Note: This is not to be confused with a similar adaptation on the book at Cats (Amblimation) as both tackle the same subject.
In the late 1960s, Disney had offered to do an animated film based off of the book of the same name by T.S Eliot, Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats.
Plot[]
The plot would presumably be the same as the book.
Development[]
Some time before Andrew Lloyd Webber got the green light to do Cats (1981), Disney had indeed approached Eliot about an animated adaptation based on the book. Not much more is known about its development aside from this.[1]
Why It Was Cancelled[]
- T. S. Eliot did not want his work to be turned into "cutesy cartoon cats" (nor turned into the cute animation style Disney is known for, specifically Winnie the Pooh), therefore turned the offer down.
Results[]
- The Disney version was permanently cancelled.
- Disney went on to make The Aristocats instead, and released it in 1970, to which it gained positive reviews.
- Many years later, Universal Pictures made a live-action film based on Cats in 2019. The film received nearly universally negative reception from critics and audiences alike, as well as being a box-office failure.
Gallery[]
First Cast- CATS - The Musical (BBC Radio 2, 29 Dec 2019)
A 2019 interview for the original musical, where Lloyd Webber mentions that Eliot's widow, Valerie, told him "You, realize, don't you, that Tom turned down Disney?" (exactly at 4:44).