CATS (also) Ruined My Life

[@melissahourihan2344]

It’s not a competition. Someone described it as like a big weird family get together and they’re just celebrating each other and how cool they all are and I think that describes it perfectly.

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

I mean, okay, but is still IS a competition. Literally they keep bringing up that at the end of The Jellicle Ball, Old Deuteronomy will "announce the cat who will [now] be reborn and come back to a different Jellicle life". The entire thing is one big massive audition for who will be The Chosen One who will get to go to The Heaviside Lair and be reborn. That's Grizabella's entire arc. She wants so bad to be accepted back into the Jellicle tribe that she is literally willing to die and be reborn into the club.

[@melissahourihan2344]

@@cannibalisticrequiem most of the cats are singing about other cats tho so if it was a competition they're just hyping up their competitors. And it's not like Grizabella was the best dancer and singer of all the jellicle cats, he sent her to the heaviside layer bc she was was old and depressed and in need of a new life. That's not how most competitions choose their winners, especially when it's a singing/dancing competition. Like imagine if Americas Got Talent was won by a 90yo former celebrity from the 40s who can't even stand on her own for more than 10 minutes, let alone dance to any capacity. And she might have a really beautiful song she's singing and even sing it well, as Grizabella does, but that's still only half of the qualifications for this competition to the heaviside layer. Also, why would these cats want to go to the heaviside layer. Like it is literally just dying. They die and are reborn "and come back to a different jellicle life" and athough it seems really nice, I'm pretty sure a lot of these cats want to stick around a little longer in this life before they're reborn in a new one. So I still stand by it's not so much a competition as it is a celebration and they're just all chatting and having fun and hyping each other up, and know deep down that Deuteronomy will choose the best cat who is ready to die and be reborn.

[@mfraye12]

YES I agree! I've had this exact convo with friends before. It doesn't really make sense that it's a competition. It does at the beginning sort of have a electoral process vibe because right after the Jellicle choice is explained, Munkustrap introduces Jennyanydots as if he's proposing it could be her. Gus the Theatre Cat perhaps could be a candidate because of his old age I suppose. But on the whole, the idea of them competing doesn't really make sense. Rum Tum Tugger has no reason to want to go to the heaviside layer for instance. He seems pretty content in his current life. He just has a big ol' song about himself because he can. Skimbleshank's whole song is about how he's indispensable in his current role, so that also wouldn't really make sense for him to be vying to be chosen. Even Grizabella isn't seeking ascension, only belonging. I think the whole "it's a big competition" idea has come from people trying to force more of a plot onto the musical than it has. It's okay that the musical is mostly absurdity and vibes. The source material was literally silly poems about cats with silly names (and then a completely separate Elliot poem that became Memory for a vague narrative hook). For me the allure of the musical is the music and the performances and not so much the literary value of the plot.

[@begaydocrime5719]

@@cannibalisticrequiemliterally the first number after explaining what the jellicle choice is starts by munkustrap sayign "i have a gumby cat in mind" - clearly implying that he thinks she'd make a good choice. So he's not competing for himself, quite the opposite

[@melissahourihan2344]

@@mfraye12 yes. Just yes. To all of it lol I'm so relieved to not be the only person who has strong opinions about "CATS" lol

[@nerdoftheatre]

1:34:10 The whole point is "Touch me, its so easy to leave me." Touch is a BIG PART of cat behavior and of acceptance. And that's why touch happens a lot in the show. As from Sideways's video, Grizabella would NOT TURN AWAY FROM SOMEONE TRYING TO ACCEPT HER.

[@jellybeanfish9348]

I never thought of it like that! Thanks for sharing, it makes it so much sadder and meaningful

[@drayiskewl]

One of my biggest gripes with this movie was James Corden and Rebel Wilson being the comedic relief when Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer ARE RIGHT THERE. Instead they made these really fun mischievous characters absolutely AWFUL.

[@coatimundi69]

they took the "should i mention mungojerrie?" line in macavity's song FAR too seriously... that line felt more like they were downplaying the seriousness of mungojerrie and griddlebone's mischief, versus macavity's many many crimes against humanity.... and felinity? they also made the fatter cats into jokes where jenny was more of a strict auntie than anything. even bustopher, where he does bumble about and they make note of how fat he is, is well-respected specifically BECAUSE he is so big. cats ideal state is to be well-fed and loved by the community! the only reason they made them jokes is bc theyre fat. :(

[@SophieJackson1993]

I heard that take in a popular video reviewing the movie so yeah.

[@magicalpopfish9570]

But drayiskewl Tom Hooper NEEDED to make the fat ones the comedic relief I mean THEY'RE RIGHT THERE and FAT. We can't have the other NORMIE cats be comedic based on what? Character personalities and motivations? No they're too hot to be comedic relief but Bustopher Jones and Jennyanydots are both (kinda) fat and it'd be so easy to make jokes about how they're fat, gross and unattractive. (this is meant in sarcasm because I have no idea why they'd do this to the only fat actors)

[@zackkwam134]

Clearly Macavity is immortal since he has broken every human law. Including, somehow, the laws of nature.

[@offsewingdragons9142]

he breaks the laws of gravity, of course he broke time!

[@showandtell1313]

musical: misto *dancing with a rainbow scarf* tom hooper: wow thats some straight dancing what a straight character and his straight rainbow scarf

[@richardkovacs2006]

In the original staving there was no rainbow lgbt undertone. In 1981. As if one male couldn't adnire and praise another .ale without being gay... it's kinda forced. I believe it happened mainly because the actor of RumTum Tom and dancer for Mr Mistofelees are actually gay, in real life, as humans. So they put this twist into the plot. But neuther the original poems nor the original musical put a stress on these 2 male cats sexuality.

