#same thing in the old deuteronomy song

[rabnerd28]

Chronicling the Cats Broadway Revival Lifts

Hey, you know how we joke that you could make a drinking game out of all the lifts that they do in the Broadway Revival? Don’t do it. You will die of alcohol poisoning before the Jellicle Ball.

4:54 Electra, Victoria and Tantomile are all lifted during the "Heaviside Layer" line of Jellicle Songs for Jellicles Cats (3)

9:20 Electra and Tantomile during Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats. (2)

9:28 Not a lift, but Tanto, Victoria and Electra are swung forward across the floor. Doesn’t count but I’m marking vaguely lifting actions.

14:41 Sillabub is lifted in the background at the start of Invitation. There might be more cats being lifted but my bootleg is mostly focused on the main cats for each number. (1)

14:50 Not even a full 10 seconds later, Sillabub and another cat (I think it��s Tantomile) are lifted again. (2)

18:45 Coricopat and Skimbleshanks lift Jenny so that a ball can go under her (1)

19:39 Bomba and Demeter grab Jenny and slide her across the large sports balls. (Side note: I really fucking hate the balls. Why are they in this number???)

23:28 Tumble and Plato lift Victoria and Tugger walks under her. (1)

22:36 Rumpleteazer, Demeter and Victoria are all lifted (3)

23:40 Victoria and Tanto are flung forward and then flung back.

24:05 Electra, Tantomile, Victoria and Rumpleteazer are held on at their armpits as they drop so that they would be flat on their faces if their partners weren’t holding them, followed by said partners lifting them off the ground and spinning them. I’m counting it. (4)

24:32 Tantomile and Victoria are spun on the ground and then lifted by cats right after. (2)

26:08 Sillabub, Victoria and Electra are mid cartwheel when their partners (Mungojerrie, Plato and Pouncival (?)) grab them and slow them down. Tantomile is then lifted by Coricopat. (1)

All lift adjacent behaviors are forgiven for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. What’s not forgiven is how literal the choreography is.

39:25 We went almost a full fifteen minutes. Coricopat lifts Tantomile when they first sense Old Deuteronomy. (1)

39:34 Once again, Tanto is lifted by Cori. (1)

40:14 Tanto climbs on Cori’s back and Victoria climbs on Plato’s and they are lifted. (2)

43:15 Victoria is lifted by Alonzo, Tanto is lifted by Cori (?). (2)

45:07 Mungojerrie lifts Rumpleteazer onto the stage, same for Cori and Tanto. They then lift them both again to go behind Old Deuteronomy. Followed by another lift after those. (6)

45:22 Munkustrap carries Victoria out to the front of the stage, then hand her to Plato, who lifts her, alongside Sillabub being lifted by Tumble (3)

46:23 Tumble lifts Sillabub (1)

46:40 Victoria, Electra and Tanto are all lifted by multiple cats. (3)

47:06 Several cats are supported during their arabesques

48:20 Teazer, Tanto, Sillabub and Victoria are all lifted, followed by Victoria being lifted a second time (5)

49:40 Electra, Demeter, Victoria, Tanto and Teazer are all lifted pretty much upside down (5)

50:18 Plato picks up Victoria for a little run lift thing, followed by carrying her as she does a cartwheel. (2)

50:29 Tanto, Teazer, Sillabub, Bombalurina (her first lift) and Victoria are lifted. Everyone but Vicky gets lifted a second time. (9)

51:33 Vicky gets lifted twice for the Pas de Deux (2)

52:58 Tanto is lifted (1)

54:16 Sillabub and Electra are both lifted twice (4)

55:16 Tanto and Tori are lifted…twice in a row (4)

55:50 Tanto, Tori, Teazer and Sillabub (4)

56:09 Tori, Tanto, Sillabub (3)

56:23 You know, Victoria’s big lift would be really impressive if we didn’t just see 100 of them before it (1)

I’m surprised they didn’t work a lift into Memory

At intermission we have 79 lifts…I am loosing my goddamn mind. I am actively crying from how funny this is.

1:36:48 Victoria and Electra were flung forward

1:49:25 Victoria is lifted. I thought we were going to make it through the whole second act without one, but nope. (1)

We end with a total of 80 lifts.

[bonefall]

I think the most pertinent, fundamental question to ask at this point is: How canon do we want to make the 1981 musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber to Better Bones? Since you've done so fantastically well at fleshing out alternate but no-less-viable systems of belief, that door has been left wiiiide open. Stripped of the zany dance numbers and stage actors in copious makeup, you can't deny that the underlying Jellicle cat religion / Heavyside Layer wouldn't be out of place. Don't lie to us. Don't you dare.

We don't know when the musical takes place, but as for where, the Jellicle Cats and their religion are centralized in a junkyard somewhere in London. Depending on how far their area of influence extends, there could be a few cats in a sect or two of BloodClan who practice the faith of a land to the south, or otherwise believe in the existence of the Heavyside Layer. Or say, the junkyard is done away with in the late 90's and a diaspora of Jellicle Cats spreads across the land. Their descendants hope one day to make the pilgrimage for one last ball, and are invariably seen as Rather Offputting by everyone. (In-story it'd all amount to rare sequiturs from a nameless extra or two which increase in probability the further one heads south.)

Hey bonefall hey, do you think Skyclan has a word for this? It'd be a corruption of the English "dear little [cats], of which "Jellicle" is a romanization. How would you say Jellicle with Clanmew pronunciation?

You can't run from this forever.

Stripped of the zany musical numbers and stage actors in copious makeup??? What are you, Tom Hooper?!

If you're going to put the Jellicles in the BB Universe, you fucking BETTER be taking inspiration from the cancelled 1997 Steven Spielberg animated musical adaptation which places the cats in postwar London sometime circa 1945 and implied that the cats had heavily cultural emphasis on song, dance, and performance

Which btw would place Grizabella's Jellicle Ball pretty firmly in the Code Era of my adaptation (built around the canonical tidbit that Turtle Tail was hit by a Ford Model T meaning the Dawn Era was pre-war).

It would be before the main Warrior cast is born (Except Holly due to infamous Time Travel Shenanigans)-- but Jellicles, after all, were there when the Sphinx was built, so it's safe to assume they'd still be around in the future as a cultural group.

Really the biggest barrier is that they live in bloodbourne London. Too far southeast to communicate with Clan cats or even BloodClan, who are northwest. Park Cats are from further south, but no further south than Gloucestershire at most.

So, serious answer, they can absolutely be canon in this universe, or at the very least they can be slotted in easily. I built a brand new religion system exactly to accommodate the existence of multiple cultural groups and honor the afterlives of each.

In fact, Jellicles fit perfectly into it.

They have a heaven (Heavyside Layer) but no hell, exactly the way that a "vanilla" type religion can form on its own. Really there's just one question-- what's their leader power?

Old Deuteronomy...

Is said to have lived many lives in succession (possible continual reincarnation?)

May choose the next cat to ascend to the Heavyside Layer (immediate patronification?)

But at the same time, there are some cats who seem to display magical powers, akin to the Sister's power distribution system. Mr. Mistoffelees is one, able to perform simple magical tricks. As far as I remember, there are two.

Conjuration (Ability to change the location of an object in space)

Levitation

These both seem like versions of the same power, really. It makes sense, too, that culturally they would value agility to the point of veneration. It ties into dancing, avoiding cars and dogs, stealing things.

In any case though-- you begin to lose these sorts of abilities the further you go from a group, without some kind of token. The Sisters are the example I've written so far; Tree needs some kind of item in order to see ghosts when he's not near the rest of the Sisters. The Jellicles are also a pretty proud group, I can't see them making these "tokens" for any old wanderer.

So maybe there's just a few of them, and Macavity has one stolen?

hmmmm... Maybe those reincarnations have to do with who's supposed to Hold The Token, and Old Doot has basically been one of them for eons. Maybe Mistoffelees was the most recent reincarnation from the Jellicle Ball?

Anyway TL;DR yeah Jellicle cats can exist in Better Bones, they're just too far away to interact with Clan cats.

Clanmew pronunciation of Jellicle = "Shewakl"

[cillyscribbles]

🧵,❤️,💛,🎁, 🎷,✍️,🎬

ahahah oh wow thank you so much! i will never forget your kindness in giving me the excuse to Yap 🙏🙏 here's ❤️ and 🎁 that i've answered, the rest below!

🧵 What's your favorite production and why?

hahah terrible question for me to answer because i know this will probably change in the near future! i've watched a regrettably tiny amount of productions so far, but out of all of these i'm honestly super torn! 98 film is super dear to my heart as i've watched it upwards of a hundred times and know it front to back. 2005 moscow was strangely enchanting for me to watch because i'm a huge language lover and to hear cats in a language i'm familiar with was striking (the same with det ny teater danish cats!). tecklenburg has a special place in my heart because of the arc munkustrap has in there, and the costuming is fantastic in a "i didn't say it was Good, i said i Liked it" way LOL. i'm really hyped to watch vienna, broadway revival and shiki! so on the fence about this one! :3

💛 What's your favorite familial ship?

no contest, tugger & munkustrap. they're so very brothers to me. i always did read them that way, but a close friend recently commented that he'd always thought they had some sort of ex-boyfriends thing going on and i found that just too funny!! like yeah okay that's fair i could see that, shout out tuggerstrap LOL... but i like interpreting them as siblings with a relationship that's very... can i say authentic when they're both cats? especially the more productions i watch the more i'm deadset on thinking of them that way. them whacking each other and hanging out together and getting on each other's nerves makes me so happy. i write so many things about them just bantering and sticking their tongues out at each other and also being willing to kill for each other. it's just that sort of vibe to me!

🎷 Have you ever seen Cats live? If more than once, which was your favorite?

i never have, though i dream of it (and have had dreams of it) to no end! it must be a magical experience. i'm on the lookout, though - if i spot a production in poland or somehow in the baltic states, i will without fail go through hell and highwater to get myself a seat or a dozen. sadly those are about the only countries i could theoretically travel to for a cats prod, and i've never heard of a production there aside from the polish one. then again, i'm translating cats to lithuanian - and though there's virtually no chance of it going anywhere, to hear the musical performed in my native language would actively change my life, i think. :) perhaps one day!

