Cats is Marvelous! - Ep. 52 of Intentionally Blank

[@ghfghf7]

Dan: Yeah I just don't like cats Me: Haha yeah that makes sense Dan: Specifically viewer I dislike your cat Me: YOU WHAT?

[@mooommo14]

My cat is a bit of a jerk, so I don't blame him.

[@reflexjat3822]

Hahaha

[@naomiskilling1093]

Jokes on you, Dan, I have never owned a cat and have 3 dogs!

[@qkey01]

I can only recommend the analysis "Why the Music in Cats (2019) is Worse than you Thought" by Sideways in which he talks about all the things that are wrong with the music in cats. The biggest takeaway was that the orchestra had to play according to what the actors did and how they sang and the actors had no idea how to sing... without any backing. Truly incredible.

[@NotMeButAnother]

I feel like every commenter here has seen that video. Which they should, don't get me wrong Sideways is great, but it's still kind of surprising.

[@nathanhall9345]

My favorite thing from that video is him explaining that the entire musical is villain introduction songs and Memory is the only protagonist song.

[@Rik-B]

Yeah, from what Brandon is explaining in this video, I'm pretty sure he's seen that video or at least the Les Miz one himself, especially the part where he talks about Hooper's style of directing!

[@NotMeButAnother]

@@Rik-B To be honest, if Brandon himself was working from Sideways I'd have expected him to give the plug, considering how massive Brandon is and how much Sideways struggles with his work being plagiarized.

[@ashdog9235]

A truly amazing video I probably watch it every month

[@BackAlleyTANGO]

Brandon's enthusiasm here is absolutely delightful and adorable. xD

[@laylamckenzie]

I was thinking the same thing, this episode cheered me up completely purely from his joyful enthusiasm!!

[@avanz2885]

The Meow at the end 🤣🤣🤣 chef's kiss Brandon 👌

[@DemonFireRain]

I didn't know Brandon Sanderson had a podcast. This is awesome. Time to listen to every episode.

[@mythun6735]

Looks like you have a good year's worth of backlog! I'm jealous.

[@russellfranklinwrites]

God damn. Brandon has almost convinced me to watch Cats... Such joy on his face.

[@cbpd89]

The explanation of how Hooper directed explains why the singing in Les Mis is so subpar. Jackman is a really great singer, but freaking let the man drink water! I'm a singer. You CANNOT sing while you're singing. You should NOT be running your voice ragged. You can fake both to great effect, performance does not have to be real. Anyone directing singers that way deserves to be fired. Working that way will kill your voice, shorten your career, and is a huge risk for injury. Polyps and nodules are real, y'all. Just ask Julie Andrews.

[@LupintheThird]

[EDIT: Never mind.]

[@MercuryManProduction]

You might enjoy the video "Why the Music in Les Misérables (2012) is Worse than you Thought" by the channel Sideways. He is a music major and goes in to a lot of detail about the insane conditions people worked under in that film. Hugh Jackman being dehydrated is just the tip of the iceberg. Every detail is more insane than the last, and it is genuinely a miracle that nobody in the cast did permanent damage to their throat/ vocal chords.

[@fakub2026]

@@LupintheThird It's pretty obvious lol

[@fakub2026]

@Day "Jackman is a really great singer, but freaking let the man drink water!" It's implied that the typo mistake was referring at this. "You can't sing while you're dehydrated" and you know is that... asking someone to edit a comment that has only ONE error and you can fill the blank pretty easily it's pretty absurd and condencending. Also who cares? lol

[@pretends2know]

Having watched this entire podcast and seen the Cats movie, I have a guess as to why Cats isn’t gaining it’s so bad it’s good status: far fewer people are familiar with the background knowledge of Cats, musicals, and Tom Hooper to appreciate WHY Cats is as baffling as it was. Without all that, it’s just a musical that leaves a bland or bad emotional experience with no explanation as to why it felt that way. Musicals are more niche when compared to movies, so the curiosity to examine that isn’t nearly as great either. So the bulk of audiences are left with “let’s just move on.”

[@BrandSanderson]

You probably have a point. The majority of "So bad it is good" movies (the room excluded) are science fiction or fantasy. The audience for bad movies tends to overlap with sf/f fans, who know the genre language and can better appreciate the mistakes. Yeah, I really like this analysis. Smart thinking there.

