The Garfield Movie (2024) Columbia/Comedy-Adventure RT: 101 minutes Rated PG (action/peril, mild thematic elements) Director: Mark Dindal Screenplay: Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove and David Reynolds Music: John Debney Release date: May 24, 2024 (US) Cast: Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillen, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, Snoop Dogg, Dev Joshi, Janelle James.
Rating: *
Shame on you, Hollywood, shame on you! You’ve taken one of the most iconic comic strip characters of the past 50 years and reduced him to somebody I hardly recognize. I’m talking about Garfield, the main character of the comic strip created by Jim Davis in 1976. The fat, grumpy, orange-colored, lasagna-loving, Monday-hating feline is the star of The Garfield Movie, the latest attempt to make him into a film star. The previous attempt, 2004’s live-action/animation combo Garfield: The Movie (featuring the voice of Bill Murray), was a failure. This second try is worse.
There is a lot wrong with The Garfield Movie, a lifeless and uninspired computer-animated affair that in no way, shape or form captures the spirit of the comic strip. Its biggest misstep is the actor the makers hired to voice Garfield. Why did it have to be Chris Pratt? He is the WRONG choice for this gig. While not a bad actor by any means, he just doesn’t project the same level of cynicism and sarcasm one normally associates with the character. It’s almost as bad as him voicing Mario in The Super Mario Bros Movie last year. They should have tried to get Seth Rogen. I can definitely see/hear him as Garfield.
If it even matters, here’s a quick rundown of the plot. It starts by showing us how Garfield first met his eventual owner Jon Arbuckle (Hoult, Mad Max: Fury Road). After being abandoned (seemingly) in an alley by his father Vic (Jackson, The Avengers), little Garfield spots Jon through the window of an Italian restaurant. He invites the kitten to join him and watches the hungry feline devour all the food in sight. He decides to take him home with him.
A few years later, Garfield is living the high life with Jon and his canine bff Odie (Guillen, Blue Beetle). That is, until the two pets are snatched up and taken to an abandoned mall where they’re held until a mysterious figure shows up to rescue them. It turns out to be Vic who wants to make things right with his son. Garfield wants no part of him, but they’re forced to work together when the criminal mastermind behind the kidnapping, a Persian cat named Jinx (Waddingham, The Fall Guy) orders them to rob a dairy farm of all its milk in exchange for their freedom. It might have something to do with a personal grudge she has against Vic.
Basically, The Garfield Movie is a heist flick. It’s not the most original of plots which wouldn’t have been so bad had director Mark Dindal (The Emperor’s New Groove) bothered to infuse some life into the proceedings. Any signs of life would have been fine. Yes, there’s plenty of action and zany physical comedy, but all of it falls flat. This is a movie on autopilot and it shows.
Another one the many grievous sins committed by The Garfield Movie is the waste of a good voice cast. As I already said, Pratt shouldn’t even be here. The rest of the real people behind the animated characters do their best, but can’t hide their non-enthusiasm. It’s a shame because Cecily Strong (as the dairy farm head security guard) and Bowen Yang (as one of Jinx’s hench-dogs) are two of the funniest recent SNL cast members. Rapper Snoop Dogg (as a character named Snoop Catt) is hardly in it.
In the end, The Garfield Movie will only appeal to little kids who didn’t grow up with Garfield. The adults tasked with bringing them will find it insufferable. Me, I barely tolerated it. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I still can’t believe how wrong they got it. This is NOT the Garfield I loved as a kid and a teen. If some filmmaker takes a shot at it twenty years from now, please make better choices.