✍️ If you had total creative control over a production of Cats, what would you change and why?

aside from the, you know, the racism and the xenophobia (there Has to be a way to make a song about a dog fight and a cat superhero not be racist like there just Has to be), and all that... i'd just add more dudes into the tugger fangirl lineup. i get why it's been girls and i know the boys are there as well Sometimes, on the down low, but i think we should even them out. that man's clearly striving for attention from everyone, go ahead and make the whole thing openly bisexual. it'd barely be a change, but i think they all deserve to be free with Equal Horny. come on now :3c

🎬 What's your favorite moment from the show? (can be from any production)

any time munkustrap and tugger annoy each other or check on each other or are physically affectionate toward each other i die and ascend into a new dimension; this is a simple truth about me. they are genuinely not only my favourite familial relationship but also my favourite relationship in the musical overall. but if i had to narrow down a moment, i think currently it'd be the staff exchange in tecklenburg tied with any time munkustrap goes to old deuteronomy like :( and nuzzles his hand because he's anxious or upset. i must admit i am not a very complicated creature hahah.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall

27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem. 30 Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

31 So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the Refuse Gate. 32 After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets—Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, 36 and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 By the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up the stairs of the City of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as the Water Gate eastward.

38 The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall, 39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, above the Old Gate, above the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped by the Gate of the Prison.

40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me; 41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director.

43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.

Temple Responsibilities

44 And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered. 45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, according to the command of David and Solomon his son. 46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day. They also consecrated holy things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron. — Nehemiah 12:27-47 | New King James Version (NKJV) The Holy Bible; New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. Cross References: Numbers 1:8; Numbers 18:21; Deuteronomy 18:8; Deuteronomy 20:5; 1 Kings 8:63; 2 Kings 7:10; 2 Kings 14:13; 1 Chronicles 6:40; 1 Chronicles 9:16; 1 Chronicles 9:33; 1 Chronicles 25:1; 2 Chronicles 8:14; 2 Chronicles 29:30; Ezra 3:11; Nehemiah 2:13-14; Nehemiah 13:4-5; Nehemiah 3:8; Nehemiah 3:11; Nehemiah 3:15; Nehemiah 3:26; Nehemiah 11:23; Nehemiah 13:10; Nehemiah 13:22; Nehemiah 13:30; Psalm 9:2; Psalm 92:4; Psalm 137:4; John 5:2

[pinksilvace]

Fern guides their mutuals and followers through Cats 1998 as if we're all sitting on the same couch watching it and I'm shouting out stuff (2/?)

MASTERPOST

Character Wiki Pages

This time around, we're getting to some of the character songs!!! Jennyanydots and RTT ahead:

5: The Old Gumbie Cat

Okay, first off, I'm obsessed with the staging here... literally every kitten and kitten-adjacent character is paying attention (Plato and Bill Bailey are in the back upper-left of this shot) and then you've just got. Alonzo and Cassandra. Two characters that famously do not care about some other members of the cast. Why is this so funny

These faces also get me every time... the perfect image of bewilderment and regret

Anyway, this is another example of the kitten characters literally being lower than the others. Coricopat and Tantomile's ages and how they're presented tend to vary wildly from production to production (they kind of do their own thing), but aside from them, I think the only adult cats on the ground are the aforementioned Alonzo (who's there because of Munkustrap), Cassandra (who's there because of Alonzo), and Asparagus, though the camera notably never focuses on any of them. Everybody else is either standing or elevated à la Bombalurina, Demeter, Skimbleshanks, and Jellylorum.

One of my absolute favorite things about Munkustrap across productions is how he moves. He and Skimbleshanks come to mind as the cats with the most distinct affects (aside from examples like Tugger, who has clearly manufactured his mannerisms to an extent). I'm not sure what to call the aesthetic of this motion, but I'm obsessed with it.

And, gosh, Michael Gruber's voice is heavenly.

Skimble's cute little gesturing at her!!! Even when I was little, I was under the impression that these cats would get along. I don't know if it was because of the character acting, the fact they're both ginger tabbies, their similar ways of directing folks around, or what, but I've never seen a version of Skimble and Jenny that I didn't think would get along. It's no wonder they're so commonly shipped.

These are all (female) kitten characters playing the role of the mice, which brings us to one of the biggest questions anybody who gives this show too much thought will ask: what is the Jellicle Ball? Obviously, there's a number named that later on, but is it just a dance number, or is it the entire show?

I tend to see and agree with the interpretation that the Ball takes place over the course of the whole show, as Jellicle cats of every kind are invited and encouraged to attend. If not, then I think it would be a bit surprising to see so many cats with collars - and, we can infer, owners - showing up this early, even if the goal is to be there before Old Deuteronomy.

In that case, we reach the question related to this segment: what does this look like from the cats' side of things? I'd always thought of it as the classic "when there's too much [x] for words, you sing" principle of musical theater, wherein songs are used for emphasis and the things that happen during songs are either not literal or heavily exaggerated, but I know some folks also think of each number in Cats as a rehearsed piece, which is canonically the case for one of them.

Realistically - as much as any of this can be considered realistic - I imagine it as a combination of the two. Jenny and Skimble's numbers might very well be rehearsed. Tugger's probably isn't.

The fact that the mice are all portrayed by female kittens, which is a relatively specific demographic of the characters, makes me think (story-wise, not practicality-wise) they were specifically chosen for the roles of the mice.

The way Skimble copies Jenny's movements here reminds me HEAVILY of how Tugger copies Mistoffelees' movements during his number at the end of the show... alright alright I'm getting on board with this one

A few things with this bit:

1 - Pouncival is reprimanded #1

2 - I love that '98 used actors generally representative of the characters' ages. A lot of casts - post-revival US casts specifically come to mind - tend to have Jennys and Jellys that seem exponentially younger than the ones portrayed here, and with a title like "The Old Gumbie Cat," there's an expectation that Jenny, at least, should have a sense of age about her. This isn't a dig at other casts or anything - those actors still do a phenomenal job - I just really like this presentation.

3 - I've posted about this in short spurts before, but this song/poem might just be my favorite to analyze. I wrote my first-ever college essay about Jennyanydots. Part of what makes me love it so much is how much meaningful exposition it gives, but it's also one of the more prominent examples of Eliot's bigotry seeping into his poetry, and an example of how the staging of Cats actually reduces it.

I'm far from the first to point any of this out and I am far from an expert, but let's dig into some lyrics:

She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice— Their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice; So when she has got them lined up on the matting, She teaches them music, crocheting and tatting.

To address the behavioral issues of the mice, Jenny introduces hobbies to them - namely, music, crocheting, and tatting (another sort of fiber art relating to lace creation). An argument can be made over the practical labor of crocheting and tatting, but music is often associated with leisure - time away from work, or time spent performing for the leisure of other people.

Depending on how one looks at this, this passage could point in two directions. These skills could have been used to familiarize the mice with work commonly associated with being dainty and ladylike, with the hope the mice would become much the same. They could have also been introduced as a way for the mice to perform highly detail-oriented work for somebody of higher standing: Jenny herself. Either way, this passage rings with a mildly classist tone.

As she finds that the mice will not ever keep quiet, She is sure it is due to irregular diet; And believing that nothing is done without trying, She sets right to work with her baking and frying.

This one is a bit more straightforward. The wording "irregular diet" implies, to me, that access to food (and/or "good" food) is the problem here, i.e. lack of access to food prevents the mice from holding a sense of propriety about them. While these lyrics do not make a judgement about that, they do potentially make an association between food insecurity and unruliness, which, again, rings with classism.

She thinks that the cockroaches just need employment To prevent them from idle and wanton destroyment. So she's formed, from that lot of disorderly louts, A troop of well-disciplined helpful boy-scouts, With a purpose in life and a good deed to do— And she's even created a Beetles' Tattoo.

The first two lines from this verse are extraordinarily direct; I don't think I have to explain how the idea of "going to work and getting a job will prevent unruly tendencies" is rooted in bigotry. What makes this bit even more specific is the last line about the Beetles' Tattoo. For those unfamiliar, I'm fairly certain this is the kind of tattoo this line references:

So, not only does the Jennyanydots of the poem seek out employment opportunities for the cockroaches; she does so with what can be interpreted as militaristic intent, thinking it will give them "a purpose in life."

I don't really feel like going into how all of this connects to ideas irl, but you get the gist. So, how does Cats make all of this better?

It plays everything completely straight.

No, seriously.

The troubling bits of Eliot's original poetry come through, in large part, the use of metaphor; in Cats, the cats are actually cats, the mice are actually mice, and the cockroaches are actually cockroaches. All of these characters are literally different species at different spots on the food chain, but that's not the best part.

The best part is that the mice are portrayed by the female kittens and the cockroaches are represented, principally, by the male kittens. Rather than mice or cockroaches, this performance can be used to represent how Jennyanydots corrects the behavior of unruly little girls and unruly little boys. Combined with other lines from the poems and alternate productions, such as those about her cooking for the mice, she becomes much more of a maternal figure.

What about the Beetles' tattoo?

That's the name of the tap number. That's all.

Yes, many of these implications remain in the lyrics, but it just goes to show how important careful staging is and what a difference it can make. Isn't it just so cool?

First-time viewers may be thrown off by the cuts in this number. The original VHS release couldn't handle a very long runtime, so this is the compromise :(.

I've always loved this little lean Cassandra does.

Pouncival is reprimanded #2

6: The Rum Tum Tugger

YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT THIS MAN IS JOHN PARTRIDGE. YOU NEED TO SEE HOW GREAT HE IS. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT HE PERFORMED IN CATS FROM 1989 TO 2005. AT AGE 18 HE EARNED THE ROLE OF ALONZO, THE DANCE CAPTAIN, IN THE ORIGINAL UK TOUR.

I've never seen another Tugger move quite like him.

I'm pretty sure Pouncival is the one doing the backflip here

AGAIN. I LOVE THAT THIS JENNY HAS SOME AGE TO HER. I LIKE THAT SHE WALKS HUNCHED. I LIKE THAT MUNKUSTRAP IS HELPING HER UP.

For fic reasons, I've previously had to keep track of Pouncival during this song, and if I have to know that he disappears between these shots, so do you.

