Cats fails to claw its way up in popularity, and it’s not hard to see why.

Premiering in 1981, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats was a major success on stage, as it became the fourth-longest running musical in Broadway history. However, after the first trailers were released for the 2019 film adaptation, few people seemed to have a positive opinion about the movie.

There’s just something cringy about actors scurrying about on all fours—not quite people, not quite cats.

The movie starts with a view of the city. Shortly after, you can see cats crawling in the shadows and watching a car pull into an alley. The CGI-enhanced actors/cats look awkward when first introduced; they don’t work as either cats or humans, but it’s not as uncomfortable to watch them as the film goes on despite what the trailers might suggest.

A human throws a bag on the ground and quickly makes an exit. This is the first sign of a strangely proportioned world. It seems like the bag has a real cat in it, but when the viewers see the bag’s contents, it’s a cat who looks a little too human. This transition could be much smoother than it is.

The cats open the bag and scatter which is when we are introduced to the newly abandoned cat and our main character, Victoria.

All the cats introduce themselves, by song, as Jellicle cats. Throughout the film it isn’t explained what exactly a Jellicle cat is, but the viewers are left to assume Jellicle cats are any cat living in the area and not a specific breed.

Victoria soon learns that a Jellicle Ball will be held the night she arrives. All of the cats are excited for this annual ceremony since every Jellicle cat has a chance to compete for a chance at a new life. An older cat, Old Deuteronomy, arrives to watch all the cats perform a song about themselves.

Macavity is easily recognized as the villain who kidnaps (or is that catnaps?) all his competition after their performances. Even though he is the only eligible cat remaining, Old Deuteronomy refuses to let him win, so he kidnaps her as well.

Victoria then encourages Mr. Mistoffelees, a magician, to make Old Deuteronomy reappear. After several attempts, he finally succeeds.

Grizabella, a cat who formerly supported Macavity, is hated by everyone, but Victoria sees through her past mistakes. Victoria relates to Grizabella’s feelings of abandonment, then encourages Grizabella to sing about her true feelings with the musical’s now-famous song “Memory.”

Grizabella is named the Jellicle Choice and is sent away in a hot air balloon.

The movie is much more complicated than expected, and there was very little plot exposition in between songs.

Cats isn’t purrrfect for everyone; don’t waste your money on this movie unless you’re interested in the musical itself. Plus, going to the movie for a catified Taylor Swift wouldn’t be a great idea either as she only appears near the end for about 5 minutes as Bombalurina, a bad cat.

While some of the songs are beautifully performed, it is difficult to understand the plot, especially since it is mostly sung.

Honestly, Cats can only be described as a cat-astrophe.