Cats (2019) - Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat Scene (7/10) | Movieclips

Cats - Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat: Skimbleshanks (Steven McRae) sings about how he runs an orderly train.
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FILM DESCRIPTION:
A tribe of cats must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.
CREDITS:
TM & © Universal Pictures (2019)
Cast: Francesca Hayward, Judi Dench, Laurie Davidson, Robbie Fairchild, Steven McRae
Director: Tom Hooper
Producer: Tom Hooper
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[@carlitosap1732]

I feel like my mans didn't even want to be reborn, he was just there to flex

[@peepoo5098]

XD ifkr. Skimble just wanted show dem tip tappin

[@phantomstranger8959]

After seeing the movie I thought the same thing like I imagine if he were chosen to be reborn he'd be begging to stay. "B...b..but my trains :("

[@grantslater861]

I feel like he just wanted to relive his life cause it seems like he has a dream life and he wants to relive it all

[@rosenrot234]

Some jellicles actually do go to the ball to brag about how awesome they are. Just "DUDE IM SO AWESOME I DESERVE TO BE REBORN TO KEEP BEING AWESOME"

[@manongrootenhuis9411]

Hey everyone in the musical they were just showing the audience how skimbleshanks goes abt his daily life and he did Not want to be reborn he just wanted to show everyone his trains. Highly suggest you watch the original on KZbin just look up skimbleshanks part 1

[@flamingmuffin666]

Came here to listen to one of the few pieces Sideways praised in his technical rant against Cats. Praised because it’s one of the only pieces where the cast were singing in line with the music because you have to dance to a beat, if and your signing is in line with your dancing, bada-bing bada-boom, you’ve got singing that’s in line with the music.

[@baileybrinker5935]

Same. I’ve loved this musical since I was 5 and the tap dancing really blew me away. But I refuse to watch the rest due to Sideways’ justified rage.

[@guimarq]

@@baileybrinker5935 Sideways' rage is so goddamn funny and I don't think it applies to the musical, so I think you're safe.

[@k-isfor-kristina]

They should have just made it a tap dancing movie if that's what they needed in order to stick to the click track.

[@veronikavartanova4044]

@@k-isfor-kristina didn't help much those cockroaches tho...

[@k-isfor-kristina]

@@veronikavartanova4044 that's because that song wasn't done to a click tracking and the roaches were CGI'd in, total opposite how this song was done which is why this one works and the other one fails

[@joeculp3993]

This is the only scene that I feel embraces the tone of the musical but still tries new and unique techniques. The addition of tap dancing is so awesome, it kind of makes me love it more then the original. I just dont like looking at it

[@ZakanaHachihaCBC]

CULP FICTION Yes i love thé tap dancing aspect, makes Skimbleshanks feel more like a Railway Cat since he can sound like one

[@galadballcrusher8182]

and gus the theater cat wasnt?

[@HaleyDrake123]

I feel like that's the main issue everyone has had with it - you can see where the actors/dancers put their all into it, and even the CGI Animators did what they could with the awful designs they were given to work with... But in the end it's still horrible to look at....such a shame.

[@jtclopez4990]

Joseph culp the movie too me is less creepy then the musical. On Broadway they don’t even look like cats

[@justnd0257]

Joseph culp it really doesn’t. It’s another monstrosity that lost the tone of the musical.

[@oliviab4079]

The only song in the whole film that was adapted properly because it took itself seriously and didn't treat the singer like a walking punchline

[@calebsandorf]

I liked Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, and Mr. Mistoffelees as well as Skimbleshanks. (With M&R I was disappointed they used the old version of the song, but I actually enjoyed that scene way more than most of the movie.)

[@oliviab4079]

@@calebsandorf Same, M&R is my favorite song so I was sad to hear the different version but it was still a fun sequence

[@renoloverxoxo]

Stephen one of the best tap dancers in the world and called the modern day Fred Astaire. They better treat him with respect lol.

[@renoloverxoxo]

@Xantron that happens in adaptation

[@casperrabbit7254]

@@renoloverxoxo Aye but it's kinda noticeable they cut loads of it out 😂

[@2rad2paytaxes]

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Okay so this cat is named Skimbleshanks. He's a cat who lives on a train and controls the mouse population. He's like a train conductor, and he's stern when it comes to following the rules. He's an older cat and is a father figure to a lot of the kittens. Got that? Cats 2019 Producers: *writing down notes* Train......daddy.....got it.

[@lukip8257]

This made me choke! Train daddy. Underrated comment

[@Rasafrag]

Hey, even if it was by accident, they nailed it ^_^

[@Molly-tv5sv]

Skimbleshanks' official name in my mind is now Train Daddy. Thank you so much :)

[@mamrelaadi4066]

Train daddy sounds about right

[@yamiatemyugi]

Why does that immedately make me think of him being a train conductor for the mice.

