It wasn’t that long ago that I foolishly said that the “Sonic the Hedgehog” trailer release was perhaps the biggest marketing faux pas the film industry has seen over the last year. While that trailer featured a divisive design for the lead character, the fundamentals were there for a fun children’s film. All that was needed is a little tinkering with the main character, which the director said is happening and the studio is delaying the film to make it right. But then came “Cats.”
Where do we start with “Cats?”
The trailer, which premiered yesterday, instantly blew up on social media, but for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps the most-beloved Broadway musical of all time is coming to theaters later this year and it should be a slam-dunk, right? Sign a star-studded, A-list cast featuring acclaimed actors and some of the biggest pop stars in the world. Then combine that with a major studio willing to spend the money to make the musical come to life on the big screen. And finally, add a director who won an Oscar for “The King’s Speech” and previously directed another musical-to-film adaptation, “Les Misérables.”
Unfortunately, when people watch the trailer for “Cats,” they’re horrified. Sure, the special effects definitely look half-baked (which is normal for film trailers), but even taking that into consideration, the characters in the film look absolutely nightmare-inducing. It’s like Mike Myers in “Cat in the Hat” but with an eerie, I’ll-eat-your-dead-body-because-I’m-a-evil-feline vibe that no amount of classic show tunes can shake. So, being that social media is great at tearing apart films and creating memes that will damage the marketing campaign of a project, Twitter did what Twitter does.
What better way to show that “Cats” might be more disturbing than recent horror films like “Us” and “Midsommar” than by combining the music from those films with the imagery of Jennifer Hudson and Taylor Swift as anthropomorphic felines?
Jordan Peele sure does approve, as he shared one such video on his Twitter account. Why did a director of a film share a parody trailer of another film? Because it’s fucking hilarious, and so, so perfect, obviously.
Fans also created mash-up trailers combining the aforementioned “Midsommar” music, as well as one using the incredible, underrated score for “Annihilation.” Now, if only someone can combine the scene where the bear attacks Natalie Portman, but with her being stalked by a “Cats” character, then we’d maybe be able to die in peace.
Ultimately, it’ll be interesting to see how Universal and the filmmakers behind “Cats” respond to this explosion on social media. Honestly, this is turning into an even bigger PR crisis than ‘Sonic’ and the studio quickly delayed that film for months to satisfy film fans. Can you fundamentally change the film at this point? Probably not.
For now, it appears that “Cats” will arrive in theaters on December 20.
https://twitter.com/JordanPeele/status/1152038669647114240
https://twitter.com/bobmarshall/status/1151973931940757506?s=21
https://twitter.com/velozmachine/status/1151984723142406145
