#I long disliked the birdy version but I thought that was the original so at least credit to her BUT JO

[sleepbby]

how am I just finding out that skinny love by bon iver is the original version lordddd

[aceofshitposts]

I saw that you like CATS the musical. What are your thoughts on the movie?

AAAAH AHHAHA oh man oh boy y'all should BUCKLE IN cuz it's a ride

my simple thoughts? it's entertaining if only because it butchered the stage show so badly in an attempt to idk modernize it? Well, modernization is one part of it I think. The other part I'll go into below lol. I don't necessarily hate some of the more modern renditions of the songs (mostly the ensemble sets like Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats) but then others are just... so poorly done it's insulting.

I've said this at the end of this whole rant too but I'm gonna put it up here in case people don't (justifiably) wanna see me go on and on about it:

The movie wasn't made for fans of the musical. It was made to make money and I believe they choose, at least partially, to do that through making it the weirdest and worst possible adaptation they could so that people would want to go see the train wreck. Which, really, worked! It was all people could talk about for a good while so like... Goal achieved, I guess.

A MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS UNDER THE CUT cuz i don't wanna. flood your dash with... this

ALRIGHT SO. Most of my friends know I'm actually a huge fan of new adaptations of things. I love remakes (provided the people making it are coming at it with some form of heart and not just... cash grabbing which is more often the case) I love seeing other peoples interpretations of characters, or changing settings. It's one of the reasons I like American comics so much, getting to see different writers takes is fascinating.

I think musical movies can be wonderful ways to introduce people to a stage show that might have been unavailable to them otherwise! Chicago, for example, is one of the BEST musical to movie adaptations in my opinion. It kept the heart of the show, it's funny and the song numbers are done really well.

There are of course other famous examples, such as Grease or Bye Bye Birdie. Hairspray was also a wonderful take. These are simply off the top of my head, there are of course more.

CATS in particular has a history. If you go through my CATS tag you may see a few posts from @catsnonreplica which posts photos from non broadway productions of CATS! It's a fascinating read and I love, love, love looking at the other interpretations of the characters! CATS is a musical full of fun and wonderful characters if you take the time to see past the ridiculousness haha and the Korean and Japanese runs of CATS especially have some of my favourites.

How does this relate to the movie, I hear you say well. As you might has noticed the movie's interpretations of the characters is........ lackluster at best and downright uncanny valley at best.

CATS is, at its core, a ridiculous thing. I will fully admit that! But it's fun, it's entertaining and if you pay a little attention you can actually get the plot. (Honestly I don't understand when people complain it has no plot but that's a whole other rant for another day)

The movie was... obsessed with this idea of like... semi realism? Like obviously, as a fan, I think they should have leaned into the over the top character designs but instead we got...w ell:

Bombalurina:

Demeter left and Bomba right. Demeter was actually cut! From the movie which is. upsetting lmao.

Macavity is one of the worst offenders for me:

Macavity was... I wish I could know what the hell they were thinking there cuz it's even in his song? Ginger cat??? THAT IS NOT... A GINGER CAT...... but I digress. I would show more examples but I think you get the point.

So. We've butchered the characters appearances. Okay that's fine but what about their personalities?

ALSO BUTCHERED.

There's... there's a lot to unpack here. Just for context: the Jellicle Ball happens once a year and the Jellicle leader chooses a single cat to be reborn into a new life. In the stage play all the cats who are nominated for this honour are on the older side (Jenny-Any-Dots, Bustopher Jones, Skimbleshanks, Gus The Theatre Cat, and eventually Grizzabella) AND are always nominated by another cat. Not themself, unlike the movie where they all seem to nominate themselves.

Jenny-Any-Dots went from a doting grandmother figure who's celebrated for her selfless volunteering and tireless work into a conceited, vain younger cat who is obsessed with fame.

It's an incredibly strange dichotomy. I don't doubt some of it isn't the result of the uh people playing the characters honestly. I do think some of them did the best they could! I don't really blame Jason Derulo, for example, for Tugger. And honestly, Tugger was probably closest to his stage version (while being a trouble maker, he's shown to show Deuteronomy an immense amount of respect)

Speaking of Tugger! This will bring us to one of the biggest grievances with the movie and that is how they handled Mr Mistoffelees.

So... Ugh. So. We have Victoria as the pov character, which imo is like whatever in the grand scheme of things, and then we have Misto who they have decided will be get live interest cuz... Of course. Misto is shown throughout the musical to be awkward, unsure of himself and well. Really, kinda incompetent. Which is Wild cuz in the stage show he might be aloof but he's fairly confident in his powers.