[@reginalima3764]

I wonder how all the singers in this movie feel about the fact that the best number in the whole movie was sing by a dancer 😂

[@i_escaped_area_5128]

Beautiful Ghost by Victoria and Mungojerry and Rumpleteazer weren't that bad either

[@lauramcastro4897]

Watch Sideways' video on Cat, he talks EXACTLY about this xD He was right, too, this version does slap.

[@ingtapoot]

It’s because dancers understand rhythm better than anyone 😂😂 I love this so much

[@lostmybadger]

This movie is...Cats (2019), but you’ve got to admit that the choice to turn this song into a tap number was a brilliant idea

[@Xilaas]

lostmybadger it wasn’t an original idea, the musical had it as a tap number.

[@calebsandorf]

No it didnt, because The Old Gumbie cat is normally the tap number. But I love how Cats(2019) has evolved into its own adjective 😂

[@Xilaas]

Caleb Sandorf ah forgive me I’m stupid. Went to rewatch it 😪

[@calebsandorf]

🤷🏼‍♂️

[@isaacreactz2211]

They changed it because Steven is a tap dancer

[@asillycat7855]

i haven’t seen Cats (2019), but i have watched this scene multiple times, so really i’ve seen all of Cats (2019) that matters

[@neptunnae]

I watched the movie the night it came to theaters and trust me you didn’t miss anything

[@ezelfrancisco1349]

You've seen the only scene that was done correctly

[@dmen7280]

@@neptunnae I am so sorry

[@neptunnae]

@@dmen7280 I’m sorry for me too

[@tjburge6544]

Taylor Swift’s & Jennifer Hudson’s performance were great too, but yes, this was a great highlight, despite having the song cut in half.

[@swa7169]

Even the CGI on Skimbleshanks doesn't look that bad. I think the pants and the handlebar mustache gives him a more cartoony look which is less uncanny valley.

[@theobbyking7906]

Idk why but the cats with clothes on make me feel more comfortable

[@stover8011]

@@theobbyking7906 its because they don't look enough like cats to pull off being naked. So when you watch the film you don't see a cat, you see a bunch of naked lunatics crawling around on the floor.

[@helenchelmicka3028]

Or less bewildered basement? 😉

[@kytrensol9777]

Or maybe it's because Skimbleshanks is so used to being around humans that he picked up a few habits from them.

[@mariposa8430]

Gosh, Robbie and Steven's backs must really hurt from carrying this movie

[@daisyhinojosa23]

& Jennifer Hudson

[@gorgolyt]

I guess their backs broke, because this movie collapsed.

[@MahoganyCrafter]

Francesca Hayward tho

[@mariposa8430]

@@MahoganyCrafter oh god, you're so right, she deserves so much love

[@jbvader721]

Rumor has it while they were wheeling them in, a really pissed off (well more pissed off than ususal) Adam Driver was seen nursing a broken back as well. Allegedly, he was muttering "f***ing 'ow'?! Really?! Are you f***ing kidding me?!"

[@ProfessorStuDDS]

Okay fine Skimbleshanks slaps

[@anna_g6427]

Yeah it does

[@romo4161]

That's cos unlike the others its got a regular tempo!

[@nosleep9816]

Slaps hard and for what 😩

[@Bluey306]

"i'm a cat that cannot be ignored!" he's absolutely right the entire Cats film is blocked from my mind except for this scene which was actually, unambiguously GOOD and entertaining.

[@oranplan1630]

well, not so much the actual scene (* shivers * the animation is still there...) but the music is great

[@squirtyharry]

@@oranplan1630 it's actually kind of sad to see how much effort the singers and dancers (the non stunt casted ones 😑) put into this movie for it to be completely screwed up because some horribly questionable production decisions

[@renoloverxoxo]

I feel so bad for the VFX team. They're getting blamed for so much when this is genuinely the only scene that kept to the spirit of the original musical.

[@casperrabbit7254]

It's more on the character design team's fault, if anything. Nobody wanted the characters to have distinctly human faces and heads but... that's what we got 😫 VFX were just following orders

[@renoloverxoxo]

@@casperrabbit7254 Hooper also didn't want motion capture suits so it made their job 100x harder

[@greenergrass4060]

Not to mention, they were rushed to finish this.

[@CP-ll6qg]

@@renoloverxoxo wtf seriously? And with limited time and budget? I'm actually now impressed it isn't worse.

[@renoloverxoxo]

@@CP-ll6qg AND universal cut the budget

[@Yukiwodashite]

This is the only scene in the film that actually takes advantage of the fact that it's a film. It's still isn't exactly a perfectly done musical number, but the tap-dancing on the actual railroad tracks over a bridge is something you couldn't do on stage. So much of the rest of the film takes place in single rooms and boring static locations.

