7 Origin Stories Behind Classic Film Musicals

After Hooper's success with the epic Les Misérables storyline, 2019 saw the director take on another classic. The original Cats musical met with mixed reviews, with critics unsure on Andrew Lloyd Weather's choice to adapt a book that served no real plot.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats was a collection of light poems written by T S Elliot in 1939, serving as a children's insight to different felines. Many of the poems were adapted to Webber's iconic songs such as the epic Jellicle Cats number at the beginning of the show, that explained how cats are to be named.

The stage show quickly became a hit once the weirdness of actors meowing on stage was taken over by the catchy numbers that introduced the moggies one by one in their own solos, joining together at the Jellicle Ball by the end. The musical was filmed for movie purposes using the extravagant costumes from the show a few times, though Hooper decided to take his own route for his version.

Using green screen and motion capture suits, the actors were digitally made into cats after filming, to strange outcomes which, to many fans, did not do the famous musical justice.