It seems all the famous IPs from the 80s are getting movies these days and since it’s been a decade since we last saw Garfield on screen, apparently Hollywood felt that now is time for another one. But is The Garfield Movie the cat’s meow?
The Garfield Movie tells the story of tabby cat cat named Garfield (Chris Pratt), who is abandoned as a kitten by his father and left to fend for himself. Since Garfield is always hungry, he quickly finds himself in front of an Italian restaurant where a kindly single man named Jon Arbuckle (Nicholas Hoult) finds him, feeds him, and adopts him. Fast-forward to years later, Jon and Garfield and their new pal, a dog named Odie (Harvey Guillén), live a happy life in the suburbs. But when Garfield and Odie get kidnapped by a villainess cat named Jinx (Hannah Waddingham), Garfield’s long lost father Vic (Samuel L Jackson) swoops in and saves them. Jinx finds them again and has beef with Vic, so agrees to release them if they can steal a dairy truck of milk from the local dairy.
One of the high points of the movie is the design. The Garfield Movie looks pretty good with its bright and vibrant characters and backgrounds. Garfield’s signature favorite food, lasagna, looks especially detectible. While the film doesn’t push any boundaries as far as animation goes, the character designs hit the mark. The classic Garfield comic book designs translate well into animation, especially the characters’ iconic eye shapes.
Another highlight is the Bull character, Otto (Ving Rhames), who the gang teams up with to help infiltrate Lactose Farms. You are rooting for him to reunite with Ethel, a cow who is his long lost lover. Chris Pratt as Garfield is fine, but he’s just doing his Christ Pratt thing. His performance doesn’t hearken back to the grumpy , cynical Garfield from the comic strip and cartoon, but rather is happy and jovial. Clearly there was a decision to steer away from Garfield’s typical temperament in exchange for this generic one.
The story, however, is pretty mundane. The unresolved conflict between Garfield and his dad is interesting, but doesn’t really push any boundaries. The villainess is weak and feels like she was just inserted to get Garfield and his father back together and to further the milk heist plot. Other than that, she’s pretty nonexistent.
One thing that negatively stood out is the amount of product placement in this movie. You’ve come to expect exorbitant product placement in some live-action movies, but seeing it in an animated movie is pretty jarring. From Olive Garden and Popchips to Sony, Netflix, FedEx, and Walmart. It’s out of control and pretty depressing to see in an animated movie, so here’s hoping this trend doesn’t continue.
You don’t have to be a fanatic of the Garfield comic strips to enjoy The Garfield Movie. Kids these days don’t even read newspapers and, as a result, most likely aren’t familiar with comic strips; however, that won’t deter them from loving this movie. On the other hand, the adults in the theater might find it a little long in the tooth.
★★1/2
