Andrew Lloyd Webber bought a dog because he hated the Cats movie so much

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The 2019 film adaptation of ‘Cats’ was universally panned by both viewers and critics, but composer Andrew Lloyd Webber had a particularly strong reaction. He disliked the movie so much, he actually adopted a dog!

This movie is a musical adaptation of the famous stage show, also called “Cats,” which was originally inspired by T.S. Eliot’s book of poems, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.” The story centers around a group of cats who gather for a special event called the “Jellicle Ball,” where one of them is chosen to go to a heavenly place known as the “Heaviside Layer.”

If this seems strange, it’s probably because you haven’t seen a movie featuring computer-generated cats singing and dancing for over an hour and a half – and that might be why it didn’t do well in theaters. Though, the poor reviews (only 19% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) and the fact that it earned $75 million on a $100 million budget likely played a role too.

It’s not that people dislike musicals in general—Wicked earned $728 million in 2024. The issue is that the 2019 film adaptation of Cats didn’t resonate with audiences, even those who typically enjoy musicals. In fact, Andrew Lloyd Webber, who originally created Cats in 1981, disliked the film so much that he adopted a dog after seeing it.

Andrew Lloyd Webber bought a Havanese puppy because of the Cats movie

I was watching CBS Sunday Morning the other day, and Andrew Lloyd Webber was on talking about this new show, Cats: The Jellicle Ball. He was surprisingly open about how much he dislikes the movie version of Cats – it was pretty shocking to hear him say that!

He shared that after watching the widely disliked movie Cats, he got a small Havanese puppy. This puppy now travels with him on planes as a form of emotional support. He simply tells the airline the reason for bringing the dog is related to the Cats movie, and they always waive the requirement for a doctor’s note.

When asked what he disliked about the movie, Webber jokingly responded, “Are we going to be here a while? Because the list is pretty extensive.” He then simply said, “Meow.”

Everyone expected the movie Cats to be a huge success. It boasted a star-studded cast featuring major names like Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Judi Dench, and many others. Plus, with the popularity of the original musical, it already had a built-in fanbase, making it seem like a guaranteed hit.

Honestly, those weird cat-people just didn’t connect with anyone, and the movie was full of really obvious CGI mistakes – I even noticed Judi Dench with a totally normal human hand at one point! It just made everything worse, to be honest.

Webber has voiced his disapproval of the film before. In 2021, he described it as “ridiculous” in an interview with The Times, explaining that director Tom Hooper, similar to what he did with Les Misérables, chose not to include anyone from the original stage production.

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2026-04-01 19:49