So, Old Deuts gets kidnapped. In the stage show Tugger is the one to bring Misto forward! It's really quite sweet, imo, and I'm showing myself as a Tuggoffelees shipper here, but again Tugger is previously shown to be pretty conceited but then here he is boosting and hyping up Misto to bring Deuteronomy back. My friends and I have lovingly dubbed this the boyfriend hype song.

SOMEHOW. The movie manages to make this, easily, the MOST BORING number in the whole thing. Which, again, WILD. Misto awkwardly stumbles through his whole song, which again is... Boasting of his supreme magical powers which movie Misto clearly. Does not have or believe to have. The song, to me, feels super awkward and unnecessarily drawn out in the movie which sucks cuz it's one of my favourites in the show.

The declawing (heh) of Mr Mistoffelees actually reminds me strongly of how they changed Gaston in the live action Beauty and the Beast movie. He's gone from a beloved figure in the animated movie to someone so disliked in the town that Le Fou has to pay people off to say nice things about him. It's just. Wild character choices were made!!

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat is probably my favourite in movie non ensemble number. It feels the most... Genuine? Compared to the other nomination songs.

Other problems include but are not limited to:

The inconsistent size scale of the CATS which throws me off constantly.

The weirdly overt sexual overtones added to MANY of the songs (Jenny and Bustopher being the worst)

This is just a personal gripe and opinion but I don't like that they used the UK version of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. The American version is both better known and tbh way more fun. Teazer's giggle? Adds ten years to my life every time.

Victoria's added solo song, Beautiful Ghosts, while I like the song as a song it doesn't fit the style of message of the musical. In the movie she's singing directly to Grizzabella who's being an outcast for years that she should be grateful she even has memories of being part of the tribe?? What?? But I know they had to add an original song to be able to be nominated for awards in like the Grammys n shit (which is why all musical movies will have an original song, fun fact!!) kinda funny they went to the effort though considering........... I don't think anyone could have genuinely believed CATS 2019 was gonna win anything but golden rhaspberries.

Movie Mr Mistoffelees has made repeated appearances as my sleep paralysis demon

The various cut characters, shout outs to Jemima, Demeter and Jellylorum especially

Bombalurina being a henchman to Macavity rubs me the wrong way

God I've written... So much. You probably get it by now haha. Like I said at the beginning, I try to go into any adaptation with an open mind but... Let's be honest, this movie wasn't marketed to people who are fans of the musical.

It was marketed, and made, to make money. And they choose to do that through, I think, intentionally making the worst possible version ever. Bad press is still press and the more outrageous people said the movie was the more people wanted to go see exactly what kind of train wreck it was.

Which is a disservice to the stage show, honestly, and all the people who've worked on it over the years.

But what can we do, right?

And besides all that, I do... Still own the movie version and I do still rewatch it on occasion. It is entertaining even if it's in a train wreck kind of way. I usually end up watching the 1998 version, then 2019 and then various tour runs that are on YouTube. (I highly recommend the 2016 tour, it's very good)

So in conclusion. It's fun (?) to watch. I enjoy picking things apart and doing analysis (if you couldn't tell!) so like... I don't hate it?

It did what it set out to do, I guess, and I can't fault it for that but. It's not a fair metre with which to judge the stage show imo. But I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, haha.

Jazz hands. I'm more than happy to elaborate or just chat about CATS if anyone wants! I grew up listening to the Broadway CD since I was a toddler so it's been! A very long standing obsession haha. Probably the only other thing on par with CATS is my obsession with Jurassic Park which I've also been a fan of since I was 3 (but that's a whole story in and of itself)

[jubilantrose-blog]

in-depth timeline ;

(  TIMELINE FROM PREGAMES TO HER CURRENT CANON / AGE 18 )

while my previous post was more of an outline? this is a fully in-depth look into her timelines. this can and might change with any new information canon gives or if things come up in roleplays  ( i will not be going into full depth of the plots of these games -- just the basic jist of them. also some games will not include a summary as i don’t feel there’s a need for one. ALSO I WON’T INCLUDE GAMES AMY ISN’T A PART OF. those games happened, of course, but i’m just doing amy’s game timeline. );

PRE-GAMES ;

( entirely headcanon based ! ) 

Amy was originally an orphan / street hog. Her original parents weren’t prepared to raise a child and left her in the hands of what they hoped was a ‘suitable’ location. Though the people she was left with weren’t ideal and Amy ran away at a very young age. Surviving on the street for a good while by herself. She became known by people for being a ‘rascal’. And, given she didn’t talk much so people couldn’t know her name, her nickname became ‘Rosie’ which is where the moniker ‘Rosie the Rascal’ comes from.

Luckily, by age 6, she was taken in by a family of travelling fortune tellers. They taught her all about tarot cards and always believed she had a true gift or ability in the art of it. She considered them the closest thing to a family she ever had. And they helped her realize there are good people in the world. They saw the good in her, a mere street hog that often swiped and stole food and acted brash, and made her realize the world isn’t as cruel and lonely as she had thought.

