LxGstv said: "Sonic the hedgehog also got a negative reaction, and then they announced that they would work on it and make changes... I wonder if the same will happen for Cats..."
That was just one character though. I would imagine even minor changes would be a lot more work than Sonic.
I'm just not sure the cat/human hybrid thing can be pulled off on film. It's like they were scared to go to far in either direction and ended up with a disturbing middle ground.
What I don't get is why they're showing Victoria running around the bedroom tearing up the bed and wearing the necklace and stuff. That looks like the Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer number but that's clearly not Rumpleteazer.
The trailer really made me realize that John Napier's original designs for the original production were rather brilliant. The show wasn't brilliant but his designs were. I'm feeling a little sad for Napier with the recent closure of the last Les Miserables that used his designs. RIP turntable.
I've been out for a month or so and then THIS happens! Honestly, I'm glad that Tom Hooper isn't playing it safe and doing some very WEIRD stuff with this movie. Yeah the CG is a big dose of WTF but I think it's part of why I want to see this come December. The sets, shots, dances, perspective is pretty good choices and the cast seems very game.
I want to see this with a full audience looking at this with all kinds of emotions and I'm all here for it.
CT2NYC said: "bryan2 said: "The trailer has been released, ok now haters go...………………………….."
The trailer was released on Thursday, and people have been posting about it since then."
and so far YOUTUBE has recorded OVER 5 million views of this trailer...so i would say interest is very high...we shall see in December if this translates to box-office $$$
There is no way there weren't some hastily arranged conference calls about the hate-viewing responses to this, particularly the CGI. Too much money on the line.
broadwaybabywannabe2 said: "CT2NYC said: "bryan2 said: "The trailer has been released, ok now haters go...………………………….."
The trailer was released on Thursday, and people have been posting about it since then."
and so far YOUTUBE has recorded OVER 5 million views of this trailer...so i would say interest is very high...we shall see in December if this translates to box-office $$$"
The bit with Rebel Wilson was hilarious! That scene alone will bring people to the theaters.
And there's one important demographic that can't be overlooked: cat lovers. A movie about dancing and singing cats? They're in (and I count myself in that group).
I'm not an animal person, so I can't speak for that group of people. But I would think that if you are a cat person and really want to see a movie about cats, wouldn't you want them to...I don't know...look like CATS and not nightmarish human-cat abomination hybrids? Like, isn't the appeal of seeing animals on scream supposed to be that they're cute, and remind you of your own beloved pets? Even if we ignore the fact that the CGI is absolutely horrifying, they are clearly designed to look more on the human side in terms of their body shape, faces, and even behavior. I just don't see how they could possibly remind people of their own pets.
JBroadway said: "I'm not an animal person, so I can't speak for that group of people. But I would think that if you are a cat person and really want to see a movie about cats, wouldn't you want them to...I don't know...look like CATS and not nightmarish human-cat abomination hybrids? Like, isn't the appeal of seeing animals on scream supposed to be that they're cute, and remind you of your own beloved pets? Even if we ignore the fact that the CGI is absolutely horrifying, they are clearly designed to look more on the human side in terms of their body shape, faces, and even behavior. I just don't see how they could possibly remind people of their own pets."
I find this trailer painful and disturbing to watch. I find this particularly true when looking at Hudson and the white cat with the distressing appendage.
Though I don't think the trailer looks any good, most of the complaining about stuff is the usual 'who can be the funniest person on the internet' style childish boy humour bull**** that usually accompanies these sorts of films..
As someone who LOATHED the stage version, the only thing that was even remotely iconic and memorable about it for me (apart from a few songs) was the choreography and the way the cats moved.
In fairness to Hooper, who is always unfairly judged on this board, what he has done is really the only way he could've gone to commit the only enjoyable aspect of the show to film.
While it is true the best way to do it would've either been with traditional hand drawn animation or CGI cats as far as the story, music and visuals go, there is no way to do it in either of those formats and retain the iconic choreography, just like there is no way to make photo realistic animals emote like humans in The Lion King. Fully CGI'd or animated cats in their original scales doing that choreography would've looked 100 times more ridiculous than this does.
Everyone is whinging about the CGI in the trailer, but trailers never have finished CGI in them. They have literally edited the trailer with raw footage and quickly CGI'd those shots to get something out. The completed version I'm sure will look very different, especially after all the criticism.
The cats in the stage version also wore fur coats so that criticism is just stupid.
Lastly, just like Avatar and the like that have weird looking CGI creations in them, the cats may look weird at first in a 2 minute trailer, but you will soon get used to their appearance in their world if you're watching a whole 2 hour film.
Should've just animated it. This is beyond disturbing. Where are their cat eyes? Where's their muzzle? Where are their cat teeth?
The issue is that they've left these characters halfway between human and cat, which makes them look creepy as hell. JHud's weird human lips are floating all over this furry face that looks like it's been glued to the body of an oversized cat. It looks horrible.
The It2 trailer wasn't even this disturbing looking.
That being said, the cinematography looks nice and it was good to hear that they've used actual set pieces as opposed to just CGIing everything. But unfortunately, when you CGI the actors, everything looks false, so they might as well have just CGIed the set too. Kind of a waste.
I'm still seeing it, but I'm expecting a fiery trainwreck.
It just looks like the stage version with more locations. I don't find the "cats" disturbing or creepy, so much as just underwhelming. They look like the stage costumes, but with less commitment to looking like actual cats.
I agree with everyone saying it should have just been animated. It wouldn't even have to be a photo-realistic style ala Favreau's LION KING. They could have gone the Dreamworks or Pixar or Disney Animation Studios route of 3D cartoon characters. I think the style of Pixar's shorts would work well for this material. Yes, the choreography is the best part of the stage version, but they could have found something else to showcase in an animated version. They wouldn't have to have the cats dancing elaborate choreography, but have actual narrative going on instead.
I think the biggest issue is that I don't really understand the cinematic universe this is supposed to be taking place in. It occupies a weird realm between cartoon (animals wearing clothes and with an elaborate society) and real life (they're not stylized cartoon cats; they're... humans in leotards?). I just don't understand why anyone thought this would be a good idea. It just looks ridiculous on film.
MikeInTheDistrict, I think their universe is random and hardly has any laws or principles of existence. For instance, they've got a milk bar which I think no one attends but cats, but for some reason everything in it is human-sized.
Magnificent Donkey said: "MikeInTheDistrict, I think their universe is random and hardly has any laws or principles of existence. For instance, they've got a milk bar which I think no one attends but cats, but for some reason everything init is human-sized."
I missed that the Milk Bar was only for cats. I thought it was a human bar. It just leaves me with a ton of questions. Are there even humans in this universe? How do they interact with these "cats" that look and move like humans in body suits?