Andrew Lloyd Webber told an airline he needed a therapy dog because Cats was so bad

Cats, the 2019 film based on the long-running musical, was famously panned by critics, roasted on the internet, and ignored at the box office — but at least the movie is helping Andrew Lloyd Weber bring his dog on plane trips.

In a new Variety interview, the famed English composer revealed that the Cats movie, which he called "off-the-scale all wrong," prompted him to get a dog, and it also provided an excuse to get the pooch passage on an aircraft.

"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," Lloyd Webber said, explaining how he plans to bring his Havanese puppy to New York when he returns to town.

Lloyd Weber said the airline asked for therapy dog proof, and he directed them to the 2019 film. "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,'" he recalled. "Then the approval came back with a note saying, 'No doctor's report required.'"

Cats was directed by Tom Hooper, though Lloyd Weber noted that Steven Spielberg was previously expected to helm an animated version. (Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment co-produced the 2019 film.)

Hooper's Cats starred James Corden, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, and Rebel Wilson. It swept the the Razzies, picking up Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Supporting Actor and Actress (for Corden and Wilson).

Lloyd Weber, who has critiqued the movie before, just didn't think the finished project connected with the music.

"There wasn't really any understanding of why the music ticked at all," he told Variety. "I saw it and I just thought, 'Oh, God, no.'" He added, "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."

We're guessing he didn't name the dog Bombalurina.

Related content:

• Andrew Lloyd Webber slams Cats movie: 'The whole thing was ridiculous'
• Judi Dench hasn't seen Cats, but she's delighted by her Razzie nomination
• Director Tom Hooper defends Cats