During their travels and home life Amy was able to see the good they brought others. Learning about true love, seeing the best in people, and that ‘even those who are bad might have some good in them somewhere’. She decided to keep her name as Amy and adopt the ‘Rose’ to the end of it. No longer going by ‘Rosie’ anymore.

With Amy as part of their family? The travelling stopped. Them wanting to give her a normal life in a town compared to dragging her place to place.

By the age of 7, Amy had learned a lot about a certain blue hedgehog. Admiring him via newspapers, stories, and tales told by others on their journeys. Hearing about Sonic passing through towns and forest to stop the ‘bad guys’. Her crush and admiration is what inspired her to announce to her family ( after doing a tarot card reading ) that she’d meet him. Her family was supportive but grew concerned about letting her be so young and heading out there. Nevertheless this willful ( and stubborn ) little lady was gone in a flash.

AGE 8 - 11 ;

SONIC CD / MANIA ( the shorts / comic series ) ;

Amy truly had no idea what she was getting into. She was starstruck meeting her idol, her crush, and she went in without thinking. Only to soon be caught by Metal Sonic. Being kidnapped when meeting her idol was terrifying to her. Sure, her life beforehand wasn’t ideal. She got chased back on the streets, dealt with some angry individuals who she stole food from before meeting her family, but nothing like this. Nothing deadly or that serious.

Luckily, she was rescued.

And that made her crush on him grow even more.

Wanting to keep up with him, plus possibly defend herself from being kidnapped, she begins working hard using her piko-piko hammer. Continuing to chase after Sonic and join him along the way. Allowing herself to meet Tails and Knuckles in the process as they all go after Eggman.

AGE 11 - 12 ;

PRE SONIC ADVENTURE ( headcanon based ! ) ;

As the years had passed Amy found herself losing track of Sonic and the others for about a year. She decides to return home to visit her parents. She had been keeping in contact with them and visiting them on most holidays. Telling them stories about her adventures with Sonic. But when she arrived she had found the house abandoned and couldn’t get into any contact with them. A neighbor, spotting her confused, tells her that they decided to return to their traveling ways. Believing that, since Amy was so independent and had been proving herself as such, she didn’t need them as much.

Having spent the last few years chasing after Sonic, plus off on adventures, it dawns on her that...she doesn’t have a home ! So she heads off and, after looking at brochures and other things, decides that Station Square is the perfect place to find an apartment ! Plenty of shopping districts, work opportunities, and more !

She ends up getting an apartment there and happens to find work rather easily. Working at a small diner where she helped an elderly couple that ran the place. It didn’t pay much but it allowed her to keep food on the table and gave her something to do to pass the time.

AGE 12 ;

SONIC ADVENTURE ;

However, while work was ‘something’ to do ? She found herself bored sitting around in the same place.  Every day she did the same thing. Wake up, get dressed, go to work, go shopping til she dropped, go home, go to bed. It was mundane compared to those years of being rescued by Sonic and following after him. With him gone, with her having nothing to do, she was bored !

That would soon change.

Little did she know her reminiscing and longing for some excitement would, quite literally, fall from the sky in the form of a Flicky. With a desire to protect it, plus a robot now chasing after her, she soon finds herself running into her hero himself ! Sonic would help her ! He would know what to do to keep this birdie safe ! He would--

Except.... he runs away.

She does manage to catch up to him, though ! And, though admittedly a little scatterbrained, she gets distracted by Twinkle Park. This leads to her being captured and taken aboard Eggmans ship in hopes Sonic would come and rescue her. But it’s not Sonic that frees her from the cell. Instead, she befriends a robot that seems to be different from the others. She would end up standing up to Sonic to protect the robot from being destroyed.

Now this is where my version sort of veers off though not by much ;

Unlike the Sonic Adventure game ? Amy witnesses Gamma’s death and the events happen similar as the show Sonic X. With Amy witnessing their final battle and seeing, to her horror, the destruction caused. While it helped reunite the family it also meant having to see a robot she befriended sacrifice itself. She was able to say her goodbyes and thank the robot. Knowing, in the end, the sacrifice had to be made to reunite the family even if it was painful.

She’s happy to see them together and walks out onto the deck with them. Only to witness the same robot from earlier ( the one that had kidnapped her ) shoot down the small Flicky much to her horror. Angered, plus not wanting Gammas sacrifice to go in vain, she challenged the robot. Vowing herself that this time she would be the one  laying down her life if need be to keep the Flicky and its family safe.

She takes the robot on with all her might. And manages to win ! Though she doesn’t celebrate much as she worries and frets over if the Flicky was safe. Fearful that it was dead. However, much to her happiness, it’s okay !  She wishes them all well and is happy to see them all together.

