The Garfield Movie (U)
Cast: Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Chris Pratt, Samuel L JacksonGenre: Comedy
Author(s): Mark Torgove, David Reynolds, Paul A Kaplan
Director: Mark Dindal
Release Date: 24/05/2024
Running Time: 101mins
Country: US
Year: 2024
As a cute, wide-eyed kitten, Garfield is abandoned by his father Vic and left to fend for himself in an alleyway. Many years later, an unexpected case of catnapping reunites Garfield with his larcenous pater, who is heavily indebted to diabolical feline Jinx. Vic must steal over 1,600 quarts of milk from Lactose Farm or her snarling henchdogs Roland and Nolan will dole out some not-so-cartoonish violence. Vic, Garfield, Odie and lovesick bull mascot Otto join forces for the outlandish robbery.
LondonNet Film Review
The Garfield Movie (U) Film Review from LondonNet
In an amusing opening sequence, which flatters to deceive, the eponymous round-bellied tabby (voiced by Chris Pratt) promises to tell us the story of how he ‘adopted’ his long-suffering human owner Jon Arbuckle (Nicholas Hoult). “You will not be disappointed,” grins Garfield as lovable beagle Odie (Harvey Guillen) scurries around him. Alas, Garfield may be the cat who always gets the cream – or rather an endless supply of lasagne conveniently ordered and delivered via app – but director Mark Dindal serves us a disappointing computer-animated adventure made from the cold leftovers of far better films including Chicken Run and The Secret Life Of Pets…
Based on characters created by Jim Davis for a comic strip dating back to the mid-1970s, The Garfield Movie is a victim of an uninspired script that opts for the most obvious punchlines or bypasses them entirely. Thus, rapper Snoop Dogg’s onscreen alter ego is named Snoop Catt, Garfield’s streaming service of choice is Catflix and when the gluttonous puss becomes embroiled in a hare-brained Mission: Impossible-style heist, he once again addresses us to camera: “I do my own stunts. Me and Tom Cruise.”
Dindal’s picture does not self-destruct after five seconds thanks to a spirited vocal performance from Hannah Waddingham as a feline criminal mastermind, who is one swish of a tail shy of full-blown, caterwauling madness. Pratt’s casual embodiment of the title character lacks the delicious deadpan delivery of Bill Murray’s Garfield from the live-action films while Hoult’s owner is stranded on one end of a telephone helpline that stubbornly refuses to connect Jon to a human being. We share his frustration.
As a cute, wide-eyed kitten, Garfield (Pratt) is abandoned by his father Vic (Samuel L Jackson) and left to fend for himself in an alleyway. Many years later, an unexpected case of catnapping reunites Garfield with his larcenous pater, who is heavily indebted to diabolical feline Jinx (Waddingham). Vic must steal over 1,600 quarts of milk from Lactose Farm or her snarling henchdogs Roland (Brett Goldstein) and Nolan (Bowen Yang) will dole out some not-so-cartoonish violence. Vic, Garfield, Odie and lovesick bull mascot Otto (Ving Rhames) join forces for the outlandish robbery and the intrepid thieves pit their paws and dull wits against the farm’s wily head of security, Marge (Cecily Strong).
The Garfield Movie pales next to the sarcasm-soaked comic strip that inspired it. Three screenwriters ply diluted humour that does not specifically target parents or children and they neglect to arm a gifted ensemble vocal cast with zinging one-liners as the running time slinks well beyond 90 minutes. Animation is colourful and crisp with discernible detail on animals’ fur ruffling in the wind but Dindal’s film is Garfield in name alone.
– Jo Planter
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