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  • This isn't how we usually do it, but, hey, films rarely fail so spectacularly, going to the ball could get dangerous.

  • Welcome to watch Mojo.

  • And in this installment of Versus we're pitting Cats against Do Little to see which of these two animal themed movies released less than a month apart in late 2019.

  • In early 2020 failed Maur spectacularly.

  • So grab some popcorn and buckle up.

  • This one's gonna be both entertaining and messy.

  • Ground one.

  • Cast time Twice for his adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, director Tom Hooper managed to line up a stellar cast of talented actors including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Idris Elba, Ray Winston and Jennifer Hudson alongside proven comic stars like James Corden and Rebel Wilson.

  • All things considered, this film was in a great position to succeed, but for whatever reason, most of the after mentioned stars are relegated to relatively supporting orbit parts.

  • And while musical numbers by skilled vocalists Jason Derulo and Taylor Swift are welcome, the known quantities in the cast of the whole just feel seriously under and misused Judge a cat by So do little has the good sense to put its biggest moneymaking star front and center.

  • There are few male leads Maur bankable than Robert Downey Jr and as the Sherlock Holmes films proved are TJ's Charms can be applied to more iconic characters than just Tony Stark.

  • Not only that, but in this film he is supporting a truly awe inspiring list of big name stars, including Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Ray finds, Rami, Malek, Octavia Spencer, Selena Gomez, John Sena and more.

  • The problem.

  • They're only offering up there, speaking voices to the animal characters.

  • Forceps, please.

  • That's a piece of celery foursome buddies.

  • Porcelain.

  • No, Never mind getting myself in terms of live action co stars are D.

  • J is joined by the great Michael Sheen and Antonio Banderas.

  • But they're not exactly faces that young kids, the target demographic, are clamoring to see.

  • Both of these films were armed with a much better roster of performers than most, but ultimately, cat squandered farm or talent.

  • And so it takes the first round loser cats, right?

  • Well, that's not going to work, is it?

  • That's what I say to you.

  • Round two performances, even the most gifted performers can turn in a stinker from time to time when they don't genuinely connect with the material.

  • Cats is a decidedly mixed bag in this regard.

  • For example, the after mentioned James Corden and Rebel Wilson's turns our mentors comedic relief, but there's a serious cringe factor to their feline antics.

  • Taylor Swift, on the other hand, actually does a great job, however brief her screen time as the mischievous Bumble Arena.

  • McKellen and Dench, for their parts, are as reliable as ever, even armed with silly material.

  • But the rial saving grace of this film is Jennifer Hudson's Grizabella, who genuinely makes you feel for her plight.

  • Theo, we've seen Robert Downey Jr delivers some stellar performances over the years.

  • The guy knows how to work the camera.

  • But the typically reliable ESPN so awesome and iconic roles as Charlie Chaplin, Sherlock Holmes and Tony Stark never seems to truly find his footing as the titular Dr John Dolittle.

  • Attempting to play a character that's aimed at Children, he seems to be at a loss for an age appropriate personality, and so instead, he's just sort of bland.

  • Don't get us wrong.

  • It's still our deejay, so it's totally watchable, but we know how much better he can.

  • D'oh for a guy who can talk to animals, do a little feel shockingly two dimensional.

  • And unfortunately, the same goes for his human co stars.

  • Nobody told me there'd be a drag Thanks in no small part to the colossal efforts of Jennifer Hudson, Cats actually has some scenes worth watching.

  • Unfortunately, the same cannot really be said for Doolittle.

  • You're just not gonna care about these characters, and so do little takes it to tie the score up.

  • Loser do Little Round three plot.

  • Most deserving Cat will be reborn into another life.

  • Over the years, many a convoluted, mind bending film has left audiences debating its true meaning.

  • Hey, Primer Donnie Darko, Mulholland Drive the Holy Mountain They ain't Got Nothin on Cats.

  • Okay, that might be a stretch, But still, unlike the after mentioned films, Cats doesn't ask any big questions or toy with complex themes.

  • Lily's not that we could catch Way could be who we've always dreamed of being a possible.

  • Instead, they barrels along from one song to the next.

  • And due to the almost complete absence of traditional dialogue, there's very little in terms of exposition.

  • It all centers around a musical competition where cats compete for a chance at a new life.

  • But you'll need to remind yourself of all that throughout the film, so the whole show is made up.

  • Just do some poppers and say Whatever comes to mind Jellicle Credible Mongo Jerry Jemima cracklings.

  • We get what the plot is to do little because, Well, the one thing that's most certainly not lacking in the movie is exposition.

  • But just because you spell something out doesn't make it any less tangential, clumsy or unnatural.

  • While the few positive reviews of this film did praise its fidelity to the source material, simply honoring the original does not a good adaptation make.

  • Some might also say that you shouldn't hold a Children's film to very high narrative standards.

  • But you know what?

  • Even young Children deserve something more substantial than this paper thin plot.

  • Jim, you need to stay behind and guard the queen.

  • Stand back everyone while I secure the perimeter.

  • Which is probably why they didn't even bother alluding to a plot in the trailer.

  • So that was a pretty scathing indictment of Doolittle's plot.

  • But you know what?

  • At least it had one and so by this meager margin, it is superior to cats.

  • The singing Kitty's lose another one of those nine lives.

  • Loser cats spotlight on a drum roll please.

  • Round four.

  • Sheer awfulness.

  • Let's just say it.

  • Cats is bad like really bad.

  • Even if you, the viewer, don't have the slightest grasp on how to make a film or write a script, you can tell that something's gone seriously amiss with this movie way, All can't help but wonder how many nights Tom Hooper and cinematographer Christopher Ross lay awake staring at the ceiling, agonizing over how to salvage this visually frenetic nightmare.

  • Heck, even an alien armed with a one sentence definition of narrative cinema would likely consider this film to have missed the mark.

  • Artistically, we feed off Chuck, put those things together, not believe the chap magic.

  • In short, it is a cinematic failure of the most spectacular variety, from the plot to the special effects to the pacing.

  • It's unlike anything you've ever seen before in not in a good way are you going to try three different life, do a little is in and of itself is a piece of entertainment, a relatively harmless creation.

  • Kids won't walk away any worse for having seen it.

  • They just won't have learned anything from it either, or necessarily cared for it much.

  • But from a filmmaking perspective, it's a real Frankenstein's monster.

  • It takes a big name actor, a massive budget, a list of stars a mile long, a beloved Children's character and tries to use them as the glue to hold together a colossally messy pastiche of adventure movie cliches and probes.

  • It simply doesn't work.

  • Despite everything that gets crammed into its hour and 31 minute runtime, it is a bore approached from any angle.

  • It's really tough to enjoy it.

  • If you're gonna mess up, at least do it.

  • In an interesting way, Cats will go down as one of the most bizarre big budget failures in the history of the film medium.

  • It's likely to become an ironic cult classic, like the room You must be kidding, aren't you?

  • Do Little, on the other hand, simply fails by every conventional criteria by which movies air judged.

  • And since it fails to ascend to the heights of being so bad, it's good it wins or loses this round.

  • Loser do little.

  • I have nipples Greg, can you milk me?

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  • Round five c G I.

  • Tonight is a magical night.

  • I choose.

  • The cat deserves a new life in modern gaming.

  • It's pretty much standard operating procedure for developers to release updates to fix issues with the game post release.

  • But such a practice is all but unheard of in film, that is, Until now, there were apparently such major issues with the C G I and Cats that the studio literally sent out an updated version with quote, some improved visual effects.

  • Whatever they did well, it wasn't enough.

  • What's your name?

  • Cat Got your tongue?

  • The garish computer generated environments are extremely distracting, as is the inconsistency in how the various actors air turned into cats.

  • Some look like anthropomorphic felines.

  • Others just seem to have their human faces, skin and all pasted on a cat like body.

  • It's really confusing and pretty much the definition of the uncanny valley, if you and sadly, it seems that with advances in computer technology, anything that can be generated in post production will be generated in postproduction.

  • Do little special effects are not particularly awful.

  • They can't hold a candle to save the Lion King or War for the Planet of the Apes.

  • But they're, you know, fine.

  • The thing is, there's just so much in the end.

  • Result is that rather than inspiring a sense of wonder, it all just leaves you feeling hollow As CG I animals navigate CG i environments populated by just a couple of flesh and blood actors, it begins to feel like an animated film, especially when the action picks up uninspired and over abundant is do little C.

  • G.

  • I might be.

  • At least it won't haunt you for years to come after you've seen cats.

  • On the other hand, well, all bets are off.

  • How Cats got made a full decade after Avatar and still looks this bad.

  • We'll never know, but with those effects, it more than earns the round and the competition loser cats.

  • Did we pick the right disaster of a film be sure to debate it in the comments.

  • And, of course, don't forget to subscribe to watch Mojo firm or entertaining versus battles.

  • Do you agree with our picks?

  • Check out this other recent clip from Watch Mojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

This isn't how we usually do it, but, hey, films rarely fail so spectacularly, going to the ball could get dangerous.

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