Amy realizes, at that moment, she did something on her own. She saved herself, she helped the Flicky, she made a friend of the robot. She vows from that moment on she would do things by herself ! No more waiting for Sonic, no more being the damsel, no more running away ! She was determined to make Sonic realize she could handle herself !

( She also ends up befriending Big & Froggy during this time ).

SONIC SHUFFLE & SONIC ADVANCE TAKE PLACE.

AGE 13 ;

SONIC ADVENTURE 2 TAKES PLACE ;

Amy is stunned to find out Sonic has been captured. She decides, at this moment, she had to free him ! For once she would be the one to save him and not the other way around ! However, it seems no matter what she’s done she’s left behind. She felt as if nobody had faith in her. Everyone kept running away, leaving her behind, acting as if she’s incapable. And she began, in some ways, to feel the same. When she’s held captive by Eggman and watches in horror as Sonic seemingly dies. She blames herself for it. She’s supposed to be strong. And, once again, Sonic saved her ! But this time he’s....dead ! He’s dead ! And it’s HER fault ! She couldn’t even help Tails fight Eggman out of her own grief ! Yet she soon realizes Sonic is alive. Thank goodness.

Amy, along with the others, listens in to the diary that’s being played. Finding out about ‘Maria’ dying, the grief of the man there, and realizing he’s signed a death wish for the Earth. As everyone goes off to help she fnds herself. again, alone. She contemplates this to herself until she sees him -- Shadow, and realizes that while everyone is fighting she’s doing nothing but standing there. She had to help out, do her best, even if it might be futille !

While the events of the game are canon, with Amy going to help out and sticking around, the only thing that differs is her interactions with Shadow.

While in the game the interaction was brief in her helping Shadow remember ? I personally prefer Amy having sort of a similar role to how they did in Sonic X. With an actual back and forth between them that’s tension filled as it shouldn’t have been so easy to trigger Shadows memory after so long.

She ends up mourning Shadows passing yet is glad he was able to fulfill Maria’s final wish. 

SONIC ADVANCE 2 TAKES PLACE ;

Amy meets Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla and begins to form a close-friendship / bond with them all.

AGE 14 ;

SONIC HEROES TAKES PLACE.

SONIC BATTLE TAKES PLACE.

I’m not gonna say much about these two games. Nothing against them but I don’t feel like anything I add will be important. I do, however, dislike how Amy is portrayed in both. And I tend to view this as a time period when Amy thought if she was more ‘aggressive’ and ‘assertive’ that she’d be seen as strong. As she felt that she was seen as weak and dainty beforehand.

Luckily, she grew out of this phase.

( However, she was extremely relieved to find out Shadow was ‘alive’ and was very happy to see him again. )

AGE 15 ;

SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG TAKES PLACE.

SONIC ADVANCE 3 TAKES PLACE.

AGE 16 ;

SONIC RIDERS TAKES PLACE.

SONIC RIVALS TAKES PLACE.

AGE 17;

SONIC UNLEASHED TAKES PLACE.

SONIC LOST WORLD TAKES PLACE.

SONIC GENERATIONS TAKES PLACE.

AGE 18 ;

SONIC FORCES / THE IDW COMIC SERIES TAKES PLACE ;

Amy is stunned to find out that Sonic was defeated in battle. But she believes, like always, he will show up eventually. But as time ticks by, months passing and the world under siege, she’s left with this grim realization: he’s not coming back. She ends up joining Knuckles in his Resistance along with a bunch of others. Being forced to grow up more and realize all those ‘fun adventures’ were no longer fun. With it being months after Sonics’ ‘death’ she still longed for him to be alive yet, each time she felt hope, it was dashed by the realistic explanations by the others. It was also hard as, during this time, she had to keep Cream and her mother safe and also help take care of a Tails that was visibly grieving and not in a proper state of mind.

So, upon finding out he’s alive, she’s relieved. Though, upon being able to see him, she does hug him but mostly keeps the warm welcomes for Tails who needs Sonics’ hugs and support more.

She’s a bit surprised to find out, as time passes and they defeat Eggman ( plus begin rebuilding and trying to get the world back to normal ), that her once ‘love’ for Sonic was...diminished. She still loved him. Yet she’s more quiet about it. Just enjoying the fact she has her friend back and wanting to work alongside him to help rebuild and bring happiness to others again. She recognizes that romance isn't a priority in her life anymore and realizes that, perhaps, the world should come first as it’s a place Sonic loves and a place so many people love as well.

She buries herself in work in the resistance and bettering herself physically and mentally. She may still love that hedgehog, in many ways, but she knows that she’s able to enjoy his friendship and decides that she will no longer be chasing after him and focus on herself / her work instead.