Cats producers defend trailer

Two 'Cats' producers have shot to the defence of the movie's trailer.

Eric Fellner has put a positive spin on the backlash, by pointing out 100 million people have watched the teaser for the big screen adaptation of the musical, while Tim Bevan insists there was a "pretty solid" reaction from those who know what the film is all about.

He said: "They were probably people who didn't know 'Cats' and the fact is they were either anticipating something animated or something that was on four legs.

"Among people who know 'Cats' the reaction was pretty solid."

Eric is quoted by Variety as saying: "The reality is that 100 million people or more saw the trailer, and, yes, there were some people that didn't like it, and as is the world we live in, those who didn't like it were the most vociferous."

It comes after the movie's director Tom Hooper admitted the backlash to the trailer caught him by surprise.

He said: "I was just fascinated because I didn't think it was controversial at all. So it was quite entertaining. 'Cats' was apparently the number-one trending topic in the world, for a good few hours at least.

"We'd only finished filming in March, so all the visual effects (in the trailer) were at quite an early stage.

"Possibly there were, in the extremity in some of the responses, some clues in how to keep evolving (the production).

"When you watch the finished film, you'll see that some of the designs of the cats have moved on since then, and certainly our understanding of how to use the technology to make them has gone up, too."

The film features an all-star cast including Taylor Swift, James Corden and Dame Judi Dench.

Taylor, who plays Bombalurina in the film, recently admitted that she loved the "weirdness" of 'Cats', saying: "I really had an amazing time with 'Cats'. I think I loved the weirdness of it.

"I loved how I felt I'd never get another opportunity to be like this in my life."