Everyone’s been living in denial the past few months, trying to forget that collective nightmare that was the first “Cats” trailer. Though on occasion someone would write some news piece trying to convince us that it was an actual movie, we still considered the sight of James Corden as a fur-tuxedo-wearing cat person as a collective nightmare. That all changed when Universal Pictures decided to go ahead and release a second trailer for “Cats,” reminding you once and for all that this is a real motion picture that is coming to theaters later this year.
READ MORE: Taylor Swift Coming For That Oscar With An Original ‘Cats’ Song
With an impressive cast that includes everyone from Idris Elba to Dame Judie Dench, director Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the classic Broadway hit, is certainly hoping to get a few award nominations, even convincing Taylor Swift to write an original song for the musical. It remains to be seen if the movie even screens in time for nominations, though it is hard to imagine (really, try imagining such a thing) the Academy Awards not making fun of the whole concept and bringing someone dressed as a cat in one way or another.
Of course, the biggest topic of conversation, and the reason the movie started creeping its way into our nightmares is the use of motion capture to portray the cast in full-body fur, turning respected actors into anthropomorphic spawns of hell. While the actors have come out and defended the use of CGI in the film, no one has been able to answer why the cats have human breasts, and how exactly those tails work.
“Cats” is based on the musical of the same name which went on to earn Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score, among others. The play is based on T.S. Eliot‘s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” with music by musical theater legend Andrew Lloyd Webber. This is the plot description for the movie:
Over a single night, a tribe of cats called the Jellicles make what is known as “the Jellicle choice” and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.
The movie also stars Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson and introduces Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward in her feature film debut.
“Cats” will claw into your nightmares December 20.