes and Asparagus notices that there are humans here and they have no idea what anyone is talking about. I said the cats had already noticed the humans before they started singing, but remember what I said about the opening numbers taking place outside linear time.

Munkustrap is offended by your ignorance.

#cats 101 #jellicle songs for jellicle cats #cats demeter #rum tum tugger #grizabella #old deuteronomy #the boot #everlasting cat #religious themes are everywhere #cats asparagus #munkustrap

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babybluebanshee · 2 years

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Went to see a production of Cats with my gf, and here’s some cool shit that I noticed

- The woman they got to play Bombalurina was a goddess. My ace girlfriend actually leaned over to me when she came onstage and whispered “oh my god, she’s hot”.

- Skimbleshanks had a sweater vest and it made me insanely happy.

- Jennyanydots had the most sparkly tap shoes I’ve ever seen and I loved them.

- Rum Tum Tugger was an absolute delight. He wore cowboy boots. Instead of saying “meow” as he came onstage, he cackled like a hyena. He was (rightfully) very proud of his butt, and never missed an opportunity to show it off.

- The actor who played Tugger looked very young, and because of this, the actor who played Munkustrap seemed far more amused with his antics than most other versions I’ve seen. Like he’s watching his himbo younger brother preen like a peacock while the grown-ups try to get him to rein him in, and Munk is just like “nah, let him have his fun before the family anxiety sets in”

- I forget who was egging Pouncival on to scratch Grizabella (maybe Mungojerrie?), but you could tell Pounce didn’t want to. His poor little knees were knocking together.

- Bombalurina got such a death glare when she called Bustopher fat.

- Tugger spent the majority of Bustopher Jones hanging out on top of some junk, pouting because he wasn’t the center of attention. At one point, when Bustopher walks around greeting everyone, he sees Tugger and cheerfully waves at him. Tugger puts on a big grin and waves back...then as soon as Bustopher’s back is turned, it’s back to glaring daggers at him. Tugger is uncomfortable when we are not about him.

- Shae was originally sad Bustopher didn’t say “toodle pip” at the end of his song...until the Macavity crashing sound effect went off and everyone onstage freaked out, and Bustopher said it quickly as he ran off in a panic. I thought Shae was gonna die from laughter.

- Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer didn’t have cockney accents, and I know that’s because it’s an American cast and it wouldn’t make sense, but I just can’t think of that song without those ridiculous accents, I’m sorry.

- Old Deuteronomy’s make-up kind of made him look like a little old lady.

- During Victoria’s coming of age dance, Grizabella was up on the tire, mimicking the moves, like she was reliving when she got to perform that dance herself. It was a very sad, but incredibly clever little detail.

- Grizabella’s actress actually made sounds of pain as she tried to dance at the end of the Jellicle Ball sequence, to emphasize the fact she’s very old and probably sick. Another very sad, but cool detail.

- INTERMISSION ANECDOTES

- Shae and I did not have cheap seats. We were about three rows from the stage (they actually moved the orchestra to have the seating we were in), and for the two of us, the tickets were $300. The woman to my left was not having a good time. I saw her clap maybe three times the whole show.

- The couple to Shae’s right (two adorable lesbians) had never seen anything to do with Cats before, so they leaned over to Shae and said, “you guys seem to know what’s happening here. Why are they so mean to that old lady cat?” This prompted the two of us to give them a crash course on the bare-bones plot, the many fan interpretations of the characters, and the fact they should avoid the 2019 movie like a fungus.

- There was a family of six in the row in front of us, with a daughter who looked about thirteen. She heard us talking to the lesbian couple (specifically me talking about John Mills playing Gus in the 1998 filmed version, and how utterly heartbreaking it is), and mentioned how she knew a lot of that stuff too, but rarely found anyone to talk to about it. I wanted to give her a hug, because that’s exactly how I felt at fourteen when I first discovered this musical.

- Old Deuteronomy wandered back onstage before the intermission ended, and Shae and I made Grandpa Simpson jokes pretty much the entire time (my favorite was “I’m cold, and there are wolves after me!”)

- I did not like the lady they got to play Sillabub (Jemima’s American name for people who’ve not seen a stage version). She just...didn’t sound like she knew what she was doing.