[@easymoney4228]

The meow at the end killed me, I’m dying laughing 😂 Okay I’m sold and going to see this movie just to see a man with a CGI cat body dramatically meow in an evil way.

[@itsacopy]

I simply LOVE how Dan laughs in a way that shows how funny the CHAOTIC GOOD POV from Brandon is

[@MasticinaAkicta]

Sadly on the note of watch parties... as much as my friends love movie nights. The moment I drag out the idea for cats... they suddenly are VERY busy that day.

[@camero220]

I haven't had as much fun in a theater watching Cats (2019) since Expendables 3. Go in with no expectations and let any movie's spectacle (or in some cases ridiculousness) really take you for a ride. No regrets to be had.

[@sether_ton]

I would personally edit that “Dan and Brandon watch movies” show just to see it.

[@sether_ton]

(Hire me please, Dragonsteel)

[@akl2k7]

Make sure they watch it with silhouettes, MST3K style.

[@sether_ton]

@@akl2k7 Of course! As if there was any other way to do it

[@thefabulouskitten7204]

Same

[@bryanweatherston5367]

The comment at ~22:10 about stealing imagination is how I felt about early HD content. The HD made the surroundings look more like a set, messing up the illusion.

[@hallaloth3112]

I woke up with a fever over 100 this morning. The enthusiasm and energy brightened the morning. Thanks for the laughter despite barely being able to get out of bed.

[@TheButterflyChaos]

Ahaha watching Brandon go "Cats! Cats!" Is just endearing

[@phoenixking62]

There's a really great video about the music in Cats by a youtuber named Sideways. He also talks about the original musical a little bit, and you might find it interesting.

[@kayyoung3187]

I think this is from the last episode but I’m still laughing at “…this is what happens when you let someone who loves Speed Racer watch other movies…” or something like that. I love it.

[@JoeMama410]

My wife went to Cats expecting it to be delightfully bad. She walked out about 30 minutes in because she was so uncomfortable. They were writhing around like they were in heat and that could go nowhere good.

[@Tock86]

I really want a watch along of Cats with Dan and Brandon now

[@aerynmusick4548]

I just knew Dan was a comrade!

[@B-MC]

I got into Cats (the recorded stage version) because my friend was ranting about the movie and showed me the original (in the background while we played yugioh) and I was really captivated by it. I knew going in there wasn't much story so it felt good to have something to do while it was going, but the visuals and the music made it totally worth it. I really loved Pirates Of Penzance. Cats is one of those products where I totally get why people go "...its just cats and dancing" but as far as "just cats dancing" goes, Cats does it extremely well. Its so weird how I went from the stage cats to Into The Woods and loved that too; but the Into The Woods movie I didn't like at all (I know that one wasn't Tom Hooper but still). So I feel like I desperately need to see the stage version of Les Miserables because I feel like everytime there's a bad musical movie, the stageshow just feels magical. "Tom Hooper has no idea how to make a movie musical" Sideways has a good video on this. I feel like they've seen it but he talks about exactly what they mention.

[@Silas_MN]

the stage version of Les Mis is phenomenal, I've been to a couple of different productions and I cry every time

[@trlspann]

That food heist story was the best yet. A ripper!

[@alexh4935]

The Irish Potato Famine’s true cause was cruel British policy. That’s WHY the Irish were so dependent on the potato monoculture. They were growing many other grains but weren’t allowed to keep any of them because they had to be taken to England to be sold, despite the hunger of the Irish farmers who were growing them. The English also didn’t allow in any aid for years because “it might drive down grain prices.” Hate to be a downer on a normally fun podcast, but this is a historical misconception that really, really bothers me. The more research you do on this topic, the more you will discover that this was nothing short of ethnic cleansing.

[@DianaCHewitt]

The Corn Laws killed a ton of Irish people.

[@Cumulonimbusbolt]

This comment made me look into the famine as I realized I didn’t know anything about it. Wow cruel doesn’t even begin to describe a quarter of what I just read. It was pure unmitigated evil. The landlords, the middlemen, the British parliament… I honestly had no idea how horrifically cruel that entire situation was. I have to say a lot more of history I did know a little about like Irish independence movements and the troubles make so much more sense now.