[@doctorwholover1012]

Yes oh my god ! If you're gonna make a movie musical that's "larger than life" and a "level of hyper-reality" only achievable in film/animation - WHY didn't they take more ADVANTAGE of that?!? They could have done anything with this movie - we have the technology to do so much at this point - so why they spend all their time in sets + costuming/effects that make them look like the joker fell into a vat of Catgirl juice instead of acid I do not know 😤

[@ezelfrancisco1349]

Also, this is the only number in the film that I can bear to listen to

[@roetheboat1]

Another factor that I really like is how they take advantage of the way the tapdancing sounds on various materials. Like, during one of the parts where they are dancing on the bridge Skimbleshanks jumps down onto a wooden part and then kicks the metal track to create a more distinct metallic "ping" noise. You can notice how when the scene changes from dancing on the bridge to dancing in the train car, the tapdancing also changes to reflect that. And finally, when it transitions from the train car back to the alley or wherever they actually are at, it's shown that Skimbleshanks had been dancing on something like a drum. When that change happens, the sound of his tapdancing ALSO changes from the wood floor to the drum. Overall, I think it's really interesting how different this piece feels from the others (like the Gumbi Cats) in both quality and inventiveness. None of the other musical bits feel like they take advantage of it being a movie instead of a musical, and instead just drag themselves through the mud in an attempt to get to the finish. It really feels like they had different people in charge of the different bits.

[@Lovinia1]

Okay a weird as the movie is, you gotta admit this song goes hard af

[@elijahhollis1957]

fr wth

[@andrewth5276]

Agreed

[@muzicalzrlife6024]

I love this version of the song better than the original cast

[@keyanstoney1742]

This honestly looks like it should b in a good movie

[@happymouth9318]

it's a 50 year old play from London, it was written that way.

[@KevinMuller5]

This was actually one of the FEW parts where I saw what Hooper was trying to accomplish, and where it worked. That moment of slight gratification was quickly forgotten as the movie went on. Soon after this, is when Elba strips off that coat and reveals his cat self..which made look a brown demon

[@NobodyC13]

Or if someone else had pointed out the fur color matched his normal skin tone exactly and that to everyone else it accidentally registers that we're seeing Idris walking and dancing around naked. Maybe if they chose a color that wasn't close to human, maybe gave some unique markings like spots, stripes, or blends, it wouldn't have been so silly.

[@alyssaj6579]

@@NobodyC13 they should've taken Inspiration from the older shows or the vhs version. Maybe not as brightly colored or spikey but definitely something besides just the coat if he was gonna take it off in the end. Once he takes off the coat it's like ok just a normal cat, when in other versions they let you know visually in his costume and his song that hes definitely NOT normal.

[@NobodyC13]

@@alyssaj6579 That's what I was thinking, go with the costumes! Our suspension of disbelief won't be nulled. Or go animated, I've seen ideas floating around from other fans that the movie could've worked even better if they styled it after Fantasia, an animated anthology film where the music is set to stylized vignettes. I even saw an artist make a series of Cats fan-art where each character is assigned a specific style and motif for their sequence (Jennyannydots set to Fleischer style animation since she's supposed to be comedic and her music has a very 40s sound to it, Mestofolees in 60s psychedelia akin to the Beatles Yellow Submarine, Rum Tum Tugger would have a Ralph Bakshi edge to his sequence, etc.). Since I posted my original comment, I learned more about the behind the scenes trouble the movie went through and the accounts shared by the VFX crew, and it kinda made me think that, maybe, Director Tom Hooper is an idiot who got lucky with King's Speech and Les Mis and hearing his handling over the production just makes you flat out question how he had a career as a filmmaker in the first place.

[@alyssaj6579]

@@NobodyC13 I have the DVD of it but had the vhs for years! It's my favorite Broadway show, they did something so right right it. You dont need fancy CGI to tell us these are cats. Broadway did beautiful costumes and beautiful realistic makeup to show the audience that these are cats. You watch the play and within 5 mins you're like yep I'm not seeing humans these are cats and this is cool. In this movie they did alot but still not enough.

[@AtlanticGiantPumpkin]

It's the same shade of brown as his skin. He just looked NEKKID.

[@kelseywood5260]

I am so confused by the proportions in this movie. First the cats are almost shorter than the railroad tracks? Then all the sudden the cats are as tall as the bed?

[@InchonDM]

Since the scene starts and ends in the same place, it's better to think of it as they're not actually transporting to these places, it's just playing and make-believe. So they're exactly as large as they want to be for the fun they're having at the moment.

[@easterslice]

The part that bugs me the most is the tiny mouse -- being proportional to the cats only if the cats are human sized.

[@richardbourton4523]

I think they’ve only thought about where the cat’s heads should be most of the time. So keeping bipedal human-proportioned cats but having their head where a cat’s would be leads to the cats having to be ridiculously smaller than cats are in reality. They look tiny and spindly. But in other scenes they worked it out a bit more sensibly to find a happy medium where the cats are a bit taller than quadrupedal cats would be, and it’s less jarring. This is seemingly a problem from the very outset because they used practical sets of such weird and varying scale.

