Even Andrew Lloyd Webber agrees: The 'Cats' movie was 'ridiculous'

(from left) Victoria (Francesca Hayward) and Munkustrap (Robbie Fairchild) in Cats, co-written and directed by Tom Hooper. Credit: Universal Pictures
Francesca Hayward, left, and Robbie Fairchild in the film adaptation of "Cats." (Universal Pictures)

Rotten Tomatoes knew it. Critics knew it. As did most audiences.

And now Tony Award-winning composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has admitted to it: "Cats" (the movie) was "ridiculous."

Over the weekend, Webber touched on the recent film adaptation of his hit 1981 musical in an interview with London's Sunday Times. The musical fantasy movie version of "Cats," directed by Tom Hooper, was released in December to critical derision over its "digital fur technology."

“The problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided, as he had with Les Mis, that he didn’t want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show," Webber told the newspaper. "The whole thing was ridiculous.”

For the movie version of "Cats," Webber co-wrote an original song, “Beautiful Ghosts,” with pop musician Taylor Swift, who also starred in the film.

“So it turns out when I meet him, he’s the best," Swift said of Webber at the time. "He’s got more cats than I have. He’s obsessed with them. He has the best gossip I have ever heard. We’re just bros immediately."

Webber is hard at work on a new musical, "Cinderella," which was originally set to debut at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London — the same venue where "Cats" premiered.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the release date for "Cinderella" has been pushed back from this August to April 7, 2021. Webber has been at the forefront of a push to save theater in the U.K., and he's optimistic about audiences coming back.

"An awful lot will depend on a vaccine, which is looking quite hopeful," he told the Sunday Times. "The one question we get asked all the time is: ‘When is it opening?’”