- The guy who played Gus, however, was phenomenal. His voice was very deep and soothing.

- The cast actually gathered around Gus to hear his stories of being onstage, and it was really, really cute.

- The Pekes and the Pollicles actually was in this show, and went where Growltiger’s Last Stand usually goes. Gus plays the Rumpus Cat and it’s less of a hot mess and more of an adorable little impromptu number to make Gus feel better about his bygone youth and career and don’t touch me I’m sad.

- Tugger tattled on Sillabub and Victoria during Skimbleshanks, when they’re causing a ruckus during the “when Skimble was about and on the move” line.

- Macavity’s costume was okay. It was pretty neat because the way it was designed made it look like he was missing patches of fur.

- As per usual, Munkustrap and Demeter nuzzling in the glow of the flashlight after Macavity is chased away is cute as hell.

- Tugger and Mistoffelees have a secret handshake. That is all.

- Memory was immaculate. No notes.

- When everyone is welcoming Grizabella back, she gets to Old Deuteronomy and starts to bow, but he stops her and bows to her instead. It was incredibly sweet.

- Of course, Tugger was the last to leave the stage. He had to give us a pelvic thrust goodbye.

#cats musical #daily life with blue

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aceofshitposts · 3 years

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I saw that you like CATS the musical. What are your thoughts on the movie?

AAAAH AHHAHA oh man oh boy y'all should BUCKLE IN cuz it's a ride

my simple thoughts? it's entertaining if only because it butchered the stage show so badly in an attempt to idk modernize it? Well, modernization is one part of it I think. The other part I'll go into below lol. I don't necessarily hate some of the more modern renditions of the songs (mostly the ensemble sets like Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats) but then others are just... so poorly done it's insulting.

I've said this at the end of this whole rant too but I'm gonna put it up here in case people don't (justifiably) wanna see me go on and on about it:

The movie wasn't made for fans of the musical. It was made to make money and I believe they choose, at least partially, to do that through making it the weirdest and worst possible adaptation they could so that people would want to go see the train wreck. Which, really, worked! It was all people could talk about for a good while so like... Goal achieved, I guess.

A MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS UNDER THE CUT cuz i don't wanna. flood your dash with... this

ALRIGHT SO. Most of my friends know I'm actually a huge fan of new adaptations of things. I love remakes (provided the people making it are coming at it with some form of heart and not just... cash grabbing which is more often the case) I love seeing other peoples interpretations of characters, or changing settings. It's one of the reasons I like American comics so much, getting to see different writers takes is fascinating.

I think musical movies can be wonderful ways to introduce people to a stage show that might have been unavailable to them otherwise! Chicago, for example, is one of the BEST musical to movie adaptations in my opinion. It kept the heart of the show, it's funny and the song numbers are done really well.

There are of course other famous examples, such as Grease or Bye Bye Birdie. Hairspray was also a wonderful take. These are simply off the top of my head, there are of course more.

CATS in particular has a history. If you go through my CATS tag you may see a few posts from @catsnonreplica which posts photos from non broadway productions of CATS! It's a fascinating read and I love, love, love looking at the other interpretations of the characters! CATS is a musical full of fun and wonderful characters if you take the time to see past the ridiculousness haha and the Korean and Japanese runs of CATS especially have some of my favourites.

How does this relate to the movie, I hear you say well. As you might has noticed the movie's interpretations of the characters is........ lackluster at best and downright uncanny valley at best.

CATS is, at its core, a ridiculous thing. I will fully admit that! But it's fun, it's entertaining and if you pay a little attention you can actually get the plot. (Honestly I don't understand when people complain it has no plot but that's a whole other rant for another day)

The movie was... obsessed with this idea of like... semi realism? Like obviously, as a fan, I think they should have leaned into the over the top character designs but instead we got...w ell:

Bombalurina:

Demeter left and Bomba right. Demeter was actually cut! From the movie which is. upsetting lmao.

Macavity is one of the worst offenders for me:

Macavity was... I wish I could know what the hell they were thinking there cuz it's even in his song? Ginger cat??? THAT IS NOT... A GINGER CAT...... but I digress. I would show more examples but I think you get the point.

So. We've butchered the characters appearances. Okay that's fine but what about their personalities?

ALSO BUTCHERED.

There's... there's a lot to unpack here. Just for context: the Jellicle Ball happens once a year and the Jellicle leader chooses a single cat to be reborn into a new life. In the stage play all the cats who are nominated for this honour are on the older side (Jenny-Any-Dots, Bustopher Jones, Skimbleshanks, Gus The Theatre Cat, and eventually Grizzabella) AND are always nominated by another cat. Not themself, unlike the movie where they all seem to nominate themselves.

Jenny-Any-Dots went from a doting grandmother figure who's celebrated for her selfless volunteering and tireless work into a conceited, vain younger cat who is obsessed with fame.

It's an incredibly strange dichotomy. I don't doubt some of it isn't the result of the uh people playing the characters honestly. I do think some of them did the best they could! I don't really blame Jason Derulo, for example, for Tugger. And honestly, Tugger was probably closest to his stage version (while being a trouble maker, he's shown to show Deuteronomy an immense amount of respect)

Speaking of Tugger! This will bring us to one of the biggest grievances with the movie and that is how they handled Mr Mistoffelees.

So... Ugh. So. We have Victoria as the pov character, which imo is like whatever in the grand scheme of things, and then we have Misto who they have decided will be get live interest cuz... Of course. Misto is shown throughout the musical to be awkward, unsure of himself and well. Really, kinda incompetent. Which is Wild cuz in the stage show he might be aloof but he's fairly confident in his powers.

So, Old Deuts gets kidnapped. In the stage show Tugger is the one to bring Misto forward! It's really quite sweet, imo, and I'm showing myself as a Tuggoffelees shipper here, but again Tugger is previously shown to be pretty conceited but then here he is boosting and hyping up Misto to bring Deuteronomy back. My friends and I have lovingly dubbed this the boyfriend hype song.

SOMEHOW. The movie manages to make this, easily, the MOST BORING number in the whole thing. Which, again, WILD. Misto awkwardly stumbles through his whole song, which again is... Boasting of his supreme magical powers which movie Misto clearly. Does not have or believe to have. The song, to me, feels super awkward and unnecessarily drawn out in the movie which sucks cuz it's one of my favourites in the show.

The declawing (heh) of Mr Mistoffelees actually reminds me strongly of how they changed Gaston in the live action Beauty and the Beast movie. He's gone from a beloved figure in the animated movie to someone so disliked in the town that Le Fou has to pay people off to say nice things about him. It's just. Wild character choices were made!!

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat is probably my favourite in movie non ensemble number. It feels the most... Genuine? Compared to the other nomination songs.

Other problems include but are not limited to:

The inconsistent size scale of the CATS which throws me off constantly.

The weirdly overt sexual overtones added to MANY of the songs (Jenny and Bustopher being the worst)

This is just a personal gripe and opinion but I don't like that they used the UK version of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. The American version is both better known and tbh way more fun. Teazer's giggle? Adds ten years to my life every time.

Victoria's added solo song, Beautiful Ghosts, while I like the song as a song it doesn't fit the style of message of the musical. In the movie she's singing directly to Grizzabella who's being an outcast for years that she should be grateful she even has memories of being part of the tribe?? What?? But I know they had to add an original song to be able to be nominated for awards in like the Grammys n shit (which is why all musical movies will have an original song, fun fact!!) kinda funny they went to the effort though considering........... I don't think anyone could have genuinely believed CATS 2019 was gonna win anything but golden rhaspberries.

Movie Mr Mistoffelees has made repeated appearances as my sleep paralysis demon

The various cut characters, shout outs to Jemima, Demeter and Jellylorum especially

Bombalurina being a henchman to Macavity rubs me the wrong way

God I've written... So much. You probably get it by now haha. Like I said at the beginning, I try to go into any adaptation with an open mind but... Let's be honest, this movie wasn't marketed to people who are fans of the musical.

It was marketed, and made, to make money. And they choose to do that through, I think, intentionally making the worst possible version ever. Bad press is still press and the more outrageous people said the movie was the more people wanted to go see exactly what kind of train wreck it was.

Which is a disservice to the stage show, honestly, and all the people who've worked on it over the years.

But what can we do, right?