[@indigothecat]

I kind of can forgive this section because there's subtle implication that as soon as Skimbleshanks is dancing on the metal rails outside and not the wooden blocks in the hall, they are in a fantasy sequence. This happens as they de-transition out of the scene from Skimble dancing on a train platform, zooming in, then zooming out and he's on a drum. Additionally, notice that the other cats are suddenly wearing tap shoes during the fantasy sequence, but not wearing them before and after. That said, it's lazy set design, because the decision to make the cats inconsistent sizes would have easily been avoided, especially since the backgrounds were CGI'd in.

[@puppyhowler]

and then they ad those awkward wide shots that make the cats look as small as ants

[@mrrd4444]

This is the best part of this trainwreck of a movie. I guess that's why the train conductor cat is the only one that could keep it on the rails :P

[@TheMouseAvenger]

Personally, I quite enjoyed the entire movie. ^_^ But regardless of our differing opinions, those were nonetheless some very sick puns in your comment! ^_^ Also, your avatar reminds me of "The Proud Family". :-)

[@mrrd4444]

@@TheMouseAvenger I enjoyed the whole movie too! I don't think it was very good though, but it makes me happy to watch it 😁

[@metalli07]

But what's going on with the editing and the scale ?? Felt like a bad trip

[@swiftiecat176]

Steven McRae’s dancing is just amazing!

[@depressedthoughts]

This movie is just.. Weird

[@fiorellasanoni1458]

depressed thoughts But he’s amazing!🤗

[@jkrfan7]

Check out the video of him as the Mad Hatter

[@paulabolstein1328]

Prob the highlight of the performances if I’m being truthful.

[@wrenclark4907]

@@jkrfan7 I love him in that!

[@EthalaRide]

I think part of the reason this coincidentally works, on a subconscious level, is that *_he's wearing shoes._* Shoes AND pants that were probably a practical costume. Not that real shoes helped TSwtift for her part, but her's wasn't really about her dancing. So when the ensemble randomly gets brightly colored and randomly styled tap shoes, it's not jarring because they're tap dancing with him and it goes along with the "oh those aren't theirs, they found them in the junk" slapdash spirit of the musical and especially the original. But especially HIS shoes are making solid contact with the ground, and the fabric of the pants moves like it should and doesn't feel floaty, at least from the upper hip down. the waist and suspenders feel floaty because that's where it meets the cg fur, but SO MUCH of the power in Tap comes from the _thighs_ and because the line from his thighs to his soles aren't broken up with CG, your brain doesn't need to work at process errors it sees and can just see the dancing as "Real" and move on to enjoy the flow of it and how it's shot.

[@InchonDM]

What's funny to realize, too, is that because he has to be wearing shoes due to needing them to tap, that also spurred the change of costume from "mostly a vest" to "overalls!" The ensemble can wear shoes for one scene because like you said, it's just for the one number. But if the shoes are part of your normal costume, then you NEED pants, because wearing shoes without pants looks really fundamentally weird!

[@k-isfor-kristina]

This scene is literally grounded in reality, they're filming real feet and legs tapping on real solid pieces of the set and it makes his dancing feel exceptional because it makes it more obvious that he's really doing it. The CG fur still feels a bit sloppy but I actually really liked the way his tail was animated, especially when he did his spins and pirouettes - it just looked right.

[@c.2660]

In the original and here, I get the feeling Skimbleshanks doesn't actually want to be chosen. He just wanted to show off his musical number

[@ezelfrancisco1349]

When you're the only one with the click track in the entire movie, you might as well

[@chumpythebunny9000]

It was so weird that this not-so-good movie had an actual good scene. Let's all be real, the movie didn't exceed expectations, but this scene truly did. It has the raw energy of the stage adaption while incorporating new ideas from the filmmakers. This scene is literally an excellent scene (excluding the mouse). I would also like to mention that Andrew Lloyd Webber always throws a funky meter into his musicals and this is no exception. The chorus is a highly-unusual but also creative 13/8 meter which makes the tap dancing in the beginning intro extremely difficult to dance to. Whoever played Skimbleshanks in this film deserves 100 awards for his incredible dancing and for making this the only excellent scene in the whole film. 10/10 skimbleshanks is always a bop

[@johnny--guitar]

it's like everyone involved on this scene got to have fun for 5 minutes, then when he gets Thanos snapped everyone gets crammed back into the no-fun zone

[@angelaphsiao]

Bad movies that have one scene with actual quality hurt more than movies that are bad all the way through because for just a few moments you can see what the movie could have been.

[@cottonhare]

steven mcrae did amazing

[@SparkleDeluxe_minecrafter]

Steven mcrae is a god

[@wrenclark4907]

The actor who played skimble is called Steven McRae, and if you like his tap, just search for the mad hatters tea party on KZbin from the royal ballet’s version of Alice in wonderland. He originated the role and he is so talented!

[@leviazul9166]

No matter how absolutely horrible this movie is, this scene however always does give me goosebumps of musical joy. Especially with the Big Ben shot and the song going into 13/8..

[@1996koke]

This is how they should have done the movie, without stupid interruptions or bizarre things, also Skimbleshanks design it's pretty good, he looks like a cat but in a imaginative way like the musical.

[@quinna5537]

Skimbleshanks is awesome here cuz he's the only one who doesn't look like he's running around naked. He's the only one allowed to wear pants.

[@missbeliever5133]

I'm mad that the tap dancing sounds at 2:33 weren't added to the official soundtrack album.

[@sydnamon5986]

WHAT

[@krysaltepsyr8134]

I... why? If you have tap dancing in a number you gotta at least have a version with the tap in it. It's part of the MUSIC. It is another instrument you use. Especially when used like this. Why would they not at least have a version with the sounds?

[@baileybrinker5935]

@@krysaltepsyr8134 because Hooper understands music the way I understand physics. I live in a world with it and I appreciate it, but lord help if I tried to make a movie about it.

[@Error403HRD]

I'm sorry it's NOT IN THE OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK!? BLASPHEMY!

[@rcslyman8929]

I'm sure we've all seen Sideways' video about this movie. He comments how the tap dancing just made the song feel like it was broken into two parts. Most everything, hard agree. But listen... when you get master dancer Steven McRae in your movie to do a musical number, and Steven McRae wants to dance, you shut up and let Steven McRae dance.

[@isaacgregory6168]

Considering it’s his first film Steven did an amazing job

[@Nyx_Fey_]

He's also the Mad Hatter

[@melodyflare5269]

I love the transition at the end from the train back to the auditorium

[@elijahhollis1957]

yea thats mad clean

[@electrathejelliclekitten8063]

And the egyptian to the train tracks! Hecc!

[@mzytryck]

If it weren't for the CGI being the same, I would think that this song was in a different film from the others! The energy, cinematography, faithfulness to the spirit of the play while taking advantage of what you can do with film, and ESPECIALLY the dancing in this song were in a completely different league to the rest. If they'd brought this sort of skill and enthusiasm to the other numbers people might have been more willing to overlook the CGI.

[@pridemoth_]

This slaps SO HARD why isn't the whole movie like this

[@Greemlinn]

they fully just forgot to animate his mustache 2:09

[@crimsonstang]

Good catch!

[@Donniol]

Also at 2:57 i think

[@MrFujistar]

I cant unsee that now

[@OneSneakySloth]

And the trombone slide goes through a cats arm at around 1:35

[@spiderqueenilovespider9458]

Omg I didn't know that until I saw this comment

[@kjmunch7116]

3:35 that transition was honestly the highlight of the entire movie for me. the transition itself and the buildup of the music and the sound of the drums coming in, just a beatiful five seconds buried in a sea of terrifying vfx. (and honestly poorly edited, go through frame by frame and you'd be surprised how many times tails are improperly layered just in this scene alone, specifically in the beginning)

[@elijahhollis1957]

his mustache is just gone at 2:09 😂

[@kjmunch7116]

@@elijahhollis1957 yeah, its ridiculous!! theres some other painful ones too, like at 1:53 skimbles tail is layered behind him for that WHOLE SHOT, and at 2:55 you can blatantly see his suspenders clip into his shoulder!! its insane how many errors there are in this 95 million dollar fiasco.

[@ToTunez]

that's what I thought, I really like when it get more upbeat when he tap dancing on the drum but damn it only lasts a few seconds

[@elijahhollis1957]

@@kjmunch7116 "DiGiTaL fUr TeChNoLoGy"

[@mrpanicattack6688]

@@elijahhollis1957 I did not notice that before! Hahaha! 😂😂😂

[@cloverhills4516]

Since I noticed skimbleshanks' moustache disappearing in some scenes during this clip, I can't unsee it now when I watch it 😂

[@ManticorePinion]

Mistoffolees's hat does some funny jumping too

[@cloverhills4516]

I think I also noticed that one of the trombones the cats are using clips through one of their arms

[@CanelaAguila]

Sideways made a very interesting video about Cats saying basically that this is the only song in the film with a set rhythm, the others have the orchestra follow the meandering rhytms of the singers (which is horrifying in itself, but in a musical about DANCE, to expect the dancers to dance without rhythm is just ?!???!?!!!!). Anyways, that's why this one is great

[@mawreena-]

This is what the whole film should´ve been like

[@JohnSmith-xg9wx]

He was so extra. I loved it. He almost stole the whole movie.

[@JFtheLOLZOR]

looking at this scene, it’s obvious that Tom Hooper wanted to make a Skimbleshanks movie

[@FreakDaMIghet]

Hooper: “I have this great idea for the Skimbleshankz number!” Producers: “Awesome! If you put this much effort into the Railway Cat number, we can’t wait to see how you handle the other cats!” Hooper: “The other whats?”

[@austinpearce5442]

FreakDaMind I would’ve been fine with a Skimbleshanks movie

[@theanimerican]

He wanted to make a high budget Skimbleshanks music video but needed to make an entire movie to get it done.

[@ChildOfHephaestus]

It seems more likely this is a happy accident by a man who doesn’t have a great idea of how these musical things are supposed to work

[@arctechfox8306]

You give Tom "the orchestra follows the musicians!" Hooper too much credit

[@samuellrodd1214]

You see this is why you cast one of the greatest male tap and ballet dancers of all time. Steven McRae has a very special place in my heart as he is someone my ballet teacher always goes on and on and he is just incredible at what he does. It’s a testament to how incredible a performer he is when even in something has horrific as this garbage he still absolutely nails it and gives 100% as always. Now just stop casting celebrities who can’t sing or who are just wrong for the parts they are given, hire people who are experienced in the world of musical theatre and dance and sort out your CGI and the scale of the film and maybe we might have something decent. I’m not a fan of film adaptations of musicals but if you’re gonna do it at least do it right. Because they have some really talented performers in here but they get drowned out by the celebrities who just don’t fit at all. Also if you’re gonna do another adaptation please for the love of sanity don’t get Tom hooper to direct it please. He’s a talented director, but he’s shown that he just doesn’t understand this style.

[@chooseyourpoison5105]

^This^ It's no coincidence that the best number in the film is the only one that was choreographed by an actual dancer. I will say this for Steven McRae, he knows his stuff, and he knew exactly how a dance number should look and sound. Kudos to him for insisting on using the actual stage show backing track too.

[@fabulousmyriad267]

I'm so glad this scene was most people's first introduction to Steven Macrae's incredible talent. Hopefully non ballet/tap dancer fans will see and support his work.

[@martinmatocha3496]

1:37 I like how the sound of tapping changes as they move from wooden log to metallic rail

[@mrrobotreads]

All I see is the wasted potential of having actual dancers and singers perform instead of crowbarring in whatever celebrities weren't busy to fill out the cast

[@machinemythos8950]

The scale seems really off

[@kristianericsantiago6778]

Well they said that Jellicle Cats are Rather Small in the Jellicle Ball Part.

[@vwgames49]

Waku Santiago Okay, but why does that mean the cats are tiny on the railway, but big in the train car?

[@kristianericsantiago6778]

@@vwgames49 i think that part was just in their imagination.

[@vwgames49]

Waku Santiago in the Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer scene, a watch around Victoria’s neck is smaller that the rings on her wrists

[@kristianericsantiago6778]

@@vwgames49 well that's a mistake

[@Melstrife]

Steven McRae is an amazing dancer and choreographer. My jaw dropped when I saw him when I watched this movie. His version of Skimbleshanks was the best scene in the whole movie. I love watching him perform.

[@warsowgamer4fun]

It baffles me that they did choose not to include the tap dance sound into the album soundtrack, for god knows what reason they just left out something that is equaly as important as any other instrument xD

[@MahoganyCrafter]

I thought long and hard about why this is the only song that actually seems good. It's because it's not just Skimble singing about himself like the other numbers (the other number that fits for the most part is Gus The Theatre Cat). It isn't just a cat trying to hog the spotlight, it seems like the other cats actually like Skimble

[@reid4356]

This song lives rent free in my head, like it just slaps man

[@k-isfor-kristina]

It just taps man Ftfy

[@mrswb]

If you hear any sirens, don't worry, it is just Steven McRae in the process of stealing this entire film.

[@pixiewolf333]

If they treated all the songs like this and the cats had more hair this movie would've been awesome

[@imhappy7632]

Also actual clothes like skimbleshakes and less human faces

[@Silburific]

@@imhappy7632 Exactly. All these people being naked is weird. Yes, they're supposed to be cats, but it doesn't work when they have human anatomy. Jenny Anydots would have been much more bearable if she had been wearinng a cardigan and skirt and actually looked like the cute grandma she's supposed to be.

[@ezelfrancisco1349]

In other words, if other numbers were performed by dancers instead of big name celebrities, this would've been a success

[@recklessmusic7870]

If every scene had this quality, they would have gotten at least one Oscar

[@greenergrass4060]

He's the jellicle cat that visually stands out the most for me. Which is nice because his part is the one i truly enjoyed .

[@MrsKray]

Fun fact: Steven McRae (Skimbleshanks) played (a very attractive might I add) Mad Hatter for the Royal Ballets production of Alice in Wonderland- he combined tap and ballet and its insanely impressive. Its on youtube, I highly recommend looking it up.

[@swa7169]

This is literally the only number in the film that works.

[@mj3368]

2:33 is the best part by far

[@isaiahonfire5569]

2:33 kinda slaps tho

[@amaeliss7827]

I love how every single person in the comments is like: I loathe this movie. But this scene. It's GOOD.

[@kirstenhefling2239]

WHY ARE THEY MICROSCOPIC

[@alicessmallworld6199]

They are cats size

[@kaykaychanz]

No I swear in one scene they were standing next to a fork that was like twice their size. CATS ARE BIGGER THAN FORKS

[@calebsandorf]

I think for the train tracks shot they had to make the train rails wide enough to tap dance on without making the tracks look cartoonishly fake so they just shrunk the cats a bit extra.

[@InchonDM]

@@calebsandorf This is definitely the real answer, but for another one, since the scene starts and ends in the same place, they're not actually transporting to places, it's just all part of one run of playing and make-believe. So the cats are exactly as big as they want to be for the fun that they're having right then!

[@Molly-tv5sv]

BAHAH I KNOW THEY ARE THE SIZE OF COCKROACHES

[@icelily270]

This is what happens when you keep to a beat

[@viktoriaf.1191]

YES IT IS!!! It’s beautiful

[@Filbi]

This was the only part of the movie I liked Skimbleshanks is just a happy cat who loves trains and takes pride in his work, I respect that

[@Miyavisgirl1540]

Me at the end of the clip: "He's flying. Why in the hell is he flying?"

[@SparkleDeluxe_minecrafter]

Me: why did he turn into dust?

[@imhappy7632]

He was kidnapped by the evil magical villain cat

[@imhappy7632]

I'm not joking

[@mamrelaadi4066]

He tried to fly into a better movie

[@calypas1686]

@@mamrelaadi4066 amen to that

[@maja2851]

If they kept this energy for the whole movie, it wouldn't be that bad :( I love the singing, dancing, the added elements, the fantastical feel, the sense of community among the cats. They nail the spirit of the musical in this scene, why couldn't they've done the same with the rest

[@TKL626]

Y'all should check out the actor who plays this cat....he's got it~

[@chelseajarel1978]

like Francessca, he is also a principal at the royal ballet

[@EthalaRide]

Imagine if Happy Feet was made with human faces on the penguins

[@Nyx_Fey_]

Haha *no*

[@sophiealbrecht9869]

The proportions of the cats and the trail tracks do not match. It looks so terrifying!

[@fiorellasanoni1458]

Steven Mcrae was amazing in this tap dance, I wish to see him in more movies.🙌🏻

[@jane90186]

He is a principal with the Royal ballet. Not a film actor.

[@fiorellasanoni1458]

jane90186 I know but it will be nice to see him in more musical movies😊

[@Flutter_Aeina]

This. This is the best scene. Had me smiling the whole way through. I almost didn’t notice the horrible cgi and just enjoyed the music

[@adamkaunfer4384]

This was the highlight of the movie.

[@KimberlyFaith260]

I just realized, the best numbers in this movie are all sung by the dancers!

[@b3z3jm3nny]

Did you see Sideways’ video?

[@KimberlyFaith260]

@@b3z3jm3nny. Yes all credit goes to him.

[@kryskobold]

2:33 This part gives me goosebumps, the bassline combined with the metallic tap dancing are just so perfect.

[@pcbassoon3892]

This is easily the very best part of this movie. The only number I like as much or maybe even more than the stage version and it's all because of the dancing.

[@k-isfor-kristina]

I low key wish that this version gets incorporated in one of the stage adaptation, I think the tapdancing really compliments the music and the song and that chugga-chugga tap solo is awesome. I feel like the original stage version makes skimbleshanks seem like a bit of a goof where in this one he seems like a total boss which fits the lyrics nicely

[@irsyadmuflih18]

2:33 a banger

[@cantthinkofafuckingusernam7534]

Honestly, after this number, Skimble should been the one who won Yeah, Grizzy has an angelical voice and a sad song/story BUT THAT TAP THO

[@abaque24]

Nove i think skimbleshanks didnt want to win to begin with, he’s just in for the fun of it XD

[@cantthinkofafuckingusernam7534]

@@abaque24 Same, I always wondered why he wanted to have a new life if he isn't that old and he has a great life as the railway cat. I think he just wanted to have fun and brag about how awesome his job is hahaha

[@mirkodrago2392]

He didn't win because he was beast all ready

[@mrofftopic2802]

"...it’s not that fantastical.” Tom Hopper, the director while he makes one of Dr Moreau cats disappear out of thin air in a pirouette. Ok dude... If you say so.

