The long-awaited trailer for the new live-action Cats film has finally been released. The film is an adaptation of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that was based on a 1939 book of poems called Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot.
It’s directed by Tom Hooper who did Les Misérables and The King’s Speech. Andy Blankenbuehler serves as choreographer while Steven Spielberg is the executive producer. The movie is set to premiere on 20 December 2019.
The cast
The film boasts a cast of true A-listers, from Jennifer Hudson (Grizabella), Taylor Swift (Bombalurina), Sir Ian McKellen (Gus the Theatre Cat), Idris Elba (Macavity), Dame Judi Dench (Old Deuteronomy) to Jason Derulo (Rum Tum Tugger), Rebel Wilson (Jennyanydots) and James Corden (Bustopher Jones).
It also features Royal Ballet dancer Francesca Hayward (Victoria) in her debut film. The 27-year-old plays ballet-dancing Victoria the White Cat.
The story
A tribe of cats called the Jellicles gather together for the annual Jellicle Ball at the junkyard and take turns telling the story of their lives in the form of songs. Based on these song performances, they make “the Jellicle choice” to decide which cat gets to go to the Heavisicle Layer and be reborn into a new life.
One cat doesn’t get much love from the rest of the tribe: a shabby old grey cat named Grizabella. Every time she appears, the other cats would leave in disgust and fear. During the Ball, Grizabella tries to dance along but can’t due to age and condition. The Jellicle patriarch, Old Deuteronomy, gives her a chance and she finally gets her moment, singing the hauntingly beautiful signature song of the musical, Memory.
Differences with the musical
- The actors don’t wear the tight cat suits and facepaint. Instead, they put on motion capture suits, and the cat features you’ll see in the film are all digitally added.
- They dance on actual sets with actual gigantic furniture so that they look small and more cat-sized.
Watch the trailer:
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