And besides all that, I do... Still own the movie version and I do still rewatch it on occasion. It is entertaining even if it's in a train wreck kind of way. I usually end up watching the 1998 version, then 2019 and then various tour runs that are on YouTube. (I highly recommend the 2016 tour, it's very good)

So in conclusion. It's fun (?) to watch. I enjoy picking things apart and doing analysis (if you couldn't tell!) so like... I don't hate it?

It did what it set out to do, I guess, and I can't fault it for that but. It's not a fair metre with which to judge the stage show imo. But I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, haha.

Jazz hands. I'm more than happy to elaborate or just chat about CATS if anyone wants! I grew up listening to the Broadway CD since I was a toddler so it's been! A very long standing obsession haha. Probably the only other thing on par with CATS is my obsession with Jurassic Park which I've also been a fan of since I was 3 (but that's a whole story in and of itself)

#astrix thoughts #cats the musical #Thanks for the opportunity to talk about one of my hyperfixations anon!#And to anyone who reads this whole mess lmao

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jellicle-jemmy · 3 years

Text

Here is part 2 of my CATS (2019) thoughts that I wrote when I watched the movie for the first time 2 years ago!

Beautiful Ghosts

Francesca you’re doing wonderful sweetie

You’re obviously not a trained singer, but for the purpose of your character’s plot point and reason to be singing it fits so perfectly

Though the arc of beloning with the jellicles came too fast and too soon in the film

She should’ve sung verse 1, chorus, verse 2 and maybe another chorus now and then the bridge later in the film

Moments of Happiness

Judi Dench no

Bring in Syllabub

That is all

Dialogue Interlude

Okay I didn’t mind this bit

However Victoria had already had the arc that she belongs with the Jellicles so her apprehension didn’t make sense

Gus The Theatre Cat

Does ALW suddenly have something against duets?

God Bless Ian McKellen but this number was really quite bleh

I did notice Skimbles putting his tap shoes on side stage

Would’ve been cuter if Misto did the duet with him

Magic Misto boy was cute at the end tho

WHY SO MUCH YOWLING THO??!!

That “I could do it again” comment was a nice nod though

I’m still not entirely sure how Macavity makes Gus disappear but alright then

Skimbleshanks

This is another number that I really enjoyed

Munkymoo again ur doing so good

Also ur little duet with your daughter syllabub - I saw that and I loved it

Tap dancing skimbles is not something i thought i’d like, but I did really like it

It was a really fun number

How they got to the traintracks, idk but ya know what who cares

Thinking about it now, the transition from the tracks to carriage, I’m just imagining like several minutes of awkward silence as they all shuffle onto a carriage and then “5, 6, 7, 8-″ and the number continues

Plato and Socrates being the guard asking about the tea was adorable

It took everything in me to not shout “WEAK OR STRONG”

Also not totally hating on Skimbles redesign

Deadass though, 2019!Skimbles X 2019! Jenny wouldn’t work

But yeah this is a fun number

OKAY NOW SKIMBLES IS A FAIRY FLYER OKAY THEN

He Jay Jay Jetplaned right up there huh

All the other kidnapping, Macavity put actual effort, but Skimbles just went fwoop fwoop fwoop up into the sky

Macavity The Mystery Cat

Okay

Okay then

Here we go

Taylor Swift

This number would actually be good if the CGI didn’t look appalling and Taylor Swift wasn’t singing like that

It’s so breathy and weak wtf

Are you trying to be sexy? That ain’t sexy hun. That ain’t it cheif

Low key want a bedazzled thing that says catnip ngl

This choreography is really.... somethin’

Honestly, the best thing about this number was the cinema’s horrified gasps when nakey nakey macavity showed up

Listen listen, mac’s appearance wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t look like he had oil on him, rather than fur!! longer fur please i beg of you

shortest short hair in the history of the world

ALSO DRUGGING OF THE CATS

WTF

The catnip looks like fireflies from hell

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer being Bomba’s assistants? Gold. Love it

Why didn’t you do more with Griddlebone? Why didn’t you do more with Griddlebone?!

