Cats (Reboot)

Cats is a musical fantasy film based on the stage musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which in turn was based on the poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) by T. S. Eliot. The film is a reboot of the 2019 film adaption which failed to appeal to audiences.

Plot summary
A young man was unfortunate to have to spend the night guard the local dump. But during his round, he stumbles upon a tribe of magical, singing cats calling themselves "Jellicles". They openly welcome him to take part in a celebration they call "The Jellicle Ball".

Plot
Elliot Possum is a security guard who agreed to take his friend Hank's graveyard shift in the dump outside of London. He started to get bored that night, until he found that the dump was being overrun with cats. He tried insulting the cats to make them go away, until he heard a voice come from somewhere. He was complete to watch the cats stand on their hind legs, talk, sing, and dance. They introduce themselves as the "Jellicle tribe" ("Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats"). When the confused Elliot asks what a Jellicle Cat is, the cats were stunned. They gathered around and proceed to explain to him that each cat have three different names: by the human family, by themselves, and a secret name ("The Naming of Cats"). Muskustrap, a silver tabby cat has revealed to him that they are a magical tribe of cats who have taken part in many cat-related myths and folktales; such as Egyptian gods, pets for witches, and hexes for bad luck. It was then the white kitten Victoria started her ballet solo, and then she conjured up a flash of light which signals their festivities to begin. Elliot could see that a space in the dump has been decorated for a party the cats call the "Jellicle Ball" ("The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball"). Muskustrap continued explaining that Jellicle Cats gather once a year to throw a ball when the "Jellicle Moon" comes out. For just before dawn, their leader will make what is called the "Jellicle Choice", and chooses one cat to go to the "Heaviside Layer" and be reborn into a new life. The cats sense that the Jellicle Moon has chosen the dump for the Jellicle Choice to be made that year. As being the only human present, the cats welcome Elliot to take part in the ball, much to his contempt.

Muskustrap then introduces Elliot to Jennyanydots the Old Gumbie Cat, a big lazy tabby cat who prefers to sleep all day ("The Old Gumbie Cat"). But at night, she spend most of her time training mice and cockroaches. The party was then crashed by Rum Tug Tugger, a carefree rebellious cat ("The Rum Tum Tugger"). While most of the younger cats idolize him, the others think of him to be a bad influence.

Cast

 * Tom Felton as Elliot Possum, a security guard watching over a local dump with a dislike for cats before taking part in the Jellicle Ball
 * Adam Driver as Hank, a friend and co-worker of Elliot's, whom took up his graveyard shift for him
 * Lee Arenberg as the wino who threw his shoe during "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats"

Cats

 * Patrick Wilson as as Munkustrap, the Silver Tabby guardian of the Jellicle Cats and host of the Jellicle Ball
 * Corbin Bleu as Rum Tum Tugger, a rebellious Maine Coon cat
 * Chi McBride as Old Deuteronomy, the wise old Norwegian Forest leader of the Jellicles
 * Zoe Saldana as Grizabella the Glamour Cat, an sad messy old Ragamuffin cat who lost her beauty after becoming an outcast from leaving the tribe a long time ago
 * Kevin Bacon as Macavity, a deranged ginger cat who has been known to be a nefarious criminal
 * Chloe Bennet as Demeter
 * Rebecca Ferguson as Cassandra, a lovely Thai cat
 * John De Lancie as Asparagus "Gus" the Theatre Cat, an elderly Devon Rex cat that was once a famous stage actor
 * Sally Field as Jellylorum
 * Melissa McCarthy as Jennyanydots the Old Gumbie Cat
 * Laurence R. Harvey as Bustopher Jones
 * Andrew Scott as Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat
 * Tom Holland as Quaxo/Mr. Mistoffelees, a young tuxedo cat who is also a clever magician
 * Anne Hathaway as Bombalurina
 * Halle Berry as Griddlebone
 * Austyn Johnson as Jemima

Production
In the 2019 film, the cast simply wear CGI suits while filming so that they can appear to possess catlike bodies. But in the reboot, the design of the cats are done very differently, inspired by the animation that created the animals from live-action Disney films, the Na'vi of Avatar, the chipmunks from Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Rocket Raccoon from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The characters are modeled after real-life cats, based on their fur texture and motions. The performers would dance and act in a green screen, wearing CGI suits and facial markers to capture their expression and movements for their animated counterparts. While filming, Tom Felton would be on the dump set alone with animation marker all around him and interact with the digital models on cue.

The idea of having a human in the film came from lyrics in the "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats":


 * There's a man over there with a look of surprise,
 * As much as to say, "Well now how about that!"
 * Do I actually see with my own very eyes
 * A man who's not heard of a Jellicle cat?
 * What's a Jellicle cat? What's a Jellicle cat?