If you went on the Internet in 2019, you probably saw some sort of conversation about Cats. The live-action adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical courted a lot of attention in the lead-up to its release, especially due to its use of VFX to create its human-cat hybrids. The CGI used to bring that to life was seen as equally ambitious and horrifying, and apparently, one of the film’s stars also walked away with a peculiar reaction. During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live!, Jennyanydots actress Rebel Wilson revealed how she initially felt while watching Cats for the first time — without any of the VFX, no less.
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“They actually showed me the version with no digital effects whatsoever, so I saw us all in these kinds of lycra tight outfits,” Wilson revealed. “That was the first time I ever watched it and I was like, ‘Ah, that’s good…?’…I only saw it for the first time at the premiere sitting next to everybody and I just went, ‘Ohhh, that’s… that’s…’ That’s what I said.”
What is Cats about?
In Cats, a tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.
The film also starred James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, and Francesca Hayward.
Why was Cats so bad?
Wilson’s comments about the VFX come after director Tom Hooper previously revealed his surprise by the initial reactions to the film’s visual effects.
“I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal, and it was obviously much more of a big deal than I thought,” Hooper said in a previous interview. “Reading some of the commentary was pretty entertaining.”
“I think probably my original dream to use a lot of the human face had gotten perhaps a bit lost in that process of rushing to make that first trailer,” Hooper continued. “I really concentrated on bringing back the actors’ faces because when you’ve got Ian McKellen or Judi Dench or Taylor Swift, why would you not want to? I don’t know if that’s what the comments were asking for, but what I took from it was that I needed to reconnect with my original plan and make sure I was delivering on that.”
What do you think of Rebel Wilson’s reaction to Cats? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