[@shorthairlukeisugly]

Cringe

[@starlesscitiess]

@@richardkovacs2006what the fuck are you talking about THEY’RE NOT REAL. they’re not real cats. they’re fucking people dressed as fictional cats that sing about each other it’s calm down 😭

[@lucyla9947]

​@@richardkovacs2006 Jacob Brent (as in the guy who played Mistoffelees in the film) specifically has said they didn't mean it to come off as gay as it did. Also the shift towards there being Gay Undertones between has occurred over time in pretty much every performance. It wasn't just some random shit they decided to throw in the Film, it was a growing trend throughout the cats world that the film portrayals ended up leaning into.

[@magicalpopfish9570]

I heard someone theorize that the reason he paired him with Victoria is because aesthetically they look like a bride and groom.

[@nathandavis435]

Honestly, the bit that I don't get is that, even if Mestoffelees and Rum Tum Tugger weren't gay for each other, was it really too much to at least make them chummy? You don't need to be gay to occasionally rib your friend or talk them up in front of everyone.

[@celia1888]

imo one of the worst things with Beautiful Ghosts is that it's just gaslighting...

[@cockyhorror]

TS Eliot was the first catboy

[@sunnybloom7272]

Shame he’s such a literal actual garbage person. I always thought when his widow told ALW that he’d quite like if the play was made like Hot Gossip she was doing it to laugh at him while he rolls in his grave cause he would have HATED how expressive and gay it was (source: Maggie Mae Fish’s video on how TS Elliot was a royalist fascist sympathizer, really helped reinterpret how I see the play as a rebuttal and expression of his work simultaneously)

[@argolake8623]

I would definitely recommend Sideways’s video about the music of the movie. Like he goes into the development hell and how Tom Hooper doesn’t understand how to make musicals, like how he has the singer do whatever they want with the tempo, and the poor orchestra has to match it. He also goes into the story elements with Grizzabella and Jemima and Victoria and their roles, like in this video.

[@RainbowRatArt]

I think it's funny how they tried so hard to make Mistoffelees straight and ended up kind of making him look bi. Look at the scenes with Munkustrap and Mistoffelees, there's definitely something there

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

He was straight though. Most of his flirtatious interactions are with Victoria. Hell, they're shown as being a couple at the end of the '98 pro-shot. People want representation so badly they're willing to just create it where there is none just by shutting off their critical thinking the minute they see a rainbow.

[@begaydocrime5719]

@@cannibalisticrequiem they're not?? in the mating dance he doesn't pair up with any girl and victoria mates with Plato. They dance together at the end but that's probably platonic (i mean he also dances with Rum Tum Tugger and you're not arguing that they're together). Hell, there's a VERY common theory that Victoria is his sister.

[@trixie7759]

No bc its so fucking funny that they made him straight, like nearly all of the Misto and Tugger actors in the modern performances ship em, one of the recent ones even had framed ship art in their dressing room, cats and musical theatre has always been Queer, and in giving Victoria parts of the show that Tugger performs just makes it way more queer in retrospect

[@rachelr4126]

​@@trixie7759Honestly though. If you take something that was originally between two men and put it between a man and woman, and that automatically gives them ship implications, all that really means is that *the moment originally had ship implications.* Heteronormativity is exhausting.

[@magicalpopfish9570]

There was a video going over how the movie adaptation changed the characterization and relationships of the characters, and one of the things she said was that the speed at which Mistoffelees falls in love with Victoria makes it feel like a rebound considering she's new and it makes it feel like him and Tugger are exes. I'm pretty sure everyone has good chemistry with Munkustrap in the movie especially Victoria.

[@taniaroman5857]

They did my girl Demeter so fucking dirty I was livid when I first saw the 2019 movie. She is one of my favorite characters and they butchered her!

[@imprettyinept7012]

1. This is a fantastic video 2. Finally somebody mentions the Film Theory. It's been upsetting me for a year now and it's nice to see somebody else mention just how much he made up/got wrong.

[@GracieFitzpeter]

I could not even BELIEVE

[@nouraalnasser9142]

Okay so I feel like this is a BIGGGG misconception about Cats and I blame the movie, they're not really auditioning to die. Okay so here's basically it: 1. When Munkustrap first talks about the Heaviside layer he says he thinks that Jennyanydots would be picked, so he sings about her with the trio. 2. Rum Tum Tugger arrives and he wants to interrupt them and annoy Munkustrap so he sings about himself, this is shown more in the 2016 version tbh. 3. Mistoffelees sees Bustopher Jones come up and pass through the junkyard, and Jennyanydots likes him so she sings about him and he talks about what he ate that day 4. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were stealing some stuff and they wanted to hide their stash or something like that? So they just scare everyone away with the sound of Macavity laughing, but they don't get away with it because the jellicles throw away their bags in the end of that song. 5. Gus is the only case where its legit, everyone seemed to think he was gonna be chosen because he was old and sick and nearly blind, so that's sad. 6. Skimbleshanks is like Bustopher Jones, where he passes through the junkyard and everyone is happy to see him 7. Macavity is an explanation to the audience, Magical Mr. Mistoffelees is the Deus Ex Machina bomb just like you said! 8. In Memory, the jellicles figure that Grizabella misses being one of them, but she is like dying at the end where she collapses, so she is sent to the Heaviside layer so that she has a chance to be with them again. So yeah, basically its not an audition schtick, its just Cats letting the audience know who is who throughout their literal gathering and the plot that its nonsense writing right until Old Deuteronomy is taken by Macavity (with a tid-bit of sad Grizabella every now and then) Really loved your theories though and I agree with all of it!! Just hope this clears up what's going on because everyone seems to understand its a death cult when its just cats being cats but with no 4th wall.

[@muzzycosmos9400]

I agree... except for Skimbleshanks, who was sleeping in the show when the other cats started singing about him?

[@richardkovacs2006]

Simply put: cats behave like cats, being mainly self-centered not really caring about to really become domesticated as humans expect them to be. All our cats have had huge characters and expected us to accept them as they are. They never once wanna please us, not even for food. It's a reward for US that they allow us the pmeasure to feed them and they accept the food-if it's to their taste.

[@TheJillers]

Whichever cat is chosen is absolutely going to die. "When old Deuteronomy just before dawn, through a silence you feel you can cut with a knife Announces the cat who will now be reborn and come back to a different jellicle life" So yes. In this framework whatever cat is chosen will die. Whether most of the songs about the cats are just incidental or are cats singing about cats they think deserve a new life is your own choice here. I prefer the reading that cats are being sung about for the most part are cats being vouched for, that they deserve a new life because that's what we're told this show is about in the beginning.

[@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween]

Yes, it's more like a family gathering

[@mokithepepe2454]

@@muzzycosmos9400 i think he was brought up by Deuteronomy cause the song with Gus was depressing the other cats so he wanted to cheer them up

[@wochenente6977]

Kinda funny that he named Mr. Mistoffelees after Mephistopheles, the devil in Faust that presents itself as a poodle simply because the author Goethe was afraid of dogs. So I guess dog-hating authors unite?

[@RazorRevenge]

Ghost’s song “Call Me Little Sunshine” always makes me think of Mr. Mistoffelees. If you listen to it you’ll instantly see why.

[@aquamarine6223]

You hit the nail on the head! Cats 2019 is a goddamn *travesty* and I hate that it's how a lot of people are gonna first see Cats The most upsetting thing for me was how they managed to miss the point of the dance in this DANCE SHOW. The completely cgi cats, and the atrocious wire work made them look fake, which devalued the dance. And even at the points where the dance was there, the camera couldn't stay put long enough to see it. The ensemble was barely used in favor of focusing on individual cats, which undercuts the themes of community, as well as just making it look less nice. And then the choreographyyy :'( hardly any of Gillian Lynne's choreo (which has BARELY been changed in the entirety of Cats history) was in there.

[@lionblaze0384]

38:04 In the current production of cats, they bridge it into gus performing as the rumpus cat in pekes and pollicles (thus easing the transition into skimbleshanks as well, doesn't feel all jaunty out of nowhere) and BOY was I pleased to find that, it made things so smooth!!! If it's gotta be removed, at least make it smooth. Also, 'heathen chinese' was changed to 'winsome chinese', which, doesn't have a racial connotation. Better than foreign or heathen anyway.

[@lionblaze0384]

55:08 THAT SHIT EXISTED???? I am. enraged. I thought they just didn't do half of the song. the fact that its there is making me insane someone PLEASE make a stitched cut of the cut scenes and the movie. If no one does I will oh my god

[@Thomas_H._Smith]

​@lionblaze0384 I don't think the deleted scenes have ever been released in full, though.

[@mysticmind4563]

Pretty late to give my two cents, but I think the idea of making Rum Tum Tugger this Prince (the music artist) Cat persona aside from Webber wanting to make it like Hot Gossip as mentioned earlier, was because the indecisive nature gives him a bit of a rebel trait. Even if it's cliche, a lot of female fans love seeing character like; the wildcard, the bad boys or even the alluring toxic ones. RTT here is clearly showing more of the wildcard on the surface, but later we see that not only does he show respect to cats that are revered, but it's implied that he's already got his eyes set on Mistopholies. He just likes to show off most of the time. On a slight tangent, the whole "no homo" changing of the script for the movie wouldn't have been an issue if the interaction between RTT and Misto accommodated for it. Misto could still be jealous of RTT, RTT could notice that Misto has a thing for Victoria and starts encouraging him to use his powers to impress her. When Misto helps Gus with his performance, then when Old Duet is missing RTT could be the one to give Misto the courage to get her back, not Munkustrap. That way RTT, might seem like a womanizer (catinizer?) on the surface, but he's actually a wingman.

[@canislunaticus]

48:57 One thing I love about Rum Tum Tugger and his relationship with the other cats, is that in most productions he very clearly or atleast they do hint at him having a thing for Mr mistoffelees, why? well because Mr Mistoffelees is one of two cats who aren't openly fawning over him and actually instead judge him (the other cat being Munkustrap but that's his brother.) So he rejects the other cats because they're always at his feet and want the one cat that isn't, cause he is a picky cat that doesn't like anything that is served to him on a silver platter.

[@canislunaticus]

1:13:06 correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't some of the female cats actually join in the fight against Macavity? Even if it's in the end it still happens and Demeter is the one who unmasks him too!

[@maltesers1238]

I cannot explain how funny it was to me when Munkustrap stuck his foot in front of the camera, like I hadn't even noticed until you pointed it out and I don't even know what I found funnier, his foot being in the camera or you calling them his big old stupid feet, but I laughed for about 5 minutes straight, and then for the next hour or so when I'd finally stopped laughing, I'd suddenly remember and start laughing about it all over again-

[@RunTheGayDucksAreHere]

I kept laughing at it (and any foot shot really) every time I would see it or remember it (especially when RTT grabbed Victoria’s foot) but I would always laugh when Macavity says “M A C A V I T Y” when he disappears

[@hilowpeoples]

OH MY GOD you actually knew about 1981 song inclusions in 2019!!!! That's awesome! I usually only see people briefly mention Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, but you also mentioned The Gumbie Cat! Massive kudos, it's obvious you put in your research!

[@2ndimaginarysymphony813]

I’ve always been a fan of Cats (the musical) and was SO disappointed with the movie! This is an amazing video and explains perfectly why I hated the movie!

[@Thomas_H._Smith]

THANK YOU! For talking how freaking mutilated Demeter was in this movie. You made all my points about her being changed so unrecognizably that she practically was cut, honestly I didn’t even know that was meant to be her until I saw this video, and all just in favor of justifying the millions of dollars they dropped for five minutes of Taylor Swift star power. Also thanks for talking about how they could've expanded her relationship with Macavity more. Think about it, Demeter would've made a WAY better protagonist than Victoria since she actually has a backstory and character arc. They could've made Cats into a story about a woman who was abused and traumatized at the hands of a powerful man but eventually works up the courage to finally confront her trauma by helping defeat him (maybe not just by ripping off the disguise but perhaps have it be where when he tries to escape with the jumper cables she turns the power on, killing him, getting payback, and him getting his just deserts) especially in a post hastag Me-Too world that would have made a way more interesting, empowering, and maybe even relatable protagonist with an arch right there without being too preachy which is a trap a lot of movies with protagonists like that fall into. And they can have their cake and eat it too as they'd still have their wide-eyed kitten who's new to the ball, needs everything explained to her on behalf of the audience, and is also sympathetic towards Grizabella in the form of Jemima. She (at last in my and I think many other people's canon) is the daughter Demeter had with Macavity, so the creators could expand their mother/daughter relationship. Demeter is the first character we see, just have the two of them show up first to ball together, then have Munkustrap explain everything to Jemima instead of Victoria and explain it by saying that this is her first time to the ball now that she's old enough. This gives a reason as to why she wouldn't know certain things and having the cats explain things to the young daughter of someone they all know makes more sense than someone they literally just found in the dumpster. Then (and again I'm going off the usually accepted canon that Macavity, Munkustrap, and Rum Tum Tugger are the three sons of Old Deutoronmy and Grizabella) when she sees her daughter dancing with the pelvic thrusting brother of the man who wronged her it gives a reason for he PTSD to kick in, and it explains why she may have some personal beef with Grizabella, and especially why she doesn't want Jemima near her, as she's the mother of the who wronged her, but also that would make her Jemima's grandmother which may explain why she has an innate connection with Grizabella and is the one to try to touch her and support her by singing. Then at the very end when Macavity tries to kidnap Demeter (and yes keep that as his motivation as by making Demeter the protagonist it would make his role as the antagonist all the more integral as they'd now be directly contrasting eachother and he'd be tied into the major plot) have it be where she's stunned by him but when he gets close to Jemima have that be the incentive to make her attack as that not only ties things together but increases the stakes since it has Jemima at risk of going down the same path her mother (the protag) did. Have the final battle comense the same with maybe Demeter helping more like I said earlier. Then when Grizabella appears, have Jemima be the one who touches her as that's two character arcs for the price of one as Demeter not only managed to defeat Macavity and her Trauma, but by letting Jemima touch and accept Grizabella she has a second of forgiving Grizabella for a something that she really had no control over. That's all things they could have contributed to better characters, writing, and lore, but instead threw out the window in favor of giving Grizabella a backstory with no mystery that would require cutting Demeter and Jemima as that's actually they're backstory. But you know what I don't think that's the reason why they were cut as that would mean that the creative team behind this movie would have actually understood the source material. No no no no we all know the real reason they were cut, for star power and an oscar bate song. Sorry went on a little tangent rant there but that's something I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while and this video honestly was one of the only times it got expressed at all.

[@Thomas_H._Smith]

1:39:57 Okay cutting from "He's a twenty-five pounder" to Moto Moto was too funny. 😂

[@FlowerPinkPeach]

YES This is exactly what i want to say whenever someone asks me about why i hated the Cats 2019 so bad. ALL of this. I'm such a huge fan of this musical and the movie ruined it in every single way possible. Be it the songs or even the fucking characterization (how can you even get it wrong?? There's literal parts of the song where they describe the cats!) or worse, the whole mockery of Jennyanydots and Bustopher and others... is just ... kind of offensive to the characters i'd say? I am SO freaking glad you made this video because in every single other I've been thinking "oh yea, but they still havent talked about (insert particularly specific point) and by the end of this video I was finally at once satisfied, because you hit every point. I don't understand a lot about music theory, so sideways' video was awesome and full of knowlegde I didn't knew, but this one? This one I actually get, you're talking about the exact same things I've observed and been dying to express in phrases because I was so bothered to the point that I couldn't even start to put in words. Shortly, thank you for this marvelous essay. I definetely will becoming back here to watch more times.

[@justanormalhumanbeing1903]

i love how this is 13 seconds shorter than cats 1998

[@wochenente6977]

It bothers me far more than necessary that Victorias make up isn't the same in every shot. Sometimes just her face is white, sometimes her neck is white as well.

[@katyh4487]

thank you Gracie for the Cats content I've been so sorely lacking. gonna have this epic on whilst I work tomorrow and I can't wait! Keep up the great work 💖

[@adtheartist030]

What I'm gonna tell now is no hate, jus a little info: They aren't singing the songs to get chosen. They are singing because, well, they can. They're like a giant family and the only ones that actually somewhat "audition" to get chosen are Grizabella and Gus (from Gus Jellylorum also like supports his song/story/reason to get chosen with her lines) The others are only singing because they're bored or for the audience since this musical works with Munkustrap breaking the fourth wall to explain the plot. And this includes the songs. Yeah, hoped I could clear some things up :]

[@RosalieFamily-qo6jz]

The gray cat she was talking about that scare her it's called munkistrap! He's adorable, and PROTECTOR and CARE-TAKER of the kittens, the staring and stuff he was doing was part of his role in the play. I only know this, because even though it was performed in the nineties, my mom grew up in the nineties, and used to watch it every single day of her life, if she could..., she showed it to me and my siblings when I was 11...4 years ago, (I am 14 now), I was the one that fell in love with it, I AM an animal lover after all, and the actors cat forms are cute, even the actors themselves. Some of the actors, especially the old ones, have passed away, not this year, but as the years grew closer to this year. Some of them went home a few years after the show was performed, and some of them became either parents, gotten older (especially the younger ones from back then), or found a new career to do for the rest of their lives. And ever since then, there have now been MANY different versions of the original play. I only know a few of the cat's names but It doesn't matter cause they're all cute..., Also yes the play IS based off of the book, I don't know how to explain it of how is based off of the book, but an easier way to think of it is because some of the songs that are in the play are poems that are in the book. Which makes it easier for people to understand what's going on in the play, and what the cats are saying and talking about, especially if they've read the book before.

[@rozenknopje100]

This video was really interesting and gave a lot of background information I didn't know about Cats. I discovered the story of Cats a few months ago through Sideways' video of the 2019 movie and I then watched the 1998 version. I haven't seen the show live, so I didn't know about the Growltiger story. It sounded like it's a cool number and I think it would be fine/possible to still show in theatres if the lyrics/performances got adapted for modern audiences. The few clips you showed made me more curious about the song. As for the audition/competition storyline, I don't actually think that's what happening in the musical. In the song before Jennyanydots' song, where he explains about the Jellicle ball, Munkustrap says 'Cats ask: 'Who will it be?', so to me that means the cats aren't competiting, but just curious who would get the honour. They then show some random cats with more or less interesting lives. Besides the fact that some songs are performed before Old Deuteronomy arrives, a lot of the songs also wouldn't exactly fit as an audition song for the Heavyside Layer. Like Rum Tum Tugger sings about how he's an indecisve cat who drives everyone crazy and he loves it. Bustopher Jones' song is about his good life and Shimbleshanks is a cat who takes his tasks at the railway station very seriously. Going to the HL means ending the life you currently have and most cats seemed perfectly fine with their life. If Old Deureronomy would chose Shimbleshanks for example, there wouldn't be a railway cat anymore, and Shimbleshanks would have likely declined the offer if he realized that. So, I think Old Deuteronomy wouldn't choose the most popular/deserving/competitive cat, but rather the cat that was most in need of a new life. Grizabella was the cat with the saddest story and she most likely was unhappiest with her current life, so it made sense for Old Deuteronomy to select her to give her a new chance. If he did not choose Grizabella, my vote would go to Demeter. She and Grizabella are the only 2 cats in the story who have a source of unhappiness in their lives. Grizabella because she was shunned and not accepted back into the group for a long time, Demeter because she was traumatized and still fearfull of Macavity. She had Bombalurina for support, but she remained very scared of most things. Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my native language.

[@HitoRein]

Big fan of CATS (The Musical). I never seen the 2019 film cause I figured it was going to be disappointing. And the CGI is just blehk!! Omg. I loved your video. Also i still do cry at Gus’ scene in the musical and Munkustrap is one of my favorite cats from musical.

[@mfraye12]

1:38:40 There was a pretty good New Yorker article about the musical and its source material. It said that "Jellicle cat" and "Pollicle dog" come from TS Elliot playing on how the English would say "dear little cat" and "poor little dog".

[@twizzpaw900]

That was an amazing video Gracie, talking about a lot of stuff I've heard or seen in the history in making this musical and more. Also did anyone see Sideway's video on the Cats 2019 movie, because that was the reason for me to actually go watch the musical and getting emotional over Grizabella scene of memory. Really nice to see some people being so interested in a subject I haven't heard up until recently when the movie came out.

[@peccantis]

I always thought the stage show has no problem with Old Deut showing up "too late" for some of the numbers, because everything takes place in the alleyway. Old Deut could easily been observing the proceedings from a vantage point before joining the others on the street.

[@sillaylad9790]

THANK YOU for mentioning bustopher jones scene. Everyone talks about the gumbie cat but watching bustopher's scene made me so wildly uncomfortable i wanted to click off the video

[@throneisbed7833]

I'd like to quickly say thank you for addressing what apparently goes down with Bustopher Jones in the film, you're the first person I've seen do so and that content they gave the man... well, let's just say it's a good thing I haven't watched the film yet! :P Anywho though, I enjoyed this video, nice work :)

[@Iknowitsweird]

I loved this musical so much as a kid. I really loved Victoria because she was one of the kittens listening to all these songs about the wonderful people at the ball. While it's clear that the cats hope Old D will choose them to have "new life," I never thought of the show as a competition until the 2019 movie reviews came out. Yes, there are lots of older cats who might be deemed more worthy than a kitten, but everyone knew it was up to Old D to choose. However, he couldn't force the group to take in Grizabella when they all had a problem with her. He could only choose her when everyone choose her with him. The main reason I dislike Victoria being chosen as the main character in the movie is that they wrote her like a stranger coming into this...competition? She could have been one of many kittens coming to the Jellicle Ball for the first time to learn about all the amazing cats, to hear about Old D's mysterious choice, and to be warned about Macavity and Grizabella. I know people think of this musical as crazy sexual, and it is very physical, but the sort of ambiguous nature of the "plot" and "dialogue" leaves a lot to the imagination of a child. The "characters" are almost more like dolls you can see yourself in. You think Victoria and Mr. M should get together? That's fine. You like her with Plato or whoever she has that brief dance with? Also fine! You prefer Rum Tum Tugger and Mr. M as a couple? Totally cool! It doesn't really matter what Grizabella did because I could make it up for myself based on the behind the scenes interviews with the cast. Why is Macavity so evil, and wants to steal Old D away? Well, there are other trickster cats. He's just a particularly nasty cat. The show works because it's an experience you pour yourself into.

[@madamgalen225]

finally! someone mentioned the nine wives thing!

[@dolfuny]

I similarly got into the musical because of all the cats(2019) videos out there lol and I love the 98 film a lot now. They butchered my favorite characters in the movie, bombalurina for one and removed my other favorites demeter and Jemima, tho Victoria kinda fills her role in the movie like you said. I've watched the youtube playlist many times and I'll usually pick a character to follow throughout the show and demeter and bombalurina are by far my favorite. Like why did they have to make my girl a villian and delete the other one😭😭😭

[@someguy9893]

The Cats movie is what the Dark Forest looks like

[@skazanowska]

Great video ❤️ I watched the musical (because of Sideways' video about it) and I have it stuck in my head. So I watched more YT videos and yours is soooooo good 😍 Thank you for it. PS: your voice reminds me Hollyhock from Bojack 😅

[@theworldisavampire3346]

I was blessed to have seen Cats, in Broadway, in 1983 during its OG run. I love TS Elliots take on cats because they are so mysterious & alien to us. This translates so well in the play. We are not meant to understand cat society. We are only meant to marvel at it. Only a cat can be dignified & silly all at once. The 2019 movie was a disgrace. A slap in the face to the play. A slap in the face to the poems & a slap in the face to its long time core fandom. Nightmare fuel, pure and simple.

[@magicalpopfish9570]

For a more indepth critique of the characterization and their relationships comparing the stage productions and film I'd recommend RABNerd28's video on it. Like some characters are interpreted by the actors and that changes the performance like Mistofelees and Tugger is often leaned into in a lot of productions by having them dance together and be playful with one another which is somewhat of a byproduct of the fan reception. Another example of this is that Macavity is Demeter's crazy ex boyfriend which is why he tries to kidnap her and also why she has "PTSD flashbacks" during RTT's song because he reminds her of Macavity in some way. One really big one is RTT and Munkustrap are brothers and are Old Deuteronomy's sons which is why Munkustrap is so disciplined and is essentially the "leader" while RTT keeps annoying and pestering him and it also gives more meaning to Old Deut's song which is sung by them together.

[@frauleintaka27]

Love this video! You're one of the very few people who I've seen talking about how important the ensemble is in Cats, their interactions and how they build all of their personalities so well. That's one of my favourite parts about Cats! I really want to know who even came up with this competition idea and what made them think that. What lines or parts of the musical imply that it's supposed to be a competition? When Munkustrap explains the plot and that the Choice will happen at the end of the night he only says that the cats wonder who it will be, no that the entire night is just a competition for who gets chosen. The only line I can think of that even sort of implies an audition-like nature to the songs is Munkustrap's in Jennyanydots' song ("I have a Gumbie cat in mind") but he repeats that line for the second verse so it could just as easily be simply part of the poem. And the entire rest of the musical contradicts this competition idea completely. Like you said, none of the cats act as if they're in a competition with each other, most of them sing about other cats and the supposed judge of the competition isn't even there for most of it (he only hears Gus' and Skimbleshanks' "entries"). None of the principal cats with the exception of Gus have any reason to want to get a different life already. Jennyanydots' and Skimbleshanks' songs are all about how important they are and what great work they do, that rather argues for them continuing their current life instead of the opposite. Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are all still very young and clearly love their lives the way they are so why would they want anything to change? Bustopher Jones isn't even there for when the Choice gets made! There's also no indication that being the greatest cat alive is even a criterion for getting chosen or that you can't be chosen if you don't perform/your performance sucks. Why would it be if you get reborn into a different life? Wouldn't it make much more sense to pick the cats who have their greatest times behind them (like Gus) to give them another chance at a great life? Or cats that are so unhappy in their current life that they'd rather have a different one? There's no reason to pick specifically the ones who need it least. So since almost the entire musical contradicts the idea of it being a competition and the indications for it being one are flimsy at best, it makes much more sense to drop the competition interpretation instead of relegating all the arising contradictions to being plot holes. It can simply be a huge party of the cats (it's called the Jellicle Ball after all) where they sing songs about each other, dance and celebrate their lives and at the end the Jellicle Choice gets made which everyone is excited for. Done. Sidenote: The scene at the Ball is not supposed to be an orgy. Victoria's sexual awakening is legit but the rest is not intended to be sexual. Doesn't mean you can't interpret it that way if you want to, just saying that you don't have to.

[@rroes7319]

The Phantom of the Opera was a book and a movie long before the musical was created.

[@aimeeh.202]

welp three years late but I wanna contribute some discussion about the "plot holes" section lol - this wasn't mentioned as a plot hole but just wanted to point out that there was one (1) other time, besides lifting the trunk, that MIstoffelees used his powers; it was to turn the lights on after Deuts's arrival to get the ball started. - "the cats have good lives, why do they want to go to the heaviside layer?" jacob brent's understanding of the show makes the most sense to me. he basically says this ball/gathering, even the group itself, is a cultural thing, and that the cats all gather IN THEORY to get chosen --- but, actually, they all "know" that "it's Gus's year." So they're not actually competing, but the variety show they put on is a tradition for them. - "why do the cats 'audition' before Deuteronomy even shows up?" again, according to Brent, Deuts does NOT come every year! In this case, the cats were not necessarily expecting him to attend the ball. Usually, it's Munkustrap who makes the decision on who goes to the Heaviside Layer. Deuteronomy just so happened to turn up this year because he heard that this group of Jellicles has a magical cat (Mistoffelees), and Deuts believes that Mistoffelees could be his child. so he wants to "see what he's up to." also want to add that, while the show is certainly over all very queer, the 1998 (according to Brent anyway, who says the character backstories and relationships were provided by Gillian, Mallet, etc.) version didn't mean to suggest that Mistoffelees and Tugger are a romantic couple. The way they chose to construe the Mistoffelees character, he'd be too young; he's supposed to be "around thirteen." Brent describes their relationship as more like the cool popular jock taking the quiet eccentric kid under his wing. lol all that varies show by show, company by company. some productions code Deuteronomy as Tugger's and Munkustrap's father rather than Mistoffelees. And a lot of modern versions lean into the Tuggoffelees thing. but if we're talking about 1998, Brent's explanations make the most sense to me hahaha

[@SteamedPoi]

Commenting to boost this video, genuinely my favorite video on cats

[@sillybillybear50]

The lack of views on this video is astounding

[@NamiMeru]

I watched your whole video and I loved every second of it. I 've seen lots of videos about Cats right now - including the ones you referred to - but none if them dove so deeply into the background of the whole thing. I don't think I will ever be willing to watch the 2019 movie, but I was obsessed with the musical once and I'm getting back to that state more and more now, thanks to brilliant KZbinrs like you. Thank you so much.

[@scout4363]

I think a lot of people are weirded out by cats And if you never watch it that makes sense But that’s because the good stuff is in the musical My favorite part of cats is the relationships of the cats Seeing cats interact in the background, seeing them hype each other up and just generally interact When you let yourself indulge in the world of cats it’s very endearing (Also the songs go hard John Partridge kills as rum tum Tugger)

[@nerdoftheatre]

1:21:30 I saw the show opening night with two other people who know the show. We didn't walk out, but MAN we got some dirty glances (in a mostly empty theater) because we were laughing so hard. Not "haha this is funny" but more of a "oh my god they had no idea what the source material is and it's so badly butchered"

[@IcestormTundra]

Warrior cats? An exact depiction of how I found the musical Cats? (Minus a terrible experience watching rapping Rum Tum Tugger in a theatre in London and then falling asleep). Nearly two hours of Cats content? Hun you've got a new subscriber :D

[@HASQ779]

I'm only 22 minutes in and I've already learned so much information that I never knew, despite me seeing a lot of CATS videos around the time you released yours. Glad the youtube algorithm lead me here!

[@wolfieisacat13]

"you know, like ANGelical?" oh no, don't worry, when i first heart that word i thought "like.... evangelicals?" also, my demeter! noooooo :( they ruined her! no longer anxious single mother to two trouble makers, now a mean girl :(( edit: i played my mom the pekes and the pollicles and when munkustrap goes "their huffery, snuffery, heathen chinese" my mom grimaced.

[@luthientinuviel3883]

You watch all the creators I watch. You have taste my lady

[@peccantis]

"Warrior Cats can't be gay because they're cats and animals just have never been recorded doing homosexuality have they?" is just such an argument to make in year 20-fucking-16.

[@Illogical.]

With the amount of straightness in the movie, "she has buried nine wives" would seem to imply that she has killed the wives of other cats. But also, cat marriage? Or cat monogamy, at all?? I'm not sure that makes sense in this story.

[@sillaylad9790]

i think Mr Mistoffelees can be seen changing the lighting sometimes in the 1998 recording

[@cockyhorror]

THE SIMS MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND AT 8:00

[@GracieFitzpeter]

I legit forgot I did that lol I think the thought process was it was from CATS and Dogs

[@lia2xh_]

Bro the time was 8:00 PM SHARP when I saw this comment 😭

[@tweetypie1978]

Cats 2019 is crap but the musical was great. Btw the guy who played mistoffelees Jacob Brent said rum tum tugger had a thing with bombulurina, they secretly are in to each other. It's just a musical, all musicals are a bit camp that's why they are so great! Jacob also said mistoffelees is an adolescent, just a bit older than the kittens and old Deuteronomy is his dad, that's why he's got magical powers. The people in the 98 film got back stories for their characters. If like the person who comments below thinks that mistoffelees gives off gay vibes is probably because the actor is gay. He's a lovely guy called Jacob Brent. Rum tum tugger is supposed to be a typical naughty Tom cat and I don't think T.S Elliott or ALW meant him to come across as gay. He's meant to be like a rock star. The best tug of all time John Partridge who is in the 98 version is also gay in real life but that's neither here nor there because mistoffelees is a older boy cat not an adult in the musical. Please find Jacob Brents backstage pass video on the back stories of the characters!

[@schirry5144]

KZbin recommended me this video, and oh I'm glad that it did. A very good analysis, and there're some things I haven't seen in any other Cats videos!

[@adtheartist030]

4:38 Dude, I just died laughing at this cuz I'm writing a little fanfic for myself (probably maybe I'll upload it who knows) and an idea I had was Munkustrap would *actually* almost get run over by a car-! Dudeee, I'm dying😭😭

[@SJNS3823]

One of the things that makes me the most sad about the film is the dance- for- dance sake bastardisation of the choreography in this show. Of course it was going to be different from the stage show, that would have been fine. What isn’t fine, is that Lynne’s choreography, walked the line between human and cat. It was thoughtful, well curated and still allowed the suspension of disbelief for the audience to see they are humans embodying the characteristics and emotions of cats. Which in turn are just the same emotions as those of a human. The film choreography was soulless. Yeah, they had “cat school”, but they missed the point. Just because you crawl round on your hands and knees, doth not a cat make and that cannot be saved by a few half assed kicks, spins and a plank for good measure. God, I hate whoever the choreographer is!

[@andrewtodaro2874]

Looks like Eliot and H.P. Lovecraft had a lot in common!

[@Phia4eva]

Thanks, I made it to the end! 😊 you’re right, I just watched the movie and was so baffled that I went to the internet and found your video. I have an appreciation for the musical now, and may hunt it down to watch it.

[@kawaii33366]

I don't think they were really auditioning really? I just assumed they were already talking about themselves and Old Dut already KNEW them. Its just they were celebrating the jellicale ball before he got there. Idk I never took it as a competition.

[@joniqueasmith3009]

Jonique'a Smith:He's not gonna come out of the computer and scare the hell out of you,is he?😂

[@d.w.d.w.3031]

Extremely astute analysis of an ineffable (😜) entertainment property! Brilliantly done!

[@TarahAlexandria]

23:58 Bath salt Tiger!! Girl Stop!🤣🤣🤣😂😂

[@belenbarria568]

1:54:48 ME, I had never watched Cats before the 2019 movie, and seeing so much hate got me interested in the original stage show (I've always liked musicals, I just hadn't watched Cats before because...?), watched some of the songs and left it at that. But this year I actually sat and watched the 1998 film, and oh my god, I'm obsessed now

[@FutureBereaAlumn]

The Ballad of Billy Macaw is also, sometimes, part of the stage show.

[@elizabethriegert179]

I’m 99% sure Demeter and Bombalurina are best friends not love interest Love your take on this, I have never and will never see the 2019 version, As a kid I checked out the VHS tape every time we went to the library until I got my own copy Got to see it on stage at some point Now I have the DVD

[@bastienfelix4605]

In my opinion, there was never a competition between the cats for who would be chosen to be reborn(at least before the 2019 movie).

[@bellasguitar13]

The 2019 version is a crime, I feel bad for the actors. I’m playing jemima rn and I love the musical!! It’s so fun to perform and it’s got a bad rep cuz of literal kids pretending to be cats and dogs.

[@sox-on-a-duck693]

This was extremely well done.

[@fad23]

Not a defense but slurs were pretty much fair game in media until the early 90s.

[@jennfox7529]

Also, whilst there is a fair amount of shady language, I didn’t even know Mongolian was an insult until I watched this. In the UK it just means… from Mongolia, the country next to China.

