Nobody Hates ‘Cats’ As Much As Andrew Lloyd Webber

Historians will try and pin-point the worst period of the last few years, but they needn’t do. The answer is Cats. The answer will always be Cats. And Andrew Lloyd Webber, creator of the original musical, agrees.

The movie adaptation — directed by Tom Hooper (Les Misérables, The Danish Girl, The King’s Speech) and starring Jedi Dench, Jason Derulo, James Corden, Rebel Wilson Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and Jennifer Hudson, among others — was a mess, to say the least.

Between its digital-fur technology, erotic energy and sheer incoherence, it was a laughing stock — not only was it a critical punching bag, but it was an absolute box office flop, too.

It was also an affront to Webber’s senses, who really did not like the adaptation of his 1981 surprise-hit musical about cats sing-pleading their case to get to cat heaven, using the words and imagery of T.S. Elliot’s poems about cats to do so.

Back in May, Webber first took aim at James Corden’s portrayal of fat cat Bustopher Jones.

“I cannot tell you how absolutely un-Eliot it all was,” he said in an audio commentary for a filmed stage production. “This song is about wit, not coarse jokes.”

Now, Webber has gone and truly popped off in an interview with British paper The Sunday Times (via Vulture), saying it strayed too far away from what made the original so captivating.

“The problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided that he didn’t want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show,” Webber said. “The whole thing was ridiculous.”

Few words wasted, but the seething sizzles off them.

As of yet, there’s no word on whether Webber is joining the campaign to have the film’s original CGI edit released — you know, the one with the cat buttholes which were then painstakingly removed from the film?

Relive one of Cats’ worst-best moments below.