[@iivin4233]

Remember that time when an island just a few kilometers away from Britain was considered full of subhumans? I remember.

[@sasstemir]

I could listen for you two talk about random things forever, thank god for this podcast

[@YoJesusMorales]

Man, you should do a collab with drawfee, they loved Cats as well. Maybe they could do some drawings of the cosmere with a twist.

[@hotliacult2986]

i love drawfee so much, that would be an amazing crossover

[@BenjaminJochum]

great idea!

[@folly...]

You. I love you. I love you so much. I hope your day is wonderful. I hope your life is blessed. You deserve it. You're a wonderful individual. You're wise and also very right and what you're saying is extremely correct

[@ovrair6340]

that would be awesome

[@Connor_Crain]

YES!!!!

[@moonlight293]

The Cats movie was such a fun experience to watch at the cinema with other people. I love Brandon's take on it. So terrible it's incredibly entertaining.

[@ashdog9235]

Cats is my favorite movie and I will forever be sad that I didn’t see it in theaters

[@rmsgrey]

Yeah, there are so many people working so hard to make Hooper's f'd up ideas work at all. The orchestra have to be insanely good in order to be able to take the random, constantly varying tempi of the soloists and actually accompany it and make it sound like music. Then there are so many details in the set design (both physical and CG) that show people having poured their hearts into making this random mishmash into something resembling a setting...

[@tanyam928]

Love the analysis as to why Cats is "mesmerizing", "delightful", and "amazing"... and the meow at the end 😂

[@younktsome2]

the gauge between the rails is 56 3/4" and the rail itself is about 3.5"

[@deborahmadison6670]

This is the BEST episode yet! Can you watch night of the lepus and do commentary? Or plan 9… just all of the best movies should get a Brandon breakdown. Oh The Room! Do the room!

[@Reksal]

Brandon is so excited explaining Cats that he stopped signing for 10 minutes straight!

[@nathanhall9345]

12 minutes in: "This is 'The Room' level bad." There it is. Yes. I loved Cats! the same way.

[@GreeneyedApe]

Yeah, there was a LOT of mislead for this... an unconscionable amount, I would say

[@FractalParadox]

Brandon would truly vibe with Sideways

[@destro6971]

Musical line about potatoes to correlate with topic of todays video: The sky is blue, and all the leaves are green…my heart’s as full as a baked potato! “Cannibal! The Musical”

[@hayligeffen3296]

This is my favourite episode!

[@jaredpoulter6762]

I recently moved, but before I did I was part of a good bad movie club that met monthly. We had plans to see Cats, but they feel through. Now I really regret that we didn't make that happen before I moved.

[@GeehSavinon]

My favorite author talking about a song my favorite songwriter (Taylor Swift) wrote. I storming love this.

[@michaelweber6899]

Oh, you haven't seen the real Starlight Express in Bochum, Germany. There the trains are portraied by actors on roller skates. Spectacular!

[@SoyElDiabloRojo]

*Guys from Idaho talking about how perfect potatoes are "Hmm... sus..." *Guys like 'commie socialist' Canadian potatoes over Idaho potatoes. "Huh. Guess it wasn't advertising. Carry on, then!"

[@crndg15607]

I would rent cats in a heartbeat to do a listen along while watching.

[@bendingsands87]

Hey you guys should talk about Love, Death, and Robots sometime🙂. After watching those I've always wondered what fantasy/scifi authors thought about it. Do you think these shorts could be platforms to essentially screen test ideas to see if it could make a full movie/series? I dream of a "what if" scenerio where the creators spin it off into a fantasy-specific anthology where they make an anthology of shorts based on popular fantasy author's stories. Thanks for these podcasts. They're great👍

[@sanderella1642]

Brandon Sanderson is a GENIUS ❤️

[@Solemnyty]

I haven’t seen this Cats movie… but after hearing it described, it definitely seems to be in the camp of “so bad, it’s good.” I have to watch it now.

[@robertdullnig3625]

Now I want to see Brandon's take on Love Never Dies.

[@moonlight293]

Oh my gosh yes

[@robertsorensen7650]

I like Cats because everyone looked like they had a lot of fun making this movie and I just want all the actors to have a good time :)

[@alexanderloeb]

My cat is currently in the hospital ☹️ But I’m enough of an adult to say the phone charger comment holds true.

