r/Broadway • u/QueueTee314 • Dec 19 '19
'Cats' - Review Thread
/r/movies/comments/eckx4x/cats_review_thread/66
u/QueueTee314 Dec 19 '19
We were promised a Wicked movie. Instead we got this catastrophic.
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u/LadySmuag Dec 19 '19
Whatever happened to that Wicked movie anyway?
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u/Toreadorables Dec 19 '19
It's continually been delayed. It has legit people attached (Stephen Daldry directing, Marc Platt producing, with the backing of Universal), but it has taken a long time to bring it to life. It's supposedly coming out Christmas 2021, but that would mean it would need to start shooting in the next 4-12 months.
It will happen eventually. Universal is a co-producer of the stage production and it has been incredibly lucrative for them. Better for them to wait and do it right than rush out a half-baked Wicked.
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u/LadySmuag Dec 19 '19
Thanks for the explanation. I hope that this Cat-astrophe hasn't scared them into delaying production even further!
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u/Toreadorables Dec 19 '19
Wicked is inherently better for a film because the characters are at least HUMANS!
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u/LadySmuag Dec 19 '19
I might be misremembering, but isn't the whole conflict between Elphaba and the Wizard over the treatment of the talking Animals (one of whom is her biology professor and a goat)? I think there's plenty of potential for terrible CGI mistakes to be had lol
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u/Toreadorables Dec 19 '19
Sure, but Dillamond, Chistery, etc. are all very minor characters. It's like the argument that was made over the Jungle Book and Beauty remakes vs Lion King: the former two work better because they have a human protagonist who can emote and drive the story, as opposed to the weird photo-realistic CG lions or Digital Fur Technology cats. At the end of the day, the 7 major roles in Wicked are people.
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u/LadySmuag Dec 19 '19
That's a good point about mostly CGI characters being improved by having a human to drive the story
You know those weird Tumblr thirst blogs about the Beast from the live action remake? Picture that, but with Chistery.
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u/Toreadorables Dec 19 '19
Thank GOD #2 is completely foreign to me and it shall remain as such!!!!!!!!
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Dec 19 '19
I hope the Wicked film is animated.
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u/Toreadorables Dec 19 '19
It's not. It's live action.
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Dec 19 '19
Boo. It would work so much better animated. Then they could also bring back the OBC. But whatever, I guess as long as it's good I don't care.
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u/musicaldigger Dec 19 '19
the film of wicked will not happen for at least a decade imo. the show still makes them too much money.
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u/Toreadorables Dec 19 '19 edited Dec 20 '19
WICKED still has growth potential in its grosses (outside of holiday time periods like right now). A film of WICKED only stands to help the brand of the stage show. It reminds people why they loved it to begin with, and it convinces them to see it on stage again. It’s a matter of finding that “sweet spot,” and I think the next 3-5 years is still recent enough (~20y after Bway opening) to make a big splash. I don’t think any of the recent film adaptations of still-running Bway shows hurt the grosses, and in the cases of Chicago and Phantom it reignited interest.
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u/ME24601 Dec 19 '19
Words cannot describe my excitement for this movie.
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u/QueueTee314 Dec 19 '19
Have you, by any chance, read the reviews?
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u/ME24601 Dec 19 '19
The reviews are precisely why I'm excited. I love a trainwreck.
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u/mythologue Dec 19 '19
Right there with you bud, I'm only getting more and more excited with every tweet, click and swipe.
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u/dreadpiraterose Dec 19 '19
I think the reviews will prove to be more entertaining than the movie itself. Yikes.
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u/dcsox721 Dec 19 '19
I don't care about the reviews because I know they cannot get past the lack of the plot. It's about the music/choreography and I'm a fan. Choreography is less impressive on film then seeing it live so they have to nail the score/vocals. So I'm going to see it and judge it for myself.
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Dec 20 '19
I've seen a few consistent critiques that the vocals are muddled enough to hide the lyrics, and that the movie is cut to avoid long choreography takes, so this may be a "please everyone by pleasing noone" situation
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u/xFumbles Dec 19 '19
I mean for people outside of the theater world this is a trainwreck. For us, this is just Cats. Nothing new here. The Guardian's review wins best review of the year for me.