Cats (2019) is worse than Doctor Who (2006) even though the show was made with the budget of a crisp packet
okay everyone buckle the hell up cause I'm gonna nerd out to you about the makeup they used for this episode.
Yeah that's right I SAID MAKE UP
Everything from the top of their head to the end of their neck
purely intricate, beautiful makeup
(by the very talented make up designer Sheelagh Wells who is the only one to have worked both on doctor who in '63 and new who)
Each shaped individually to each actors face and able to pick up each micro expression we still struggle to produce with cgi to this day without it looking wrong or plastic
everything from the small cheek movements to the eyebrows to the nose crinkle, the actresses is able to act as if she usually would.
By not having to restrain her face to act in one peticular spot or with nothing but small motion capture dots on her face, means she can actually bounce off the more realistic reaction to the other actors performance rather than if they just said "right well pretend she's a cat and we'll add it in later".
and sure, okay, I'm not gonna lie to you, the main reason the nun cats were made to be nuns was because it meant that they could cover up as much skin as they possibly could to save time in the makeup chair, because like op said, they truly did have the budget of a crisp packet
but hey, if it works
IT WORKS
Yes, each actresses sat in the makeup chair getting the extensive hair and make up done for HOURS, but ultimately the sheer amount of detail they were able to add to the characters by doing this made it worth their while.
THEY ONLY HAD A BUDGET OF AROUND £800K PER EPISODE at the time, in 2006 FOR EVERYTHING INCLUDING LOCATION ETC
Imagine what these make up designers would be able to do with A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE BUDGET
FINALLY SOMEONE WHO IS AS INSANE FOR THE CAT PEOPLE AS I AM
THEY DID IT MORE TOO GRIDLOCK IS ONE OF MY FAVE EPISODES THANKS TO THIS GUY
Thomas Kincade Brannigan (yes of course he's dressed like that for the same reasons come on)
YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT MICRO EXPRESSIONS LOOK
This whole episode reeks of "we don't have money at all so we will film only tiny tiny interiors". It almost feels like the whole scenario was written BECAUSE OF THIS
Brannigan is also the proud father... Of... A... Litter of actual real life kittens 😐 ok I remember I laughed out loud while watching I loved this.
Anyway this to say OFTEN THE BEST THINGS COME FROM INGENUITY IN FRONT OF LIMITATIONS AND PASSION
NOT FROM MONEY (and rushing your workers to make more money faster 🙃)
This thesis is absolutely sound. (Do I have to mention JAWS? Every time that mechanical shark broke down, Spielberg wound up having to make that film better in some other way to compensate.)
Limitation is the lifeblood of art.
