Anyone who saw Cats knows it was not the magnum opus of the 21st century.
Filled with weird and disturbing images and moments, it completely baffled theatergoers and became a running joke of early 2020.
But one person was taken off guard by how Cats was received: none other than one of its stars, Jason Derulo.
βI thought [Cats] was gonna change the world. Even when I saw the trailer, I got chills down my spine! I was tryingβ¦ https://t.co/A7DdakNc58β Film Updates (@Film Updates)1597265984.0
Cats certainly did change something about the world. Mostly our sense of humor and our tolerance for weird filmmaking.
Derulo was attracted to the project because it "checked all the boxes.
"You can't get a more star-studded cast, you don't get a more respected director than an Oscar winner, and Rum Tum Tugger is a legacy role, a standout character in a classic musical," he said in an interview with The Telegraph.
me jason derulo π€ being absolutely baffled by people who did not enjoy watching cats (2019)β they still hid in the closet in august (@they still hid in the closet in august)1597305216.0
It did. Look around you! Weβre all in hell now! https://t.co/VK9vRvRYNAβ iWasBorn2Run (@iWasBorn2Run)1597280847.0
i want someone to believe in me as much jason derulo believed in cats (2019)β paul (@paul)1597325726.0
canβt stop thinking about him π (jason derulo in CATS (2019))β f. scott pilgrim (@f. scott pilgrim)1597164004.0
.@jasonderulo Cats may not have changed the world, but it changed the lives of my friends and I, so thank you for tβ¦ https://t.co/jV3SHQfaaCβ absolute curmudgeon (@absolute curmudgeon)1597289201.0
"Even when I saw the trailer, I thought it looked unbelievable. Like, I know some people saw it and they were terrified, but I got chills down my spine! I thought it was gonna change the world."
Derulo was right about one thing.
Cats was, in fact, unbelievable.
Cats (2019) - The Old Gumbie Cat Scene (2/10) | Movieclips www.youtube.com
"This is what the people from Bird Box saw before they died," one user commented.
And he was absolutely correct. https://t.co/6Kh2ttHrFqβ Zach Kornfeld (@Zach Kornfeld)1597282377.0
Jason Derulo is adorable and he had such pure, optimistic intentions going into 'Cats'... can we just /pretend/ itβ¦ https://t.co/HS0F14Jqbsβ DanDoing It!!! π (@DanDoing It!!! π)1597375607.0
God please give me the confidence to believe in my content the way Jason Derulo believed in the Cats movie πβ TAYLOR RANSOM βΌ (@TAYLOR RANSOM βΌ)1597340769.0
Wait...but...didnβt it...??? #cats #JasonDerulo https://t.co/sGUhXcKhsVβ Matthew Manchigiah (@Matthew Manchigiah)1597374712.0
I feel like the terrible year that is 2020 is just a punishment for the release of Cats. #JasonDerulo #cats https://t.co/hRre9MKdjXβ Ferdy Al-Qassab (@Ferdy Al-Qassab)1597348025.0
Cats was so strange that even Andrew Lloyd Webber, who gave us the monstrosity that was Cats in the first place, made known his distaste for the movie.
"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 to the Sunday Times. "The whole thing was ridiculous."
Cats (2019) - The Rum Tum Tugger Scene (3/10) | Movieclips www.youtube.com
Though Derulo's turn as Rum Tum Tugger didn't work out to his advantage, he's learned a valuable lesson.
"You can't wait for the perfect moment, cause that might not be your moment. So you've just got to go for gold. That's how I'll move forward."
This was literally my face when I first watched #cats. The whole time I kept asking myself - "Am I high?"β¦ https://t.co/AMbhh3PDLDβ Kate Rose (@Kate Rose)1597343719.0
Didn't it? https://t.co/04P3rHBIWBβ Todd in the Shadows (@Todd in the Shadows)1597270580.0
fr tho Cats did change the world... like the world just got worse since the release of cats... jason derulo wasn't wrongβ Jess // #WearAMask (@Jess // #WearAMask)1597291384.0
Cats lost over $20 million at the box office and was definitely not the renaissance that Derulo thought it was going to be, but some of us would make the argument that it is still an extremely enjoyable film.
Just, not in the way it should have been.