I never needed to see Taylor Swift and Oiled Up Idris Elba as cats dancing, let alone up a staircase straight from a 1940′s Broadway Musical

Kidnapping Interlude

Dooch (Old Doot Dench) really just said “access denied”

“I judge a cat on his soul” “he has soul!” “i’ve got plenty of soul”

The way that Lonz (???) and Munk all but flying over to M&R - fuckig superb you funky protectors

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer you wonderful chaotic dumbasses what did you think was going to happen

All of the contestants tied up? Yeah okay. Skimbles looks like he’s suffocating and everyone else is just fine with it I guess?

“Walk the plank”

Magical Mr Mistofelees

In case y’all haven’t heard, Laurie Davidson aka Mr Mistofelees is babey

Who is biting on Misto’s hat?

Also Syllabub you are so into this and I love it!

I’m about to say something controversial please don’t come for me - I think it worked that Munk and Misto were singing Mr Mistofelees

Who needs a hype man when you’ve got the Jellicle Tribe?

Cass’ face is a mood and a half and I high key want a gif of it

Victoria’s faith in him is beautiful

Oh no I’m shipping them

oh no

that wasn’t part of the plan

Syllabub you are literally the most fascinated out of the whole group and I adore you so damn much

The summoning attempts went on maybe a little bit too long and there wasn’t as much theatrics about as I had hoped

The happiness on the Jellicles faces is wholesome as heck though - especially Munk and also Tugger

And then misto flew and honestly I am so proud of him

He is my son! Look at my son go!

Also the ending bit with Vic and Misto dancing together in the middle for some reason gave me flashbacks to the end of the Greatest Showman

But very cute

Memory (Reprise)

Let’s first of all address the elephant in the room: I am still furious that they gave Syllabub/Jemima’s roles to Victoria and that definitely showed while I was watching it BUT-

I don’t think it would’ve worked in the film if Syllabub sang those bits

Syllabub works in the show, not the movie

Ummmm why is Victoria touching Griz before the “touch me” line???

Everyone’s - especially Munk’s - distaste for Griz as Vic leads her in was just really good and I liked it

The reprise is better than the original

The way that Cassandra’s expressions and actions change, especially during this number really makes it seem like she is the daughter of Griz and deadass I’m here for it

Still mad about Syllabub’s not getting to sing her but but it’s fiiiiiiine i guessss

Also there is a shot of Syllabub and Demeter together somewhere during this scene and I 1) don’t care that they don’t look anything alike and 2) don’t know who I have to sell my soul to but I will find it and treasure it

MUNK CRYING HURT MY SOUL AND HEART OF HEARTS

THAT’S NOT OKAY

NOT AT ALL

MY HEART IS ACHING

Macavity Battle

What the heck is this? It’s epic music that our pal Munkystripes uses to fight Mr Macaroni but it’s... a comedy?

“Don’t mess with the crazy cat lady” Rebel why

Also why did jenny unzip herself again i didn’t like it the first time, why is it even worse in the second but

oop Macavity’s not there

Ahh the use of the Firefrorefiddle line to scare Growltiger off, I genuinely adore

Journey to the Heaviside Layer

Ughh those harmonies always get me going

Again I am all eyes on Sillabub

I wondered how they were going to do the ascension into the heaviside layer

Not like that

Chandelier and hot air balloon............oooookay then

All the cats on the lion being happy to see their kidnapped pals was genuinely sweet

Also Syllabub got to stand with all like the other named cats, and not with the ensemble which makes my heart happy

Macavity wtf

The Addressing of Cats

God, I really do ship Mistoria in this film huh? Was the plotline rushed? Yes. Does my hopeless romantic heart care? Nope!

Dooch really just went 😐 huh

I hate it

Nope.

The adressing of cats should be a final part of the ceremony not a fucking fourth wall break jesus christ

Okay, but Munk’s reaction when Dooch started talking about food

hhhhh Babey

Though if Dooch could stop staring into my soul, that’d be appreciated

“I believe you are a Jellicle Cat - a dear little cat”

I liked that line for two reasons. 1) It is a nod to the origin to the phrase “Jellicle cat”. 2) It makes me think that that is the only true qualifications to be a Jellicle, making Victoria undoubtedly a Jellicle because have you seen her??

Was that final shot of the balloon necessary?

#cats the musical #jellicle cats #cats musical #cats 2019

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