Cats star Rebel Wilson recalls her horrified first reaction to watching the movie. Released in 2019, Cats is based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's award-winning musical of the same name. Starring an ensemble cast including Judi Dench, Idris Elba, and James Corden, Cats follows a tribe of strays who must compete during the annual Jellicle Ball, where one is chosen to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and is granted a new life. Largely regarded as one of the worst musical-to-film adaptions of all time and biggest box office blunders of the 2010s, Cats proved divisive among audiences and its own stars.

Sitting down with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live!, Wilson reveals her terrified reaction to watching Cats for the first time.

As Wilson explains, she only had seen a rough cut of the film before viewing it at the official premiere, and was more than surprised at how it turned out. Read Wilson's description of how she reacted to Cats below:

"They actually showed me the version with no digital effects whatsoever, so I saw us all in these kinds of lycra tight outfits…That was the first time I ever watched it and I was like, 'Ah, that's good...?'...I only saw it for the first time at the premiere sitting next to everybody and I just went, 'Ohhh, that's… that's...' That's what I said."

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Where Cats Went Wrong

Cats Cockroaches

Cats seemed to have all the makings of a great movie: a plethora of top Hollywood talent, including an original song by pop star Taylor Swift, an Oscar-winning director in Tom Hooper, and a legend, Weber, on board. However, nothing could save the movie from turning into a meme on social media upon its release. Cats' troubles seemed to start long before it began filming, as some were pessimistic at the prospect simply because of the musical's strange plot line. Already a polarizing musical, Cats was a risk from the start, and viewers didn't know what to expect.

Any hope that Cats would change naysayers' minds was diminished once the film's first images and trailer appeared online. Audiences were stunned at the poor quality of CGI and just how creepy the cats looked. The digital "fur" meant to make the actors look like cats did not fully cover their bodies, making them appear disturbingly human. Wilson, who played Jennyanydots, sported a particularly frightening appearance, with a realistic human body, edging between naked and clothed throughout her disturbing, cockroach-infested musical number; that sequence also received plenty of attention online.

Viewers also took issue with the fact that the storyline was incredibly difficult to follow, especially to those who were unfamiliar with the original musical. An already tricky plot to follow, Cats made no attempt to try to break it down. Wilson's Cats co-stars have also been vocal about their opinions, with Corden admitting he hadn't seen it, revealing he heard it was "terrible." The pair even spoofed it together at the Oscars. While Cats may go down as one of the worst movies in history, at least its stars can join in on the joke.

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Source: Watch What Happens Live!