Andrew Lloyd Webber thought the Cats movie was so horrible that he bought a dog. Seriously.

Remember when Andrew Lloyd Weber's groundbreaking musical Cats (1981) was brought to the big screen in 2019? Like most of the world, Cats' creator Andrew Lloyd Webber would like to forget. In a Variety profile, the Broadway legend reveals tells us what he really thought about the Cats movie:

"'Cats' was off-the-scale all wrong," says Lloyd Webber. "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."

That puppy has been a constant companion of Lloyd Webber's during lockdown. They have grown so attached that he's even figured out a way to bring the dog to New York the next time he travels to the city.

"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," says Lloyd Webber. "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.'"

"Andrew Lloyd Webber on Broadway's Reopening, 'Cinderella' and Why the 'Cats' Movie Caused Him to Buy a Dog" (Variety)