Also, I'm not adding images for it because I'm running out, but the amount of wingmanning Plato does in this number is unreal.

This is the part where, were I actually sitting on a couch with my non-Cats mutuals watching this, I would look over at all of your faces to see your reactions to somebody treating the Rum Tum Tugger like this. Usually, nobody cares :(

^^^This is my second-favorite bit of choreography in the number. The idea of Tugger intentionally tripping up Pouncival and Tumblebrutus just to mess with them is really funny to me. He's literally playing around with the kids. Why do I never see anybody talk about this

^ This is my favorite bit of choreography in this number because nobody I show this to, whether they enjoy the experience or not, ever forgets it.

They

And the little sequence of looks they do...

Welcome to my favorite character detail in this number. "Is it-" yeah it's alonzo catsthemusical. We're talking about him again. My friends are tired of hearing me point this out every single time but I LOVEEEE that the characters rubbed the wrong way by Tugger are the older cats, who are sitting at the back of the stage, Munkustrap, who is standing in the back because Tugger is his cringe middle schooler brother, and Alonzo, who is as far away from and above the front of the stage as possible without physically falling off the set.

I love when Tugger hates him back. I love when Tugger doesn't acknowledge him whatsoever because he doesn't think about him whatsoever. Bonus points for monochromatic siblings enjoyers, since Alonzo here then gets to take on the perspective of "my bestie's cringe middle schooler brother is dating my middle schooler brother and it sucks." There's no losing here.

These two are literally me. Ignore the crotch. Sometimes I think about getting a cat and then I remember "I'll leap on your lap in the middle of your sewing" and I'm like haha yeah no... no can do sir...

THE THOUGHTFULNESS THIS SHOT GIVES TUGGER!!! I know he'd normally be going through the audience but the fact the director said "hey what if Demeter is having a Moment and this curious cat snaps her out of it" is mwah. Chef's kiss

yeah.

Literally, how did I ever watch this number without paying attention to Pouncival

I no longer have picture privileges but there's also a little detail near the end here where Tumblebrutus nudges Skimble and Asparagus to make sure they're paying attention. These two kittens <3 <3 <3

[carbuckety]

Take this as an invitation to bitch about something, Cats related or otherwise

An invitation to... bitch, you say...? Ooooooh.... don't mind if i doooo

I am SO SO SO tired of the basic deuteronomy brothers. Like I think in a vacuum it's cool! Tugger and Munk are brothers, if you throw Mac into the mix it becomes good angst fodder, all well and good. But I almost never see anything BEYOND those 2 or 3 when there are other cats I think could make good Deut bros as well. Especially when you consider how varied other parent/kitten hcs are for other cats, why can't Deut be the same way?! Think outside the box! Think beyond just Tugger, Mac & Munk!

I like to accentuate the positive (or maybe I just like the song) so now this is positive bitching (if there is such a thing) about my own hcs for deut bros and why I think they would make fun deut bros (okay this is just infodumping)

My favorite Deut bros - Victor, Munk, Misto, and George. And this got really long so all of that under the cut.

Victor is the oldest imo, he's probably from a past life of Deuteronomy's actually, that would be mega cool right? He doesn't drop in on the tribe much, he's more of a visiting cousin (as I like to think many swing cats like Greycat, Caramel, or AJ are) but all the tribe likes him, because he can be quite charismatic, and also when he comes to say hi he usually has some fun stuff for the other cats. He's not much of a storyteller but he makes up for it in silly trinkets he brings back from wherever he's been to, whether it's near or far.

Munkustrap being Old Deuteronomy's son and for that reason the head protector of the tribe is just something I adore far too much to ever let go, ppl are totally right for letting that be a popular fandom hc. So yadda yadda, all the regular reasons why I consider Munk to be Deuteronomy's son, common fandom hc stuff here.

(I also like to think Victoria is Munk's daughter, which would make Misto her zany uncle, and I adore that dynamic SO much.)

(Mostly cause of Zurich) I think of Misto as a bit of an outsider to the tribe, because he has magic like his father but he hasn't quite harnessed it/it's very different from Deuteronomy's, so the tribe isn't quite as sure how to... deal with him (and he's frankly not sure how to deal with them either). So he is kind of splintered off from the rest of the tribe while he still learns the full extent of his abilities. It creates a bit of friction between him and the tribe, they don't fully understand each other yet but eventually everyone will hash it out and become buddies XD. Also because he is the only magical one of the 4 he's expected to take Old Deuteronomy's place when Deut ascends to the Heaviside Layer for the final time and the tribe currently is like "really, him? I mean I like him and all but... Misto?" So they're all sorta working on that still. Did you know I'm incredibly normal about Zurich Misto

George... really he is here because I think Misto and George as brothers is the silliest idea ever. George is not magical but he is closest to Mistoffelees, he doesn't do super well with talking or singing but he is quite a dancer and loves to hang out with Misto and practice their dance moves together, like be each others' partners and do lifts and fun stuff like that. They have a very simple relationship and don't expect too much from each other, which is good because they're still the sons of freakin' Old Deuteronomy so there's certain expectations placed on their shoulders.

But also, aside from Misto, George is great as Old Deuteronomy's son because he is quite peppy and sunshine-y and constantly energetic and moving, and it's a great foil to the often-stationary and sunbathing Old Deut + Victor, and on-guard protective Munkustrap. George is very casual and laid-back, easily one of the most approachable of the Deuteronomy brothers, and he is who cats go to when they are looking for some simple games to play to enjoy a nice day, that sort of stuff. He's the youngest, being just out of kittenhood, and so still enjoys a good tussle with Tumblebrutus and Pouncival, + a nice gossip with Cettie and Lettie. But also, he likes hanging out with the older cats too and listening to their stories, he is easily the one who chills with the tribe the most and just coasts along. Basically, he's the sunshiney chill dude who is here to have an awesome time and spout bad, idiomatic advice LOL.

[cassandra-has-moonlit-eyes]

Cats, Stuttgart 04.02.2023 14:30 and 19:30

It’s the remix!

So, first things first: I woke up at four o’clock in the morning to see this wonderful show two times on the same the and one time on the next day. So disclaimer: I was tired and kind of exhausted and stressed out because the actors were going into the audience, so it could be that I saw things differently or my memory broke after being awake for too long. None the less I loved every second I spent there. I wouldn’t see two shows on the same day ever again but I’m glad I did it. Also sorry for the contant time tense switches but I can’t be bothered to descide in which tense I want to write this.

Following text is a mix of both shows. I once sat second row and once first row, so I was able to see the show from both sides, once from left and once from right.

I couldn’t find a cast list, but I think I saw the following actors on this day. ! means I’m certain, ? means I’m not certain and ??? means ???

Alonzo: Sebastian Goffin (!), Bill Bailey: Aaron Hunt (!), Bombalurina: Kayleigh Thadani (!), Gus: Hal Fowler (!), Carbucketty: ????, Cassandra: Erin Gisele Chapman (!), Coricopat: Shakeel Kimotho (!), Demeter: Francis Dee (!), Grizabella: Aimee Hodnett (!), Jellylorum: Anna Campkin (?), Jemima: Lottie Stephen (!), Jennyanydots: Sarah-Marie Maxwell (!), Admetus/Macavity: Aaron Elijah (!), Mungojerrie: Harry Robinson (!), Munkustrap: Russel Dickson (!), Old Deuteronomy: Connor McAllister (???), Mistoffelees: Liam Mower (!!!), Rum Tum Tugger: Daniel Timoney (?), Rumpleteazer: Ella Kemp (!), Skimbleshanks: Freddie Clements (???), Tantomile: Milan Cacacie (!), Victoria: Maiya Hikasa (!).

So, as you see, lot of swings and covers. Additional to this cast Carrie Willis was on stage too. She wore the “BabyGrizz” costume. I will refer to her as Grey Cat when writing this “review”. Different from Vienna I looked a lot at the Cats who were singing at the moment.

Act 1

First cat I saw was Mistoffelees with his green eyes. He was running infront of the stage looking at the audience. This and him getting Old Deut later on are the only two occasions he goes into the audience (aka lava). I was very exhausted but as soon as Demeter stepped on stage I was smiling and happy to be here. During the first number I was mostly looking at who was playing who and I was so happy when Grey Cat stepped out because I was hoping on seeing a female swing.

Bill is best trapez boy.

During the Naming on the Cats Tugger stared directly in my direction. It really seemed like he was directly looking into my eyes. I liked him, very catlike in his staring and movements. The second time I was the man over there (again) and was stared at by Munkustrap and Gus (Munkustrap was so creepy in a good way). 

When everybody was greating each other you could see that Demeter was very stressed out, but she joined the Gumbie Cat song with a bright smile.

I love Jenny in this production. Sarah’s facial expressions are amazing. She portrays Jenny as show cat through and through. The tap dancing seems a little bit more “military” than in Vienna, I think she calls the cockroaches company (like in regement) and tells them to salute.

When Tugger comes in she, Misto and Deme are not happy, but Bomba was really excited and happy, as well as the younger Cats. Admetus couldn’t wait to present the ball to him. Daniel is a very good looking Tugger and I really liked his make up and expressions. He was so much fun. After Bomba’s line she did a follow me gesture with her finger and he did follow her. When he said no, she didn’t seem too sad about it and shrugged it off, joining the dance again with a smile, but Bill none the less laughed at her for being rejected.

(Also, I had one first row ticket and I was so stressed when Tugger went down to pick somebody to dance but I crossed my arms and legs to signal: HELL NO! Also, Daniel seemed very polite when choosing both times and he picked a woman who was there with her partner. He said something to the partner but he talked so fast I couldn’t understand anything even though they were sitting next to me.)

Grizabella enters the stage. Tugger and Bomba are not happy, Munkustrap seems kind of sad, Demeter confused and sad. I love how Victoria and Jemima just walk up to her like it’s the most normal thing to greet her like they greeted every other cat before but the adults react so much, it confuses them.

It also seems like Munkustrap is protecting Grizabella from Bucky, Billy and Admetus. Skimble sits on the left side of the stage, protecting Jemima while Jenny sits with Victoria, Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie on the right side of the stage. She seemed very concerned and checked especially on Teazer and Jerrie, but Munkustrap also walked up to them, took Teazers face in his hands and seemed to check if they were alright with the situation. Rumpleteazer und Mungojerrie were mostly looking down. They didn’t seem to know what to do with the situation.

When Demeter is not allowed to touch Grizabella, Grizabella looks after her but before she starts singing, she turns around to sing at Munkustrap. She seemed angry and sad, not really weak but very powerful.

Bustopher Jones is so much fun. I started with looking at the girls. Jenny and Bomba were acting some of the lyrics out with dancing and gestures. F.ex. Bomba “showed” her leg while singing about the trousers and Jenny was clawing Jelly’s back while singing about his coat. The boys were so much chaos in the meantime. The older ones kind of had to sort the younger ones in a row. Bustopher Jones seemed to be in a hurry and showed Misto is pocket watch, like he was saying I need to go on, but Misto insisted on him staying so he sat down on the top hat.

At this moment the boys and girls are all sorted in two groups. Cori seemed to want to sit with the girls but Jenny gestured him to sit with Bustopher, so he sat before him, Skimble was sitting on his other side, and listened to him. At one time during the song Bustopher Jones “knights” Skimbleshanks with his spoon, and Cori was like, me too, me too, so Bustpher knights him too. Cori was very proud, turned around to Billy and looked at him, like: Look, I was knighted by Bustopher and you weren’t! He was very proud and cocky.

I find the first Macavity scare (pre M&R scare) very interesting. The last four Cats on the stage are Alonzo, the twins and Munkustrap. Alonzo leaves first, Munkustrap seems disapointed. The twins show him which way to go. He takes a deep breath and walks out on the right side of the stage, it seemed like he was getting ready to chase Macavity away while Cori and Tanto leave on the other side.

Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer entrence. The number is fun as always.

Old Deut enters. Tugger and Munkustrap really seemed to like each other during this number. Also, when everybody was rejoicing Demeter had a cute interaction with Bill and she was smiling but then the next Macavity scare happens and suddenly she was stressed again. The cats leave the stage.

Munkustrap is in full on protector mode now. He stands on the right side of the stage, monitoring the audience. There was a cute moment, when Jemima walked up to him and nuzzeled his side as to say, come, nothing to worry, dance with us. For a moment he was still tense but then he walked back to dance and sing with Victoria, Jemima and old Deut. I love the Ball so much. It is so much fun to watch. On one moment Old Deut goes down and walks before the audience which confused me and broke my focus. He kind of blocked the view to the stage which I didn’t like at all, because I love the dance so much. But it is what it is.

This time I looked who was center in the end (in Vienna it was Electra), here it is Jemima! There was so much joy on her face, she smiled a lot.

Also funny, when Griz comes back at the end of the ball, Victoria doesn’t want to leave. Cassandra even passes her when leaving the stage. Victoria really feels for the old lady, she really wants to touch her. Cassandra is not having it.

Grizabella sings her first Memory and then the first Act ends.

Act 2

I personally really didn’t like that they went into the audience because I was always concious of where my legs were so nobody would fall over them, but at the end of the intermission I could hear people laughing from behind. So if you sit further back I think it’s really cool that you get the chance to see them up close too. One time Cassandra passed me on her way to the stage and she was the proudest most beautiful, the other time it was Skimble. Sadly I didn’t see what he did but people laughed. His facial expressions were gold.

We also had the Demeter an Munkustrap flirting with each other at the beginning of the second act. Demeter was very flirty and smiled and him, but at the same time she seemed kind of not yet. Munkustrap was VERY interested in her, but when she showed him her shoulder he proceeded to stare into the audience again. Demeter also looked very sad during the moments of happiness.

To the theatre cat: Deme is now cuddeling with Alonzo, I support. Back in June I already liked Hal Flower a lot. I would categorize his Gus as an entertainer. He is very fun and engaging. I also love looking at the kittens when he sings about the cats these days jumping through the hoop. Cassandra crossed her arms infront of her body and looked so offended. Cori covered over Bucky and put his hands over his years so poor bebe wouldn’t hear the mean old man. Tanto looked at Bombalurina and Bomba looked back at her like: Yeah, he’s talking about you. It is just so much fun.

Also this Gus seems less older and frail (?) than Vienna Gus. I really do like the Pekes and the Pollicles here too. Bill and Rumpleteazer are too early in their part as lead Peke and Pollicle and Gus is just like nonononono and shoos them away again. I love how Munk plays the police dog similiar like he does it in the original choreo. They do not sing the dogs out of every nation part and the part with the scottish dogs. The dogs are very scared of the Rumpus Cat but all in all compared to the older version of the number I think that it lacks dynamic, if that makes sense. They get the costumes and then most of the time they just sit around in them. But what was really funny was Cori throwing a shoe at Mungojerrie in the beginning of the number and Mungojerrie didn’t catch it. Munkustrap was next to him and he looked so done with his chaotic children.

Skimbleshanks was gold. I really liked the actor a lot (I think it was Clements). It’s really hard to put into words but he seemed like somebody who knows that he’s really cool but at the same time doesn’t take himself too serious.

Rumpleteazer tells Billy to misbehave and Cass is quick to tell on him. In the second row Mungojerrie tells a joke to Jemi and Jemi to Victoria and when both girls laugh Mungojerrie tells on them. Very naughty.

When they build the train, Misto is holding the light and Tantomile and Rumpleteazer were sitting next to him. Misto and Tanto waved in my direction and I was so confused for a moment I nearly waved back at them lol.

When Macavity appears at the end Cassandra hides behind Skimble.

I loved the Macavity number today. Dee was absolutly amazing. Acting and dancing wise she seems very torn between yeah I had good times with him and no that cat is disgusting. She smiled and then the smile waniched and the disgust/fear came back. Absolutly amazing. I also love that she frees herself from Macavity. Afterward she covers at the side of the stage and Bomba put an arm over her shoulder. I also loved Bomba, she had more of a deeper more rhaspy voice compared to the principle Bomba.

I love love love the fight so much. Munkustrap is so dramatic. Here Munkustrap and Macavity are the same hight which looks very good when they are dancing next to each other. When Munk was hurt Cori, Jenny and Tanto are by his side but when Demeter comes, they move back so Deme and Munk can have their moment. Bomba is the first one to look after Alonzo but then she gets up to fight Macavity off together with the others.

 During the light scene they were so close to each other it seemed like they would nearly kiss. During Misto they sat next to each other and were holding hands.

I really loved the Misto number again. Liam Mower is amazing. More on him on my other review. Cassandra hides her face behind her hand, she really doesn’t want to be chosen and when she is chosen, she seems kind of defiant (trotzig?) but when Tugger tells her to go back she does.

I was really so confused with them going into the audience but I had two “interactions” with Bomba. First time she “hit” me on the arm and when I was sitting first row she came down and sang to me and the people around me. She really wanted us to know that Mistoffelees is absolutly amazing.

At the end Grizabella comes again. Hodnett doesn’t play her old and broken and more proud. I don’t know if it was the lighting but her eyes were shining as if she had tears in them. She is a really beautiful Griz and I liked her singing a lot but from the acting I prefer Grizabellas who seem really hurt and weak, she seemed to strong and well in my opinion.

The second cat taking her hands after Victoria is Skimble (?). Munkustrap played so well but hard to describe, unsure at first but when Grizabella nearly falls afterwards he supports her with his hands so she doesn’t fall.

Some other things I noticed in no order: 

Admetus is very popular: Vicky, Tanto, Misto, Billy ... they all seemed to really like him.

Towards the end of the play, Cori was sitting on Tugger and Tugger was holding him.

Deme had some cute interactions with Bill and Cass.

All in all, Cori and Tanto are played very young here as well as Mungo and Rumple so the whole group seems more chaotic and youthful, which is really fun. The “kittens” are basically: Jemima, Victoria, Bill and Bucky, Cori, Tanto, Mungo and Rumple as well as Cass and Admetus during some scenes and Tugger at times, so like half of the cast. I don’t know if Liam also tries to play Misto younger but he interacts a lot with the adults (especially Skimble, Munk, Jelly, Gus, ...) and because he is some sort of second in command after Munkustrap he didn’t seem like a kitten to me (though he does have is chaos moments). Munkustrap, Skimble, Jenny, Deme and Bomba all interact a lot with the “kittens”, same for Mistoffelees. Jelly and Gus more stick to each other. Jenny seems to look after Mungo and Rumple a a lot, same for Munkustrap, while Skimble and Misto had a lot of interactions with Jemima (but more to that in my other review). Munkustrap also listens to Tanto and Cori.

While Vienna seemed more like the usual “horny cats” meet stereotype this tour seems more like a family meeting. The “orgy” does not exist here, It’s not even a cuddle pile if you ask me. They more lie next to each other. Tugger, Bomba and Alonzo “toned down the sexyness” a lot compared to Vienna. But I really enjoyed it!  There were some interesting dynamics here, different from Vienna but really fun and positive.

[herooffire101]

So, I find this interesting to talk about. For background, I have taken piano lessons from when I was 7 (so around 2005) to around 21, when my piano teacher retired. I consider myself a intermediate level pianist. I, as a fun thing to do for myself, went to a big name bookstore physically. In the same parking lot, there is a music store. In said music store, I found a piano solo book for select ALW compositions for piano, and they look like at my level of skill. I bought it for one song. One Song. Old Deuteronomy. It also has Memory as well. As I was putting the solo book with my other piano books (I need a reminder to not buy any more Schaum piano course books, I have three G-Amber books and two H-Grey books now), one of my other solo books HAS MEMORY IN IT. One that is for later beginners. So I have now two versions of Memory. One easier, one harder. Different arrangers. I will add photos if needed.

[misconceivedcapricorn]

Jellicle!RTC AU

I am a little crazy about Cats right now if you couldn't tell, so have an idea I've been brewing up!

Keep in mind that I'm talking about this as if it were an actual stage production. It's not, I'm just obsessed with thinking about it as if it were.

Established Legoland and RTC characters are now cats and a part of the Jellicles. Whether or not they were there for the previous Jellicle ball is not really thought out yet but I'd have to say yes in terms of the AU.

In this next iteration of the Jellicle ball, although all the cats do want to be the Jellicle Choice, they're not exactly competing (well, except for like Ocean and probably Jane Doe but that will come later <3)

I think Noel's Lament would be more of a performance-type thing in the new context, like 'The Awefull Battle of The Pekes and the Pollicles' or 'Growltiger's Last Stand'. Sort of in-universe entertainment for other cats and/or Old Deuteronomy.

Ocean is still a little bitch in the beginning, and 'What The World Needs' wouldn't have to change much. Basically, it's just Ocean going "Hey!! I should be the Jellicle Choice!! Everyone else is a loser who doesn't deserve it!", which is basically the same as the original context. Evidently, this doesn't fly with the other cats, she tries to recover, but ultimately fails.

Mischa is still definitely a cat from Ukraine, but obv his backstory has to be altered in order for it to fit in the new context (more on that later). He would definitely bust in and do 'This Song Is Awesome' as it would probably fit in the same vein as Tugger bursting in for the funsies- abrupt interruptions that other cats may join in on for fun. 'Talia' would definitely be a sweeter song, maybe following 'La La Love' and 'Small Things Become Big Things' with Astrid, Hank and Trishna (who are all together here btw because I'm sick of love triangles)

'Space Age Bachelor Man' would be a sort of in-universe entertainment thing too, but I think it would be fun to have it be with the assistance of other cats (Like maybe the psychic twins Tantomile and Coricopat would help him sing it in a sense? Like they sing it for him. TBH I don't like the idea that much cause I love when Ricky sings but it also doesn't make sense for a mute cat to sing) and have some other cats like Ocean realise that he is perfectly capable of performing and be charismatic I guess? basically other cats acknowledging Ricky is a pretty cool guy.

Constance I think would have the same sort of arc where she begins realising she's self-sabotaging and she's in a toxic friendship. Confrontation happens in a similar beat to the original, minus the death bit where instead maybe Macavity did something again and Ocean can only think about how it affected her and not Constance. She performs her monologue and then 'Sugar Cloud', and it having the same effect as in RTC where Ocean apologises, the others join in and hype her up, etc.

Jane Doe is that Creepy Cat who was reanimated by Macavity. She sort of has the Grizabella-type role but the cats are kind of justifiably terrified because a zombie cat isn't exactly the easiest thing to welcome to your club, especially since she's kind of dead and probably is incredibly confusing to the senses. She sings 'The Balld Of Jane Doe' and then the cats perform 'The New Birthday Song' for her and welcome her into the club. She is eventually chosen by Old Deuteronomy for the Jellicle Choice once the celebrations are over.

Astrid, Hank and Trishna are sort of a package deal in this AU. They sing 'Small Things Become Big Things' and 'La La Love' together because I'm not gonna ditch any of their songs even in an AU. Basically, they're all cute and I would imagine they would be already established, although Trishna is still coming out of her shell.

Corey's Rap is...um. Something, certainly. I don't know if I would keep it in because *gestures at it* but um maybe he could have a repurposed rap around the same idea of him being a player or whatever and rapping into a funhouse mirror + the recorder thing with Constance cause that's cute.

Okay! Now for backstories:

Ocean is a cat that belonged to some kind of Hippie family as per the original, but obviously they can't really provide her exactly what she needs so she often slinks around the parliament or whatever and basically picks up how the politicians act, which probably contributed to her personality lmao. I would tentatively suggest maybe a 'Play To Win' number, but evidently heavily edited and changed because I like the song but I hate the ableism.

Constance belongs to a family of bakers, and they're obviously not very high class but they can still afford to feed Constance and her brother fish and other cat foods so they're not incredibly poor. She build resentment but its rather because she feels like she can't be seen even at home with her humans or at the junkyard with other cats other than her being a 'nice cat'.

Noel is a house cat, quite obviously, and belongs to a middle-class woman whose husband has left her. She takes care of Noel when she can, but is obviously having difficulties in life and has a hard time trying to get Noel to act like a normal cat. I imagine the homophobia would be more from the humans than the cats (e.g. humans questioning why the cat doesn't show any interest in female cats maybe?) because I don't really think cats, especially Jellicle Cats, care about if you're gay or not.

Mischa probably snuck onto a boat per his owner's insistence (maybe due to going-ons at the time, idk). Maybe he was presented to a rich couple who were expecting a docile cat, and then were annoyed to receive a cat nothing like they had requested, so they locked him certain rooms or let him outside more often than they should. He also had a mate(?) Talia, but its 50-50 on whether or not the cats believe she's real until the song.

Ricky is a cat with some kind of degenerative disease, much like the OG Ricky, and is at least, attempted to be sheltered by his humans, but he always manages to slip out somehow. He cant talk, sing, etc. He might be able to move, but not for very long. He is a very creative cat and deeply wants to prove he's cool (which he is) to the other cats because he feels overlooked. Cue SABM.

Jane is Penny, obviously, but reanimated by Macavity for chaos.. Basically, at some point, Penny died, lost her head somehow, whatever. She was a part of the Jellicles briefly before her death, but because she was reanimated, no longer looks like herself, acts like herself, remembers herself, etc, nobody can figure out who she is. In terms of Penny and Ezra, they also used to belong to drug dealers (but also maybe hippies) most likely having Penny accidentally lead the police to them and arrest them. they later join the Jellicles where they meet Tammy. Ezra and Tammy are still Jellicles.

Astrid would most likely have a similar origin story to Mischa, given that he was derived from her originally. In any case, she was also a cat brought to London. I am inclined to say that Astrid is still somehow cousins with Ocean, because I think that's important to her even if I'm not sure exactly what their dynamic was. She definitely is a street cat here, which probably isn't uncommon in the context of Cats. She was uncomfortable with the Jellicles at first but slowly warmed up through, yk, Trishna and Hank.

Trishna is a shyer cat, as per her usual characterisation, but is an expert in insects, bugs, etc and is more than happy to share what she knows. I don't know if Trishna has a specific backstory in canon, so I'd leave her backstory for the AU more like she was just a part of the Jellicles since her life kind of began so she finds safety in there. I would say she definitely is a house cat or sorts, but maybe to some kind of entomologist.

Hank is a sweeter and friendlier cat. He would probably be a romantic, I imagine, with the fact he's been a focal point of romance for both the 2008 and 2009 versions of the show (as in he sings a song with Astrid or Trishna). He wouldn't dance for obvious reasons but he's definitely a singer. He would probably have been the one to first welcome Astrid into the Jellicles, and get Trishna to come out of her shell a bit more.

Tammy and Ezra would have like brief segments in there too. Tammy would probably do the praising of the Everlasting Cat or whatever, and Ezra would most likely hold some kind of puppet show or funny dance number because I don't think he would sing unless for backing/chorus.

Karnak and Virgil exist too, but I imagine that Karnak is either sort of there as an easter egg (like in set design) and Virgil appearing also as an easter egg (like a cat dressing up as a rat that resembles Virgil or something)

[the-gay-cousin-666]

YES! I've been looking for an excuse to talk about this, so bear with me while I go full essay mode.

First, I'll expand on the uncanny valey issues and then I'll talk more character design. For the sake of convenience, I will be refereing to the respective movies by year throughout the text.

To get my biggest grievance out of the way, THE EARS ARE TOO SMALL! If you look at a real cat's proportions, you'll see that in most cases (discarding overbred cats), their ears are roughly the same size of their face, especially in younger cats. With the humanoid cats in 2019, the faces have obvisouly different proportions to cats, so to fix this, the ears would have to be that much bigger to make it look more animal-like as opposed to a man with a halloween cat ears bandana on his head.

In the stage plays, the costume designers get around this with loud face paint and fluffy wigs that give the suggestion of ears and widen the face, so your brain subconsicously fills in the blanks. This is why 2019 Bustopher Jones looks less odd with his hat on.

To follow up on that, their ears or tails don't move in a way that is consistent with cat behavior. 1998 has to compensate for the lack of animated cat parts with very deliberate body language. They even hold or move their tails in certain numbers to add to the performance. 2019 had a chance to work on that with cgi and failed miserably to the point that I wondered if any of the directors had ever seen a cat. Yes in some cases their tails add, dare I even say compliment the dancer, but it's overshadowed by the constant, unnecesary quirks and twitches of their ears and tails that don't make sense anatomically and sometimes even communicate the exact opposite of the actors facial expression, body language and words. (This is by no means a diss on the actual cgi artists who had to do all that work, they tried their best in the horrible conditions.)

1998 has actors wear bodysuits so tight that at certain points I thought they would have benefited from a crotch guard or an extra layer of fabric (looking at you Rum Tum Tugger) and yet, they still look less naked than 2019 cats. Why?

When I watched the 1998 stage play the second time, I was jumpscared by how odd Tugger suddenly looked in the opening sequence. "Why does he look naked?" I repeated to myself over and over, until he appeared later on, and I realised he hadn't been in full costume until then. Most of the cats are not in full costume and makeup in the first song, the most obvious besides Tugger being Grizabella and Old Deuteronomy. This serves a purpouse. The opening number takes place outside of the narrative, and acts as an introduction to the viewer before the actuall show starts. Munkustrap talks straight to the camera/audience, acknowledging the meta nature of this part as well as the whole play. The costume changes play an inherent, important role. They add to the narrative instead of distracting from it.

With 2019, Tom Hooper decided to tone down or completely scrap most of the design choices that made the 1998 make sense. There is no space for suspension of disbelief. The clothes are worn and discarded willy-nilly, instead of adding any meaning to the performance (besides Gumbie Cat I suppose, but that number has been stripped of its point so much that I hesitate even to mention it). So then when he still keeps some cats partially clothed or have them take things off for no reason, it will automatically trigger the "omg they're naked" response in the viewer.

Case in point: Macavity has a hat and a coat at the beginning, but then does his number without either. The clothing doesn't serve any purpouse that we know of. Combined with the realistically rendered fur colour matched to his skin, it's almost as if they intended him to look naked.

Same thing goes for the Rum Tum Tugger song. Tugger has a coat that he - again - strips out of for no reason. And all the other cats are unclothed (besides Misto who is one of the few cats that have consistent clothing that has some purpouse), except the two toms who dance with Tugger for a bit. Why do they only have sneakers on, when that's the loudest way to communicate that someone is naked? It doesn't add anything to the performance. In fact, besides Skimbleshanks' song, there is no reason for any cat to wear shoes, and yet... It could be argued that the shoes are meant to add to character if the toms were given any character to begin with. As is, I can only speculate on why, and most of the explanations rub me the wrong way.

The truth is, there probably wasn't much of a reason for anything. Tom doesn't give any attention to the nuances the costumes add to character, or any of the source material in fact. This is most notably demonstrated in the 2019 Macavity song. While I don't think it was a good choice, I can guess what the thought process behind making Macavity a black cat was. It would have been more acceptable if it wasn't for the fact that THEY DIDN'T CHANGE THE LYRICS TO MATCH THAT! Taylor Swift still sings "Macavity's a ginger cat" and the whole schtick, and when Idris Elba appears he's obvisouly not ginger and very well groomed, just like all the other cats. You can't sing "there's noone like Macavity" and then have him look identical to all the other black cats. If you listen to any of the descriptions in the song, you would not have guessed they were supposed to be describing 2019 Macavity, because they're not. They're almost word for word from the original production. They did the same with Grizabella the Glamour cat. Why? Because TOM HOOPER DOESN'T CARE. He didn't care about elevating, expanding, or complimenting the source material or its creators. He wanted an Oscar grab with a star cast and that's the end of it.

Now I would like to add specifically to the point about Munk and Tugger being brothers. I fully agree with OP and I'd like to expand on that. Tugger and Munk have similar silhouets, but different markings, which is fine since they're supposedly from different litters (Tugger is younger). The key design-wise is when you look at Old Deuteronomy. It's his design that clearly shows that they're related. His costume combines both of the brothers' markings and silhouettes very sublty. When Munk and Tugger both stand at his side, it is glaringly obvious that while they maybe had different mums, Old Deuteronomy is without the doubt their dad. 2019 Old Deuteronomy looks nothing like either of the brothers. She's a white/ginger mix (?I'm not actually sure). Also, her mane is arguably the most accurate to a cat's, so why they couldn't give one to Tugger as well alludes me.

Mainly though, it's the way they interact in 1998 where you can tell the most. Tugger fucks around (both literally and figuratively) and messes with Munk, and Munk tries (and fails) to keep things in line (very noticable in the Pekes song) while Old Deut endulges both of them, smiling and laughing along. That is the familial behaviour completely erased from 2019.

Besides that slight tangent, I won't go into how 2019 completely butchered the characters, if you'd like an in-depth analysis of that, watch Why Cats is ACTUALLY a Bad Movie. Wonderful video essay that actually got me to watch 1998.

2019 reduces all the cats' interactions to a minimum for the sake of pushing Victoria to the forefront of everything, and the movie suffers for it. Great movies (and any fiction media) are made from good characters, and the way characters interact and elevate each other.

For Andrew's Cats being full of "I am" songs, the lyrics aren't the actual important part. It's what the performances show us beyond the words and what it leaves up for interpretation, creating a wonderful sandbox for the fandom to play in. By taking that away, the 2019 movie leaves behind nothing more than an impression of vanity and the memory of horrible humanoid cat creatures to have nightmares about.

If you've read this far, thank you for indulging me, and I hope that if nothing else, you were at least entertained.

ive been putting a lot of thought into why this:

triggers uncanniness more than this:

and i think it mostly comes down to the silouettes of the characters and the overreliance of cgi for the bodies.

in the stage productions of cats, there's a lot of work put into each cat's costume. unless the characters are intentionally meant to have similarities (e.g: mungojerrie and rumpleteazer, munkustrap and tugger, coricopat and tantomile, etc), they all look pretty distinct. even when characters have similar color pallets, they have distinct enough silouettes that it's easy to keep them separate in your head.

here is demeter, bombalurina, and jellylorum in the 98 movie. they have similar colors, but each detail in their hair, ears, shoulders, and even tails stands out and helps them look distinct from one another.

now let's take a look at the same trio in the 2019 movie.

despite each cat now having a different color pallet, they all have the same silouette and blend into the ensemble. each of the character is incredibly important to the cast, and instead of being easily picked out from the crowd, i had to look up demeter and jellylorum on the fan wiki just so i could remember what they looked like. honestly, if you didn't know what taylor swift looked like, would you be able to pick bombalurina from the crowd?

in my opinion, the cg fur definitely does not help. it smoothes out purposeful imperfections in the stage designs. also, oddly enough, almost none of the cats have any fluff around their heads, leading to a very weird silouette. they literally just look like humans with ears and tails.

just look at tugger in both films.

would you be able to believe that the 2019 version is supposed to be a big, fluffy maine coon cat? why is his silouette so different from 2019's munkustrap when they're supposed to be brothers?

in the 1998 movie (and all stage productions if we're being honest) it is incredibly easy to see these two are related. even without matching colors, they have similar silouettes.

in the 2019 version, munkustrap just looks like any other cat. i genuinely don't think anyone who has only seen the 2019 movie would know that tugger and munk are brothers, let alone that they are old deut's sons.

cats 2019 was a failure in many, many ways, including adapting the story and butchering the songs and characters. but it's so visually offputting because of the decision to smooth out any physical quirks the cats originally had in their designs. they're too sleek and just blend in with everyone around them. it's genuinely so disappointing to see such a colorful, vibrant, and uniquely costumed show turned into a muddy cg nightmare.

[ancestorsofjudah]

1 Kings 16: 21-28. "The Night Club Singer."

Omri means "ecstasy of worship." Ecstatic experiences according to the Tanakh are found in one place for one reason, and that is in the love crevasse after penetration by the stem of the love apple.

But the audience is divided. Let's see what happens next:

Omri King of Israel

21 Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 

22 But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 

24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[a] of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

25 But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 

26 He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.

27 As for the other events of Omri’s reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 

28 Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.

Tibni son of Ginath is the competitor for Ecstatic Worship, which we know from the previous section defines and unites the people. So long as they worship with the wine and not the poison, the affairs of a praiseful people should not go awry.

Tibni "the intelligence shield" is how this is done:

The verb בנה (bana) means to build, mostly of stone buildings and thus of houses and thus of families and dynasties: hence the association between this verb and the nouns אבן ('eben), stone, and בן (ben), son.

Noun בניה (binya) means a building in the sense of a structure. Noun מבנה (mibneh) means building in the sense of place of building. Noun תבנית (tabnit) means building in the sense of the act of building: a construction, pattern or image.

Noun תבן (teben) means straw (the stems of grains), which was inserted into clay to enhance the structural integrity of the building. We do the same today with carbon fibers.

The verb גנן (ganan) means to surround, cover or defend. Nouns גן (gan) and גנה (ganna) mean garden. Noun מגן (magen) means shield and verb מגן (magan) means to shield or deliver.

Worship wins. Is this a good thing or not?

The Gematria for v . 23 states: 7114, זאאד‎‎‎‎, zaad, "to perceive the reverence in the voice."

za=

The verb זוע (zua') means to tremble or quake out of reverence (Esther 5:9), aggression (Habakkuk 2:7), or old age (Ecclesiastes 12:3). The verb occurs only these three times in the Bible.

Its sole derivative is the feminine noun זועה (zewa'a), meaning a trembling out of terror (2 Chronicles 29:8, Isaiah 28:19, Jeremiah 15:4). Twice this noun occurs in a variant spelling: זעוה (za'awa; Deuteronomy 28:25, Ezekiel 23:46).

ad=

The verb αδω (ado) means to sing, chant or recite: to sound the voice. It's a contraction of the verb αειδω (aeido), which in the classics could apply to the human voice but also to that of crowing or hooting birds, croaking frogs, the whistling wind and even objects such as a twanging bow string or a ringing rock when struck.

The pedigree of this verb is unclear, although it's generally thought to relate to αυδη (aude), voice or speech, which in turn appears to relate to the Sanskrit noun vada, speech.

These words' similarity to the familiar Latin audio, which ultimately stems from the Proto-Indo-European root "au-", to perceive, appears to be accidental.

Our verb αδω (ado) evidently emphasizes the human voice, and thus the text-part of a song.

Certainly worship without a brain is no good, as is worship without reverence for nature and humanity. The Tanakh regularly discusses how diabolical intelligence is without proper perception of the nature of God that is beneath all that manifests in creation.

Because this text is within the Melachim, a handbook for Jewish Royals, we are told to follow this ideal in the Court. It must be enforced by example and the protocols that govern the church and temple.

The next verse also has Gematria:

24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[a] of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

Samaria =

The verb שמר (shamar) means to guard or to exercise great care over. Noun שמרה (shomra) means guard. Noun שמר (shimmur) means night watch. Noun אשמורה ('ashmura) or אשמרת ('ashmoret) refers to the night watch as unit of time.

Noun משמר (mishmar) describes the "place or agent" of guarding, which may come down to either a prison or a guard, but it may also describe the keeping on some religious observances or something like that.

Noun משמרת (mishmeret), literally meaning "with the function of watching," used in the sense of a charge or obligation; an official function of guarding. Noun שמרה (shemura) describes an eyelid.

Two Talents of Silver are 2366, בגוו‎‎‎ , "in the ocean". A city on a hill is 1104, אא‎‎אֶפֶסד, "I'm sorry"

If we broaden the equation to the rest of the verse, "A city on a hill that is called..." =3514, ג‎הא‎ד‎, gahad,

ga=all non-human nations

ha=have witnessed

ad=but can advance

SO if we look in the surface of the sea, we can become more like God and become less sorry. But first we must be aware of what lies ahead- so we want to say to God I am sorry when we Audience with him, or do we want to say we made something out nothing and became like Him, incorporate His values and become more like the infinite?

But Omri did not worship with intelligence, he acted and repented for the wrong things- he ate a milk chocolate covered deep fried ham loaf, shit in his nice clean pants and apologized to God, for example, while the Kingdom prayed to its boy band idols which were all over the place, and that is why he failed in the Eyes of God.

=9961, טטו‎א, tatua

ta=hired a harlot

tu=became visually impaired as if peering through smoke

ah=and created a fad

=No political parties.

The City on the Hill that Watches sees through the worship of the wrong things and finds what is insightful, intelligent, brilliant and miraculous in the writing of our ancestors and projects itself forward, as far as possible in the building of a free and prosperous people that are utterly untroubled about a single thing.

To worship, publish the peace and live within it, knowing God was right to tell us to do it, this is verily the cause of the ecstasy of worship. For this to be possible we need a King and Court that are willing to invest in it and stand behind the Agreement mankind made with God so far now in the distant past.

[francoiskoch]

1689 London Baptist Confession

Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture

The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.

Psalm 19:1-3; Proverbs 22:19-21; Isaiah 8:20; Luke 16:29,31; Romans 1:19-21; Romans 2:14,15; Romans 15:4; Ephesians 2:20; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1; 2 Peter 1:19,20.

Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:

Of the Old Testament:

Genesis. II Chronicles. Daniel.

Exodus. Ezra. Hosea.

Leviticus. Nehemiah. Joel.

Numbers. Esther. Amos.

Deuteronomy. Job. Obadiah.

Joshua. Psalms. Jonah.

Judges. Proverbs. Micah.

Ruth. Ecclesiastes. Nahum.

I Samuel. The Song of Solomon. Habakkuk.

II Samuel. Isaiah. Zephaniah.

I Kings. Jeremiah. Haggai.

II Kings. Lamentations. Zechariah.

I Chronicles. Ezekiel. Malachi.

Of the New Testament:

The Gospels according to Galatians. Philemon.

Matthew. Ephesians. The Epistle to the Hebrews.

Mark. Philippians. The Epistle of James.

Luke. Colossians. The first and second

John. Thessalonians I. Epistles of Peter

The Acts of the Apostles. Thessalonians II. The first, second, and third

Paul’s Epistles to the Timothy I. Epistles of John.

Romans. Timothy II. The Epistle of Jude.

Corinthians I. Titus. The Revelation to John.

Corinthians II.

All of which are given by the inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.

2 Timothy 3:16.

The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon or rule of the Scripture, and, therefore, are of no authority to the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings.

Luke 24:27,44; Romans 3:2.

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God.

1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 John 5:9.

We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the church of God to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scriptures; and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, and the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, and many other incomparable excellencies, and entire perfections thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God; yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.

John 16:13,14; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12; 1 John 2:20,27.

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.

John 6:45; 1 Corinthians 2:9-12; 1 Corinthians 11:13,14; 1 Corinthians 14:26,40; Galatians 1:8,9; 2 Timothy 3:15-17.

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means, may attain to a sufficient understanding of them.

Psalm 19:7; Psalm 119:130; 2 Peter 3:16.

The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentic; so as in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal to them. But because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God, who have a right unto, and interest in the Scriptures, and are commanded in the fear of God to read and search them, therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every nation unto which they come, that the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner, and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.

Isaiah 8:20; John 5:39; Acts 15:15; Romans 3:2; 1 Corinthians 14:6,9,11,12,24,28; Colossians 3:16.

The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself; and therefore when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched by other places that speak more clearly.

Acts 15:15,16; 2 Peter 1:20,21.

The supreme judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit, into which Scripture so delivered, our faith is finally resolved.

Matthew 22:29,31,32; Acts 28:23; Ephesians 2:20.

[ava-of-shenanigans]

Sorry to harp on this again, but like I said I never got a chance to complain about it when I was eight, so I’m gonna do it now. I think it speaks volumes about my different experiences with reading the Old and New Testaments that I remember most of the general structure of the Old Testament, and even a lot of details from it, and then from the New Testament I remember basically nothing.

Like. In the Old Testament:

There’s the Torah, which is five books, Genesis, Exodus, and also three others (pretty sure one of them is called Deuteronomy)

Genesis is about how the world got set up and also how some people had some descendants and then those descendants had some descendants.

Exodus is when Moses and friends had a long road trip that got off to a really slow start cause the pharaoh was being a jerk about things. Also I remember that there was a part where Moses went up to a mountain for awhile? Like I think maybe a few days? And when he left he told the other Hebrews not to worship any false idols? And then like the moment he was gone they immediately started worshipping false idols? And then God and Moses got really mad because he left them alone for like TEN GODDAMN MINUTES (or a few days or whatever) and they FAILED IMMEDIATELY so they got cursed to wander in the desert for 40 years?

Then there’s the law books, which sound like they should be really boring but aren’t because next to normal stuff about which worshipping practices are clean or unclean, when to sacrifice things, and dietary restrictions that a lot of Jewish people still follow today, there’s stuff like “if your son won’t listen to you, you should stone him to death”.

Then there’s the history books, which have history stuff in them. There’s a lot of battles and fighting and king stuff in there. I’m really into regular history as well, so I remember really liking that part, even though I assumed most of the stuff in it was made up, cause it was kind of like regular history but sometimes God gives you cheat codes.

Also. I very specifically remember this one part in the history books where they defeat this one king. And then they cut off his thumbs and toes and force him to crawl under a table to beg for scraps. And he has this “ah! what a cruel and karmic twist of fate!” type speech, where he says this is ironic because he cut off the thumbs and does of a bunch of kings he defeated, and forced them to beg under his table for scraps. And he gives a specific number of kings that he did that too. And it was like. In the double digits. And I’m pretty sure it was closer to 100 than it was to 0. And like. He did that to a double digits number of kings. Must’ve had a big table.

Then there’s the books with all the poetry stuff. One of them is Psalms, which my eight year old brain thought was pronounced like “possums”, and I did not learn the correct pronunciation until very recently. I still say it the “possums” way in my head because I’ve been doing it too long to stop. There’s also proverbs, which is advice, songs of songs, which I think is sometimes about a hot woman, and Lamentations, which as far as I remember is where a guy personifies Jerusalem as a woman so he can slut shame her. Also some other books.

Then there are the Prophets, minor and major, which I skipped most of because I got bored.

And then the New Testament is:

A book named after an apostle about Jesus being born, doing some stuff, dying, and then un-dying.

Three more apostle name books that are exactly the same thing except sometimes the details are different.

I think there was some stuff in between those books and the next stuff maybe???

Saint Peter was writing some letters to some guys or something??

The Book of revelations, which is a bunch of usually heavily symbolic visions about the rapture. It’s got a lot of metaphors for the persecution of Christianity under the Romans, and how a lot of people will convert away from Christianity out of fear, because the people who don’t will be killed. But the people who don’t covert away are the real winners, cause they get to go to heaven. Also there’s a bit where the sun and earth die and a sun and earth 2.0 are born to replace them? Also a bit with a very detailed description of what Jerusalem 2.0 will look like that I think I tried to build in Minecraft one time when I was bored.

[afairytalestray]

Moscow 2005 HCs

My contribution to @storyweaverofgondor’s Cornucopia of Cats blogversary event. Thanks for letting me take part bestie, I had a lot of fun deep diving into this production!

Munkustrap is absolutely training Mistoffelees to lead the ball. The two of them are close friends, and Munk has made him second in command. Tugger is fully in love with Misto, but has kept it to himself because 1) The Fear, and 2) he thinks Misto likes Munk. But then he gets scared that Munk likes him back (because he’s a fool who is too wrapped up in his own feelings to see the Demestrap supremacy). He spends ages coming up with his song as a confession, but it doesn’t quite work, as everyone kinda takes it as a hype song for bringing back Old Deuteronomy, Misto included. 

Munk notices but. Tugger has put his whole soul into it (hello? Сказочный is literally the most beautiful and poetic adjective I want to cry. He walks on starlight? This song invented romance). At first Munk is a bit like, oh no, but then when he thinks about it, that could work actually? If you only know both of them on the surface level, no way in hell, but if you actually understand them, then yes. He talks to Tugger and convinces him to go for it, as he’s been moping ever since the Ball, at the same time realising he should take his own advice and confess to Demeter. (Demeter: fucking finally omg Munk)

Misto can and will sleep in any place or position, although his preference is snuggled up under Tugger’s mountain of fluff. The two grew up together after baby Misto was brought to the Junkyard, and have been friends since forever. 

(Elo note: If Ivan Ozhogin hitting that high note in Old Deuteronomy doesn’t make you feel things, then your soul may be irreparably damaged.)

Jennyanydots is Victoria and Tumblebrutus’ mum, and George’s adopted mum. She has a soft spot for Mungojerrie and Bombalurina. Bomba looks up to her a lot, and Jerrie wants a lot more hugs than he’d ever admit. Whenever he’s in the Junkyard, if he’s not up to mischief with Rumpleteazer, then he’s with Jenny. She makes everyone around her feel safe and wanted. Best hugs in the Junkyard are Jenny hugs, hundo p. She has a vintage samovar that is her most prized possession, Jerrie gave (stole) it to her.

Vic is besties with Jemima, and looks up to Cassandra and Demeter. Jemima adores Tantomile and tries to be just like her. Jemima enjoys the company of the older Cats more than the younger. She likes playing with her friends, especially Vic, but enjoys being scooped up into hugs more.

Bomba is one of the main protectors of the tribe. At first she can come across as a bit scary, but actually she’s very warm and caring, if a bit mysterious. She doesn’t ever share about her past. Demeter is the only one that knows about it, and neither Queen is telling. She loves the Bolshoi, and can often be found lounging on the comfy seats there (and refusing to move for the punters). In that, she’s taken over from Gus. The staff pretend to despair, but they’re very fond of their little invaders.

Plato knows the city of Moscow the best of all of them, and loves to explore. He knows the best and safest spots for the kittens to play in the winter snow, and the moment the first snowflake falls, he’s constantly badgered by them to take them out. 

Jellylorum loves experimenting with different looks and styles, and when she’s not in the Junkyard she likes to trot around ГУМ and ЦУМ to see the humans all dressed up. She might pick something up for Pouncival.

Pounce loves playing dress up and coming up with characters, especially with Jerrie. He loves making up stories and costumes to go with them. Old D is his dad, but he doesn’t know.

Tumble does not understand the Bustopher hype. I mean, he doesn’t even cartwheel? Where is the appeal? Misto, though – SPINS FOR DAYS! Tumble watches like a hawk when he dances, soaking up the expertise. He and Pounce share the same humans, who own a small pelmeni restaurant near the Pushkin Museum.

Demeter is besties with Misto. Platonic soulmates if ever there was. They can often be found together, deep in conversation or playing a game that makes no logical sense to anyone but them.

Skimbleshanks and Grizabella are brother and sister. They were never really alike, but he was deeply hurt when she left the tribe, and never quite forgave her for it. Griz abandoned her family to seek fame, leaving one day without a word. When she comes back he can’t trust her, and wants to protect the tribe from her. The kittens all love Uncle Skimble! Skimble travels all over Eurasia on the trains. He knows Felix in Staraya Russa on the Pskov line, and he’s acquainted with the Cats at the Hermitage Museum, with whom he shares mousing tips. Many of the Cats found their way to the Junkyard through Skimble and his train network, and many of them have taken trips to places like Finland, Latvia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

Cassandra is always cold. Tanto is always too hot. Demeter will often say she’s cold to get Munk to hug her (he always wants to, but is nervous of making her feel smothered).

Coricopat is quite often found literally hanging off of things precariously. He’s quite comfortable, and doesn’t get why others freak out when they find him hanging 5m off the ground by one paw. Jemima often copies him, much to the older Cats’ horror.

Jerrie and Teazer came to the Junkyard after Munk helped Teazer out of a sticky situation involving a pollicle. They don’t live there full time, they come and go, but Teazer always likes to be involved in Munk’s plays. He has a soft spot for her. Teazer would probably stay full time, and later on they do, but Jerrie isn’t ready just yet.

Cassandra is a bit of a loner, but well liked by everyone. She’s close with Vic and Misto, and loves flowers. Plato always seeks her out in spring when the first flowers start to bloom, and they go see them together. She and Tanto are friends, and she adores the kittens. Alonzo is always trying to impress her, but is a bit too shy to talk normally to her. 

Rumpus Cat is the OC of Munk and Alonzo. They made him up as Kittens, and would act out long, convoluted stories for hours on end. The Kittens now are unsure if Rumpus is real or not, and Alonzo will dress up as him from time to time, so he’s something of a Jellicle cryptid.

Alonzo frequents the Arbat, and the shopkeepers there call him Господин Коровка (Mr. Mini Cow ig), as he often surveys the street from the top of the cow statue. 

Munk often wishes he were a bit taller, but will never admit that to anyone. The Everlasting Cat communicated to Old D that Munkustrap would be the next Jellicle leader when he was a Kitten. Old D took him under his wing to train him up, and Munk adores him. 

Old D and Griz are Tugger’s parents, and Tugger and Old D are very alike. Old D was just like Tugger in his youth. Munk and Tugger are half brothers. Gus and Griza are Munk’s parents. Munk is a few years older than Tugger, who is a year older than Misto. Misto is probably the son of Macavity, but no one knows for sure. Munk notices they move in a similar way, but he trusts Misto fully and never mentions it.

Macavity was a former Jellicle, and was Pounce’s hero in the before times. He and Griz both left the tribe at around the same time, although not together. Mac was expecting to be named the future Jellicle leader by the Everlasting Cat, then went berserk when he wasn’t. Macavity was banished by Old Deut. He attacked Munkustrap after he was declared the future leader, and would have killed him if Old D hadn’t stepped in and fought him off. It was a traumatic experience for Munk, who was still quite young, while Mac was fully grown and much bigger. Many of the Jellicles had expected Mac to be named leader, but were relieved when it was Munk. Mac wasn’t disliked, but he was known to have a nasty temper and vicious streak. Although he kept them hidden, everyone was wary of him. None of them quite realised how bad he was, however, until he attacked little Munkustrap, who a lot of them saw as their own. This cemented their opinion of Mac, and he made an enemy of the whole tribe that day.

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

☕️ The fact that they removed Etcetera

oh my GOD I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS

not only on the removal of Etcetera (from SO many productions) but also just the diminishing amount of kittens in the show!

first off, Cettie is such a precious character, and I adore her energy. She adds that super-hyper kitten energy that I feel should be in every show!!

I also, obviously, adore how much big brother energy Tugger has when he's standing with Etcetera and Electra, and how he keeps them close during Mistoffelees' song. It adds another level to his character!

now the rest of this is QUITE long, so I'll put it under the break as to not make people scroll!

The U.S. Tour at the moment only has three kittens, Tumblebrutus/Bill Bailey, Pouncival/George, and Jemima/Sillabub. The lack of kittens, especially Etcetera and Electra, is something that's been bugging me for quite some time.

One of the things that I absolutely adore about the show is the clear difference in generations. I've talked about this before, but these are the trio of generations i personally see when watching the show:

The Oldies, or the cats who were friends with Grizabella: Old Deuteronomy, Gus, Skimbleshanks, Jennyanydots, Jellylorum, Bustopher

The Protector Generation, or the cats who knew Grizabella as a parental/authority figure: Munkustrap, Tugger, Demeter, Bombalurina, Mistoffelees, Victoria, Alonzo, Cassandra, Plato, Macavity

The Kittens/Just out of Kittenhood, or the cats who have no idea who Grizabella is: Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, Coricopat, Tantomile, Jemima, Tumblebrutus, Pouncival, George, Etcetera, Electra

These three generations are SO important to Grizabella's redemption, as well as to the entire plot of the show!

Songs like Jennyanydots' song, or Tugger's song all feel very much just like performances! Gus' song is really the only song (besides Grizabella's) that truly sounds like a plea to go to the Heaviside Layer, to be Chosen.

You've got Bustopher Jones' song and Macavity's song, which both very much feel like explanations to the kittens, the older cats revealing why one cat is important or why another is dangerous, and it's made all the more apparent when the kittens are the ones to crowd around whoever's singing.

Also, a detail that I absolutely ADORE that the U.S. tour has included is that Sillabub is the final queen to join the Macavity dance, giving off the impression that she's been watching and learning, and joined when she was comfortable!

Without the kittens, the show loses part of the generation, the generation of cats who don't know all the older cats, who are the ones being told the stories (look at the 2019 version of Gus' song, where it's the kittens all sitting close to Gus and listening!)

AND MY MAIN POINT:

the kittens are the ones who move towards Grizabella the most before being ushered away!!!

In the U.S. Tour, Tumblebrutus/Bill Bailey is the one who is at first scared of Grizabella, but then he's one of the only cats facing her during "Memory", and she reaches towards him first before Victoria takes her paw!

Jemima, obviously, is the one who first accepts Grizabella by singing with her!

The three generations all accept Grizabella in their own way: Jemima sings with Grizabella, Victoria's the first to touch her, and Deuteronomy guides her to the Heaviside Layer himself.

Each generation is so incredibly important to the show, and decreasing the number of kittens, or folding them into the same group as the protector generation really takes away from the impact of the show.

That's also one of the reasons why my age hcs RARELY fluctuate within the Cats canon. Each generation plays its own important role, not only with the acceptance of Grizabella, but also just within the show in general. This is also one of the main reasons that I prefer older actors and actresses playing the Oldies, as it solidifies the differences within Jellicle generations.

We as the audience are just watching the Ball, but the songs, the explanations, the reasoning and invitations, that's all for the kittens, because it's only their first or second time, and they're still learning.

[absolutehumandisaster]

Hyperfixation ask:

💕🏳️‍🌈💎

First of all, THANK YOU!!! I love an excuse to talk about my hyperfixations so truly thank you :D

I’m currently hyperfixated on Cats the musical, specifically the 1998 film but a few other productions as well. I personally don’t like the 2019 movie but no hate to anyone who does. That being said, assume I’m talking about the 1998 film unless otherwise specified

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

The magical Mr Mistoffelees, my boy <3 headcanons is the way I show my love to characters and media, and Misto is very Headcanonable™️, heavily because he is magic, it has so much potential for headcanons!

I also have a fondness for mute/nonverbal characters, and while there is very little spoken dialogue, Mistoffelees is one of the more in-focus characters and has proportionally fewer lines. I think that’s what drew my attention to him in the first place. That, and his design being very easy to spot (and cute!) even in the background

I have also come to the conclusion about myself that for me to hyperfixate on something, there has to be a character I can look at and go “yeah, that one’s cishetn’t and autistic” which does in fact apply to him, which smoothly brings me to the next question!

🏳️‍🌈 do you have any headcanons (lgbt, race, neuro etc) that are important to you?

Mistoffelees being gay and autistic are huge comforts to me, being an autistic lesbian myself with not many characters to represent me. There’s a lot of reasons for the autistic headcanon, some of the main ones being his stimming! He has at least two distinct stims in the 1998 film:

The happy arm winding stim

And the anxious ear scratchy stim

(Gif source: me hastily making them just now cause I didn’t have time to look for others’ lol)

There’s also that he seems a bit socially awkward (conveyed completely without dialogue!) and gets excited over things in a way I relate to because I’m autistic. And of course the selectively mute/nonverbal thing, which is also a comfort headcanon.

I also have a general headcanon that neurodiversity and magic are somewhat connected, in the way that magical/mystical cats are more likely to be neurodiverse, which are headcanons I have for Sillabub and Old Deuteronomy. But there are also ND headcanons I have for non-magical cats, like Etcetera and Munkustrap.

Also, there are very few of the cats I look at and think “that one’s cishet”, I have a bunch of lgbt headcanons and I don’t have the time or energy to list them all, but for example Mungojerrie being trans is a big one I’m unwilling to sway on. Reasons being he is often interpreted as a calico cat which mostly ever happens for cats with two X chromosomes, and that I headcanon Rumpleteazer as his identical twin sister, which would mean they have the same genetic structure and therefore the same gender assigned at birth.

💎 are there any fun facts or trivia that you would like to share?

The first thing I come to think of is how many scenes they cut from the 1998 film and how much pain it brings me /lh They at least cut a verse from Jennyanydots’ song and one from Jerrie and Teazer’s song. They also cut quite a bit of dancing out of the Jellicle Ball, and they decided to cut Mistoffelees conjuring turns!!!! Which is like, his signature move!! And those are just the things I know from the top of my head! What I would give to get my gay little hands on those scenes. Jacob Brent (who played Mr Mistoffelees in 1998 and other productions) is our savior for uploading the conjuring turns on his own

I cannot say I’m in the least bit upset about them cutting Growltiger’s Last Stand (although that was due to lack of time and not simply deciding to not include it). It’s a super racist song and I’m so happy it’s not in the production that I love the most. Fck Growltiger’s Last Stand all my homies hate Growltiger’s Last Stand

—

A bit of a sour note to end on, but again thank you so much for the ask! I had a lot of fun writing this :D