It’s been called a ‘demented dream ballet’. People online have reacted in horror at the Cats movie trailer, stating that Will Smith’s Genie from Aladdin deserves an apology for the hate it got for being weird-looking. However, it is what it is.
Now, The Guardian reports that TS Eliot would have likely approved of the “rich strangeness” of the trailer, his estate says.
The film stars some big names – Dame Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson and James Corden. “I think Eliot might have enjoyed the rich strangeness of the blurring of the boundary between human and cat in the trailer, which is in keeping with the elusiveness of the world of the poems – or indeed the nocturnal surrealism of something like Rhapsody on Windy Night [the basis of the song Memory]. He was also a great fan of Jacques Tati’s movies, with their surreal urban ballets,” says Clare Reihill, who administers the Eliot estate.
Anyway, that’s that then. Here is a primer on the cats of Cats, according to Twitter user Hannah Woodhead (@goodjobliz).
“This is Victoria, the ballerina kitten,” she says. Victoria is pure of heart and is the first cat to touch Grizabella (more on that later). She was originally played by Finola Hughes.
“This is old Deuteronomy, originally played by Brian Blessed.” Deuteronomy is the wise leader of the Jellicle cat tribe.
Grizabella is the cat that sings the famous song, Memory. She is ostracised for a reason that is never really explained. Her character was originally played by Elaine Page.
James Cordon plays Bustopher Jones, the portly gentleman cat.
Rum Tum Tugger is the “cat who fucks, that’s literally it”, states Woodhead.
Taylor Swift plays Bombalurina, the flirty cat.
Now, you can go ahead and watch the trailer:
