Cats (1998 film)

Cats is a 1998 direct-to-video musical film of the long-running West End production of Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. Lloyd Webber himself personally oversaw orchestration for the film and called on Gillian Lynne, the original show's choreographer, to personally train the cast for the film. Trevor Nunn, the original director, did not serve as the director of this production. Andrew Lloyd Webber and others on the production team for the film wanted to keep the feeling that viewers watching the film could still get the sense of seeing the show live, by having all views be facing the stage, therefore, getting multiple views of the set, but still feel like the viewer is part of a live audience, with several close-ups. Initially released to VHS and subsequently DVD and Blu-ray, the film has since been shown on television channels including PBS, the BBC, and Ovation TV. It was filmed at the Adelphi Theatre in London.

The musical centres on the "Jellicle Tribe", a tribe of cats who meet once a year at the Jellicle Ball, where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. During the Jellicle Ball, only one of the cats will be selected by Old Deuteronomy to go to the Heaviside Layer, be reborn and come back to a different life, which is known as a "Jellicle Life", just before dawn. The cats who may be considered for this honour, introduce themselves.

Act 1 The musical starts out with an overture. During that, lots of eyes of what they're known as "Jellicle Cats", which are known as "Jellicle Eyes" glow at the audience in an empty junkyard, from one to many. The cats now shut their eyes off and a few start to gather on stage and ask to the audience about what they can and do as a Jellicle Cat, on purpose, by singing Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats, as the rest joins in. The cats then see and hear a man from the audience asking to them, "What's a Jellicle Cat?", which they questioned it back, being annoyed by that. To answer that, in unison, they explain to him, and the rest of the audience, about different cats' names, by reciting the Naming of Cats poem.

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