Andrew Lloyd Webber says 'Cats' movie was so bad, he got a dog

Andrew Lloyd Webber has never bit his tongue about how badly Cats flopped, specifically calling out director Tom Hooper, and the acclaimed composer is at it again.

"Cats was off-the-scale all wrong," Lloyd Webber told Variety's Brent Lang for this new profile. "There wasn't really any understanding of why the music ticked at all. I saw it and I just thought, 'Oh, God, no.' It was the first time in my 70-odd years on this planet that I went out and bought a dog. So the one good thing to come out of it is my little Havanese puppy."

The 73-year-old Oscar winner added: "I wrote off and said I needed him with me at all times because I’m emotionally damaged and I must have this therapy dog. The airline wrote back and said, ‘Can you prove that you really need him?’ And I said ‘Yes, just see what Hollywood did to my musical Cats.' Then the approval came back with a note saying, 'No doctor’s report required.'"

Lloyd Webber originally adapted T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" into the legendary musical that premiered at the New London Theatre in 1981, before becoming "one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history," according to Lloyd Webber's official website.

The 2019 film adaptation starred the likes of James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift and Rebel Wilson.

Hudson defended Cats to Total Film in August: "It’s unfortunate that it was misunderstood. I think later down the line, people will see it differently. But it is something I am still very proud of and grateful to have been a part of. Yeah, I got to be Grizabella the Glamour Cat!"

In contrast to Lloyd Webber, Hudson commemorated her positive experience with the movie by getting two cats, named after hers and Elba's characters.

Watch the trailer below, at your own risk.