Cats trailer: Funniest memes and Twitter reactions to the Taylor Swift film
Hot on the heels of the newly released Lion King live action film, there’s another animal movie in town, this time with smaller cats.
The first trailer for the hotly anticipated Cats was released on Thursday - and the Internet has some questions.
Within moments of it dropping, Twitter went into overdrive with memes about Taylor Swift, James Corden and the rest of the cast’s unsettlingly furry faces.
The film's stars including Swift, Corden, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Dame Judi Dench and Jason Derulo were featured singing and prowling their way across the screen.
But many had less than positive reactions to seeing the actors reimagined as cat-human hybrids.
I don't know what I expected from CATS' "digital fur technology" but the short answer is NOT this.
My brain has melted. My eyes are bleeding. There is no god. pic.twitter.com/HMeM0ixal1— Kristy Puchko (@KristyPuchko)
hallo am cat pic.twitter.com/EtDyZPnFni
— DivestTrump (@DivestTrump)
lion king (2019)
explaining how
fundamentally
important it is
that the cats
look like cats cats (2019) pic.twitter.com/O38k6ysuEb— jonny sun (@jonnysun)
my therapist: james corden tuxedo cat person isn’t real he can’t hurt you
james corden tuxedo cat person: pic.twitter.com/A9J7fHucTu— 🍸 (@oscarewilde)
— Walton Goggins' Baskin-Robbins (@tylergilfoster)
just watched the CATS trailer
how do i unwatch the CATS trailer— jacksfilms (@jacksfilms)
Some drew comparisons between Cats and the controversy surrounding Sonic the Hedgehog’s poorly received CGI treatment, which actually led the film to postponing its release.
idk, i think taylor swift looks good in the cats trailer pic.twitter.com/yCSEHqGPEs
— Josh Kurp (@JoshKurp)
They walked so that Cats (2019) could run. #CatsMovie pic.twitter.com/hTA6xGNNKa
— private (@private_2222)
An iconic moment from the cult comedy What We Do in the Shadows also began making the rounds, in which one of the film’s main characters transforms badly into a black cat.
where was this legend in the CATS trailer pic.twitter.com/993i3HSNxY
— christina 🕊 (@peeksheeshu)
— Trey Northcutt (@trey_northcutt)
choose your fighter pic.twitter.com/REUOgC4m9f
— iana murray (@ianamurray)
Fans of Kimmy Schmidt also chimed in, sharing GIFs of character Titus Burgess who has an entire episode in which he stars in the Webber musical.
Can't believe they didn't include Titus Andromedon, the real star of #Cats, in the trailer. pic.twitter.com/1iwOW8ITu1
— Rhys Pascoe (@rhyscpascoe)
Others simply responded with their own hilarious hot takes.
Cats (2019) pic.twitter.com/Xz2ND9NgUz
— Jules (@Julian_Epp)
Every cat in Cats is stuck halfway through their morph pic.twitter.com/6vOzm1xeds
— Hillary Busis (@hillibusterr)
Cats (2019) pic.twitter.com/Af8Zxkos53
— Claire White (@theclairencew)
Idris Elba needs to talk to his agent who I suspect may be a cat
— Cam Williams (@MrCamW)
New York’s hottest club is “HAVE YOU SEEN CATS?!” It has everything: Taylor Swift catnip, torn pillows, cocaine jazz hands, Jason DeRulo, and questionable morals.
— Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia)
The new #CatsMovie looks wild pic.twitter.com/DV9np6BVa6
— Joe Balfour (@BalfourJ)
There were also references to Scarlett Johansson, who was the subject of controversy recently when she said in an interview, “You know, as an actor I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job.”
if you thought the Cats trailer was bad wait'll you see Scarlett Johansson in Trees
— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA)
All these asian cat breeds in the world and they couldnt find ScarJo a role? thats messed up
— k austin collins (@melvillmatic)
Others also decided to re-cut the trailer to different music.
The 'Cats' trailer but with the 'Annihilation' score pic.twitter.com/MIFUsjylzR
— Bob Marshall (@bobmarshall)
One user edited the creepy theme from Jordan Peele’s horror movie Us over the trailer. The user wrote, “I think it fits better.”
Peele responded on Twitter, retweeting it with a simple “Yes.”
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele)
Of course, Twitter then kicked it into high gear when musical lovers pointed out that this isn’t even one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stranger musicals.
Another, called Starlight Express, sees trains as characters with actors zooming around onstage in roller blades.
If you think Cats looks mental wait til you see Starlight Express, which is much the same except instead of CATS they’re SENTIENT TRAINS.
— Tracy King (@tkingdot)
Everyone so upset about the Cats trailer like a Starlight Express movie wouldn’t be TEN THOUSAND TIMES more terrifying
— dolly (@loather)
MAKE THIS MOVIE IMMEDIATELY pic.twitter.com/35Lfpzt8xY
— Joe Reid (@joereid)
So, of course, Twitter did its thing...
Next up, Starlight Express pic.twitter.com/5q33ZdByKl
— Robert Downie-Blackwell (@DownieSeb)
After Cats, I can't wait for Tom Hooper's Starlight Express. pic.twitter.com/nk7NCnwHPz
— David Smith (@DSmith93_)
Starlight Express musical film adaptation when? I’m talking photorealistic cgi trains with human celebrities faces slapped on them singing and dancing pic.twitter.com/ZQ0hrRwCW1
— Positive Vibe Merchant (@Afroxpox)
Starlight Express (Dir. Tom Hooper, 2023) pic.twitter.com/tdGPVWcAP3
— Chris Bush (@ChrisBushWrites)
The musical, which draws its lyrics from many of poet T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, centres around a tribe of cats called the Jellicle Cats.
Every year, they come together to choose one cat to enter the Heaviside Layer - a feline equivalent of heaven. And of course, there’s that one hit song Memory in it which you’ve probably heard your parents warbling to themselves when they think nobody’s looking.
Cats will be released to theatres on December 20, just in time for a terrifying Christmas.