[@jayt9608]

@@jennfox7529 It is not an insult except to the same people that find peantbutter, watermelon, fried chicken, and a hundred other things racist or cultural appropriation, another form of racism. The term "mongoloid" is a scientific reference to people of Asiatic lineage and features. Hun is a more racially loaded term since WWI and WWII when it was used as an anit-German slur.

[@gastounmanar9814]

@@jayt9608 LOL "Mongolian" has been used as a racist slur because people back then thought that Mongolian was a stupid inferior race who can only destroy things, they call everyone who looks dumb a "Mongolian". Please do your research on racist slurs because you are the one here who is ignorant and uneducated about racism, not other people who have the right to call it offensive.

[@gastounmanar9814]

That doesn't mean that it was a good thing, even back then.

[@gastounmanar9814]

@@jennfox7529 "Mongolian" was also used as an insult.

[@SophieJackson1993]

It’s not an orgy scene. The cast confirmed it on a livestream too. Haha

[@IMayOrMayHaveNot]

56:24 The cat knew Love Never Dies was a mistake and was trying to spare Lloyd from wasting his time, alas, the poor human didn't get the hint... But hey, it paid the lickable treats!

[@user-rc6jr2cw8g]

Notes on the racism: The costumes of the Siamese shown were not of samurai; they were actually based on historical, Siamese armor. I'm actually surprised you used B-roll of the LESS RACIST Siamese costumes, as I believe the originals were using fans, conical hats, yellow face, and kinda just generic Asian-esque robes. If anyone wants a more comprehensive look at the racism in "Growltiger's Last Stand," I would def recommend watching the video on it from @ALeviCalledBird , "Growltiger's Last Stand is Racist and Here's Why." It shows racism on both Elliot and Lloyd Webber's ends through things such as characterization and music theory.

[@doogledog101]

I wanted to state that I think the reason Victoria touching her means nothing is because Victoria is not a jellicle in the movie.

[@begaydocrime5719]

_I_ certainly became obsessed with Cats the musical after the movie - like, I'd seen parts of it and thought it was pretty nice music, but only after the movie came out did I watch it from start to finish... and it's a huge hyperfixation of mine now.

[@3546546547]

42:00 Something to note, what's considered "Racially insensitive." May in fact only be that way because people have no idea about history. Not talking about the slurs or accents, those are a bit inexcusable. But the Siamese cats look like that because... well... that's what Siamese Pirates would have worn. It takes a four second google search to find this out. And you can see it all the time with various racists caricatures. The long topknot braid for Chinese folks comes from the fact that it was considered *punishable by death.* For a Chinese man to have a different haircut. Russian Cossacks were shown with strange haristyles, and greasy unwashed faces because, generally speaking that's what they looked like. Living a nomadic lifestyle generally doesn't leave you with a lot of time for personal hygiene. This isn't always the case, but in a good number of cases it's true.

[@joniqueasmith3009]

Jonique'a Smith:How does he scare you?😕

[@min0uet]

not my mans Munkustrap... let him live

[@kristofkolesar383]

why are people hating on CATS so much

[@cdeford2]

I've never seen it as a competition, nor that they all want to be the chosen one. Most are still quite young. I see it more as a ceremony and celebration, with one of the older cats getting another life. Rather than a competition, these cats are just telling stories, about each other or things that are more legends of the tribe.

[@Moshugaani]

2:56 Oh, so THAT'S why Rebel Wilson made that dumb _ad lib_ joke in the movie about Tugger having been neutered. 😅

[@zephyrprime]

Dang I can't believe John Mills was 90 when he played that part. He was great in it!

[@Poppy-RoseTaylor]

random but, the chinese slur she mentions is actually pretty common in the uk, especially where i live but it’s used to refer to chinese food, not people in a derogatory way and i grew up not even knowing it could be taken that way. it was a big shock to find out it was offensive

[@A2DaShush]

The reason why the tone is completely different right after Gus’s song, is because the intermission came before Skimbleshanks’ song.

[@Simone-vz6uz]

"When all I wanted was to be wanted" is a Fifteen lyric and I need to point that out sorry anyway

[@Blueparle]

Someone needs to make a better film of cats the musical it’s deserves better

[@i.cant.sleep.anymore]

There is a Ghost joke somewhere to be made in that's Rats clip at the beginning lol.

[@nkbujvytcygvujno6006]

I don't think the fact that the cats start singing before Deuteronomy is a plot hole. I'm guessing that songs are just traditional for the Jellicle Ball. Not every cat who gets a song necessarily wants to switch lives. And they're just singing the first few numbers for the sake of celebrating themselves and each other, not necessarily to audition for Old Deutoronomy. Like, they already know that Deuteronomy knows them well enough and _could_ choose those first few cats, so those songs aren't necessarily _for_ auditioning, just celebration. And, well, look at those first few songs. The songs for Jennyanydots and Bustopher Jones seem to be songs just meant to honor the cats who everyone already knows are great. Old Deut doesn't need to hear the songs to possibly choose them, if he wanted to. And the Rum Tum Tugger, and Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, just seem to be having fun with their own songs-- hell, during Mungo and Rumple's song, none of the other cats are even on stage until the end, so they're just singing for themselves and the audience. The idea that maybe not all the songs are necessarily to audition for the Heaviside Layer rebirth thing also explains why there are cats with fufulling lives who get songs. Not every cat actually wants to be chosen, but songs to honor each other and themselves are part of the Jellicle Ball tradition. They just all crowd around Deuteronomy at the end, wanting to see who won, because it's such an honor and they got swept up in it. Not because everyone actually wants to change their life.

[@TarunoNafs]

Well-made video. Brava!

[@heatherlally5278]

I refuse to watch the 2019 movie! The trailer was enough for me to see it was a desaster!

[@liam6169]

They wasted plenty of money on this Fxxxing movie. Those money should be used in more valuable places. They could invite the OLC, OBC and 98Film cast to have a reunion, release some stuff that never show before and so on. AND they just wasted the money!!

[@Tareltonlives]

Very underrated analysis

[@blueclover1543]

Cats ruined everybody’s life

[@fad23]

Great video. Now I want to see your take on A Chorus Line!