The smash-hit Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical, based on T.S. Eliot’s collection of verse, is given the big-screen treatment. The result is, essentially, a big, brash, over-the-top dance party, directed by Tom Hooper. One fateful evening, an abandoned cat (Francesca Hayward) is adopted by a group of felines who have gathered to see which of their ilk will be chosen by their matriarch (Judi Dench) to ascend to a new plane of existence. A master criminal (Idris Elba) tries to rig the election, while a shabby has-been (Jennifer Hudson) hides in the shadows, lamenting her lost glamour status. Essentially a series of grand musical numbers stitched together by slender plot threads, the choreography is first-rate, but some viewers may find the computer-generated costumes too lifelike and unsettling.
Watch out for: Occasional rude humor, scary images.
Rated: A-II, adults and adolescents; MPAA: PG