[@BenjaminJochum]

there's this great (but long) video by the music theory channel sideways in which he dissects everything wrong with the movie "cats". It gets pretty ranty but i found it very enjoyable.

[@BenjaminJochum]

also please talk more about musicals! I really enjoy hearing your opinions on them.

[@saraeissa4954]

That was a good food heist!! Reverse psychology all the way 😁

[@leonardolf6974]

Cats as a music is a study into "I'am" songs vs "I want" songs If you watched any Disney movie with musics, you know this two "I'am" songs are mostly for the bad guys, "I want" songs usually is for the protagonist Mostly musics in cats is "i'am" songs Then comes "Memory" the "I want" song

[@authorquest]

The Lord of the Rings Version of the movie “Cats” is the one called “In the name of the King” it’s so bad it’s good

[@amandal718]

I enjoyed this so much I will have to watch the movie!

[@DizzyRotBrain]

I was in Hawaii at the time Cats came out and the only theater in the area had it and Star Wars to watch. I saw Cats. On the big screen. Then, after, I preordered the blue ray. It was horrible and I loved it.

[@brokenredflag]

You guys desagreeng and talking it out is so magical. :)❤️👍

[@landonbohinc8146]

Storyyyy idea! Rappunzel but with a twist- Instead of Rappunzel being trapped in the tower it’s Flint and instead of head hair it’s his facial hair. As Rappunzel is climbing she’s a little overweight so she accidentally pulls his hair a little too hard and it wraps around his neck and breaks it. The rest of the story she has to prove her innocence and it becomes a Grisham style story. You finish it. Oh yah and instead of calling it “Tangled” like Disney I’m calling it “Strangled”

[@sanjaanamsan2522]

The thumbnail says everything.

[@cutestcorgi4194]

The next time I'm numb and can't feel anything, I'm gonna watch Cats bc I watch it and feel nothing but rage and frustration

[@groofay]

I picked the perfect day to make potatoes for lunch.

[@Ssarevok]

Sideways has a brilliant video about Cats. The first 15 minutes does an awesome job of explaining what the musical is about. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2TEfGB7gJqJaM0

[@Keyraknightley]

Mario Bros mauling was bizarre. But brandon meowing was hilarious 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@c_nrad]

My experience with cats was the only person of about 20 in the theater that was either too sober or too curmudgeonly to get on the film’s level because everyone else enjoyed it like Brandon did

[@aashishbhattarai9991]

Here we go!

[@battlestarkoala]

I really want to hear your thoughts on Everything Everywhere All At Once. I can't guess if you guys would have loved it or hated it and I can normally guess .. :D

[@mjproehl]

The comedy podcast ‘The Worst Idea of All Time’, whose premise is repeated ad nauseum watches of bad movies, did a week of Cats. I recommend it highly. Hosted by a couple of New Zealander improv comedians.

[@samanthaa.6055]

Wheel of Time also struck on this problem with Loial, IMO, with the uncanny valley aspect.

[@AutkastKain]

I did theatre in high school, yet I didn't notice how bad the music on the Les Miserables movie was. But now I realize why: it mostly sounded like our high school performances of musicals

[@jotobrosmusic3928]

The same potato heist was orchestrated in Greece as well in the 1830s, and for the same reason too

[@masonwheeler6536]

2:37: "Let them eat cake." Marie Antoinette actually never said that. We know this because first, there are no contemporary historical sources that attribute it to her, second, there _is_ a contemporary source that attributes the phrase to an unnamed noblewoman, but it was published while Marie was still in her early childhood (around 5 years old IIRC,) and third, as best we can tell, Marie Antoinette was a kindhearted ruler who legitimately cared for the plight of the poor. (This does not, obviously, mean that she was _effective_ at doing anything about it...)

[@TonyRobetson]

nice to get such an in-depth explanation on why it was bad. when it came out, people did do viewing parties at alamo drafthouse style movie theaters

[@CrapE_DM]

I think the biggest reason there aren't viewing parties is how much people hate looking at the cat CG

[@beLIEver31415]

"She is fantastic... legit fantastic" hahaha unlike the other time's "fantastic" has been used to describe parts of this movie HAHAH

[@gre4231]

To whoever makes the thumbnails, you should make more with unique backgrounds.