[@alexjacobsen1068]

Steven McRae really did the absolute most for this movie. Like., he fully learned how to sing just for this and killed it both in terms of vocals and (as to be expected) in terms of dancing tf

[@maicey_t.]

Woah this scene is actually good! I'm impressed that anything from this movie could be even partway decent, but this scene seems pretty well done. It keeps in spirit with the original show. And the tap dancing is fantastic. Too bad about everything else.

[@amandae8437]

The best scene in the whole movie!. Im loving all the historical references they've added...that tap number was spectacular

[@corrinadipirro2181]

One of the few songs in the movie that still slaps and wasn't compeletely ruined by Tom Hooper's incompetent direction.

[@maxhendrix6846]

The fact that the best singing is preformed by a dancer is mind boggling

[@binarysmile]

It's funny how at 1:30 the cats start to put together a pantomime train out of thimbles and trombones, like they do in the stage version, but Skimble just tapdances his way out of the set and onto the tracks before you can even really notice they're doing it.

[@kirbking8074]

Bruh this being good is proof that skimbleshanks best cat.

[@Human-shapedbeing]

I liked for the tapping alone.

[@KateDixon2112]

This is the only song in the movie that I think really captures the musical. Here, you can actually focus on the amazing vocal harmony and the hard work and choreography that went into this absurd film.

[@arctikal]

Gotta give it to them, at 2:33 - 2:40 the tapping and the music sound just very satisfying

[@SesameStrut]

God, it's an abomination - but THANK YOU STEVEN MCRAE for almost saving this thing. This is how a dancer follows a time signature.

[@doctorwholover1012]

heres one thing i dont get; if they're going to animate the background, the actors costumes, and the effects, why dont they just make an animated movie???

[@brendanmilburn9067]

Actually most of the sets are real, not CGI. And as for your answer, it's because Tom Hopper doesn't know how to make musicals and Americans still see animation as "not an art form".

[@brendanmilburn9067]

@Kurt E. Clothier Not just 2D animation, all animation. Americans think animation in general is "not an art form" and also childish thus it can't be taken seriously. Which is ridiculous.

[@doctorwholover1012]

@@brendanmilburn9067 they used practical sets a lot, which is great, but things like the tap dancing down the rail line - they had to CGI a lot of that to get the background etc. And generally, the film industry rn would rather CGI a gun into someone's hand (marvel - director Fury) than just give them the actual prop OR just fckin ANIMATE it - like, there are so many Marvel animated series + movies, and it would be so easy to just up the quality + tone to sell it to an adult audience, but instead we get stuck with live action 99.9% of the time

[@emanuellancecruz3028]

Can we just please take a moment to appreciate Steven McRae for portraying Skimbleshanks! He was so good in this role!!!

[@williewinkles9288]

He escaped the movie! Good for him!

[@filidolphini]

if we decide to completely ignore the cgi, this number is actually great!

[@shadowhound5113]

Dude taps his foot at 2:05 keeping that beet.

[@Scuzzz]

The one and only scene I liked in this trainwreck... pun intended

[@Leoheatblast]

The size of those cats in this scene is large as a mischief of rats

[@shadowshot644]

This is the only reason the movie deserves an Oscar BECAUSE OF HOW FANTASTIC HE IS AT TAP DANCING

[@mckenzieguin3851]

the tapping was a nice addition to be honest. it's pretty sick, and in a way makes up for the train wreck (pun intended) that was gumbie cat. The number keeps the spirit of the original show for the most part and is one of the best numbers in the film for sure.

[@KingdomHeartsFan3211]

Someone once said they’d trust this fictional cat with their life, and I wholeheartedly concur.

[@jaybonn5973]

Wow a song. With a beat. Such nuance for this film.

[@peepoo5098]

I love this one so much, like holy shet.the way they adapted the song is just lovely like gosh damm skimble. Like original cast skimble was very like a grandpa or uncle or dad telling me a story of his train, but this skimble is like a fancy smoochy dude introducing himself to u and wooing u with them tip taps and rails

[@artemisfowldragon]

The only song in the movie with actual rhythm

[@inkstories3925]

I still love the original but the tap dancing scene I've completely fell in love with! If cats can tap dance and I think it would work. They can move is such speeds and elegance that it would be perfect and that's why ballet is great for Cats!

[@alishachawdhary1696]

The tap dance is the best part of the movie and also this is the most dancing in the entire movie

[@zepp8806]

Have you noticed that the characters that wear clothes always look a lot better than the ones that don't?

[@mikaroni_and_cheez]

I think it works because these ones look more human

[@zepp8806]

@@mikaroni_and_cheez Ya. They look a lot better when the cat features are separated from the human features.

[@ginkgothestink-o6949]

Yeah I wish they all had pants lmao

[@ashtonvickers928]

It makes me so sad how good the song is and then it’s gets these visuals

[@Gaby-ri5nk]

i’m here from the sideways video