Garfield, created by cartoonist Jim Davis, made his debut in 1978. The lasagna-loving, Monday-hating orange cat quickly became an iconic figure in comic strips. Over the years, Garfield has expanded into various media, including animated television shows, movies, and a plethora of merchandise. Today, the Garfield franchise generates between $750 million and $1 billion per year, solidifying his place as one of the most beloved comic characters of all time.

The Garfield Movie

When the father who abandoned him as a child unexpectedly shows back up in Garfield’s life, the two will have to come to an understanding if they hope to survive the evil machinations of the twisted Jinx.

The Garfield Movie Review

For nearly 50 years, Garfield has been a staple of American childhoods. That’s a long time to get to know someone, even a fake someone, which can make it hard for more seasoned audience members to divorce the familiar from the new when studios decide to once again cash in on a beloved property. So it is with The Garfield Movie.

Simply put, this is not the Garfield of your youth. It may look like it. After all, it has an almost flawless Garfield veneer featuring everything that you remember from those happy days – everything, that is, except Garfield. Unfortunately, for all of their lovingly placed Easter eggs, references, and adherence to general canon, the lasagna-loving fat cat with an attitude has been pod-peopled.

Sure, he’s still a selfish (except when he’s not) lazy glutton, but gone is the sardonic, wisecracking, disinterested swagger that almost always got him into more trouble than he could handle. Instead, he’s a much blander, less interesting, and slightly less intelligent facsimile of what generations of audiences have come to know.

Generally a capable voice actor with an emotive range that fills the room, Chris Pratt‘s uncharacteristic lack of dynamism, naturally higher pitch, and bright timber do not fit the legendary languid and lethargic layabout. The result is a well-fed feline with a wholly new feel that some may warm to but longtime fans will likely reject.

Without Garfield’s traditional dry wit, The Garfield Movie relies on splat humor, with Garfield most often the target of the gags. Whether he’s being bounced from tree to tree or hit by various objects, the laughs are almost entirely of the childish pratfall variety (no pun intended).

Furthermore, while it serves up one or two heartfelt moments, Hollywood’s obsession with infusing meaning into the backstory of every character trait and two-dimensional character notwithstanding, the entire deadbeat dad who’s not entirely a deadbeat dad schtick is not only worn out; it’s completely out of place for a Garfield cartoon.

The bottom line is that Garfield isn’t supposed to be that deep, and spending almost two hours watching him repeatedly deal with deep-seated emotional wounds received from his childhood abandonment is a downer that no amount of pies to the face or wasted Snoopdog cameos can balance out.

Regrettably, the film’s aimless plot structure does it no favors. Since its A plot lacks enough juice to carry it for the full minute-forty one, two even less interesting subplots are introduced late into the runtime, and it takes nearly an hour to introduce the antagonist.

On the positive side, little ones probably won’t feel as bogged down by the emotional baggage or the character’s fundamental tonal shift. The animation style is an almost successful blending of the old claymation aesthetic modernized via CGI. The colors are pleasing, most of the voice acting is adequate, and the pacing is fairly brisk, with jokes plentiful enough to keep them laughing.

Unarguably, the film’s brightest spot is Hannah Waddingham (The Fall Guy), who voices the evil Jinx. She gives full breadth and width to the feline felon’s mania, providing audiences with an off-kilter and over-the-top villain worthy of loving to hate.

Ultimately, this iteration of Garfield is a bit generic and depressing and is a far cry from classics like 1985’s Garfield’s Halloween Adventure or  1984’s Garfield in the Rough.

PARENTAL NOTES

Important Information for Parents

Our Parental Notes flag the material parents may want to know about before pressing play, including profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, frightening intensity, hyper-stimulating sequences, and other family-content concerns.

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