[@flowhannesburg1912]

Absolutely!

[@69Schalk]

Hey man, just wondering im not looking for trouble, does that mean this one is good or not

[@Trintron46]

@@69Schalk I think they liked this one having the Cats background, compared to the usual one color with a snap of the two of them talking. So it's kind of a backhanded compliment like "this thumbnail is better than the rest and they should continue it." I don't agree, just clarifying.

[@69Schalk]

@@Trintron46 thank you kind sir

[@TryingIGuess]

Obligatory Sideways shout-out. His cats video is great.

[@shadowhawx]

The channel Sideways has a great video about how bad the music in cats is and I can't recommend the video enough

[@evelynbasham1673]

People are already talking about this becoming the next Rocky Horror Picture Show. There would have been screening for it if not for Covid. In time you will see people gathering to watch this like the Room.

[@joefanno9180]

After listening to this episode my wife and I decided to watch the movie, and let me tell you it did not disappoint 😂. My wife, who is a huge fan of the Broadway was cringing so hard through the whole thing 😂 it is so baffling how they were able to ruin every single song from the original. Definitely a so bad it’s good movie to watch if you are familiar with the Broadway.

[@gman7774]

Y’all should watch the video by Sideways on KZbin about the Cats movie. It is the best breakdown I’ve seen to date and hilarious at that.

[@Mara15613]

John III Sobieski (Polish king) brought potatoes for his wife from Vienna and it was grown as a flower (the upper part of potatoes) in 1683

[@SoyElDiabloRojo]

BrandoSando guest appearance on Red Letter Media - Best of the Worst -- WHEN!?

[@Mclearmountain]

Amazing, mesmerizing!

[@denglongfist4270]

Shout out to Plan 9 from Outer Space…and implicitly to Bela Lugosi and his body double, which is much taller than him

[@braden9294]

Fun fact: Peru has over 3000 varieties of potatoes. It's a lot more than just a couple hundred :)

[@stevehealt9046]

Well, I guess I'm going to have to watch Cats now

[@madlycan]

well now I actually have to watch that movie.^^

[@pearanerd]

Dan hates cats, and Cats. Dan hates Hawaiian pizza. Dan hates oatmeal cookies. I'm not sure I can be his friend. Unless he gives me all his oatmeal cookies.

[@amvfan15]

I will just point out that Mungo Jerry is an actual person He sings In the summertime

[@mrcliff3709]

Yeah the name came from the original ts elliot poems.

[@ashdog9235]

5:32

[@stefanyuwono1909]

Here's a suggestion: do a Livestream of watching cats, so you can interact with viewers watching at the same time as you.

[@alisonhill3941]

"Imagine British and Irish food without potatoes" - oh look, turnips. Which, when cooked, look almost exactly the same as potatoes.

[@laureloneiros1500]

false, I love potatoes, turnip makes me puke

[@alisonhill3941]

@@laureloneiros1500 Erm, true. Before potatoes were introduced to the isles, the staple that filled the role the potato later would was the turnip. British and Irish food without potatoes was turnip-based. It's a matter of history, not your personal preferences.

[@stevenwojtysiak6392]

Cats was made specifically for the next revival of Mystery Science Theater 3000

[@karolovesbooks2233]

🥺 you dislike MY cats?! 🐱 I still like you, Dan 😜

[@jaceb8593]

I can't believe that Dan doesn't like my cat

[@LimegreenSnowstorm]

This potato guy is the epitome of chaotic good

[@jacknixon2812]

so its flash gordon, but for musicals?

[@robbiereed4462]

Idaho Russet for mashed and baked, Ucon Golds for everything else.

[@almogdov]

Highly recommend watching Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers. It is a love letter for animation history and there is a decent Cats joke in it

[@Themadkiller10]

What a title

[@davidmahon925]

Feeling obliged as an Irish person to say that for us at least, the potato didn’t cause the famine, the Brits did. Massive amounts of other foods were forcibly exported from Ireland during the famine and the British crown blocked aid to Ireland from sympathetic countries. More genocide than famine in our case.

[@zibus8456]

I don't know what you're talking about. My wife and I have introduced so many people to Cats, and I'm sure we'll introduce it to many more.

[@iivin4233]

A horror author looks me dead in the eye and tells me he's never abused a cat.