Garfield, the cat who hates Mondays but loves lasagna even more, is back. “The Garfield Movie” is a new cinematic adaptation that is closer to the spirit of the one-line comic strip than its live-action animation hybrid predecessor. However, that may be all it has going for it, considering that it modernizes the lovable tabby titular cat who is turned into an action superstar that loves today’s comforts like smartphones, apps that translate animal speech into human speech, apps that can order food, drones, streaming services, something that resembles TikTok, and product placement. It’s a fun way to introduce Garfield, who has graced the comic section of newspapers for the better part of 40-plus years, to kids who are glued to their screens. But it still could use a little more flavor, seeing how a heartwarming story is overshadowed by manic pacing and a lack of vocal chemistry.
“The Garfield Movie” explores, and I use that word with a grain of salt, the origins of the cat (voiced by Chris Pratt), who lives with his human owner, John (Nicholas Hoult), and pet pal Odie (Harvey Guillén, who provides only barks). Unlike the Garfields of the past, this one seems to have embraced modern technology to satisfy his lasagna and pizza cravings. When his order arrives, he finally notices that there’s an audience watching. So before he can scarf down a feast, he talks about his story about how his father, Vic (Samuel L. Jackson), abandoned him in an alley on a dark and stormy night. Then Garfield wanders to the window of an Italian restaurant where a lonely John is eating. Eventually, the two connect, and John gives him a single pepperoni off his pizza. With those big cat-like eyes, Jon and Garfield connect. It’s a sweet and tender moment that turns silly after Garfield eats Jon’s pizza with a single bite. There are a few more playful nods to the Looney Tunes inspiration when we see Garfield cry a river and almost wash away into a storm drain when John doesn’t take him in. Of course, that doesn’t happen.
The scene then takes us back to real-time, where we see what life has been like for Garfield, who gives us a long list of things that he hates, which includes Mondays, the vet, baths, salads, spiders, heavy winds, brushing teeth, and ice cream that has fallen off its cone. Garfield lives comfortably and doesn’t see the need to do anything else in life but order food off the app and bug his owner. But that all changes when he and Odie are catnapped and dognapped by a diabolical and municipal feline, Jinx (Hannah Waddingham), and her hench-dogs, Roland (Brett Goldstein) and Nolan (Bowen Yang). Jinx, who looks like the prissy cat you’d find on the face of every cat food tin, seeks vengeance against Vic and uses Garfield to lure him into a trap. She wants Vic to pay her back for taking the fall for a botched milk heist with interest, and if they aren’t successful, something horrible will happen to them. And just to be sure they don’t run away, Roland and Nolan will be watching over them.
So Garfield and friends travel to a corporate dairy farm, where they meet an abandoned bull named Otto (Ving Rhimes), who longs to be reunited with his imprisoned beloved cow. Meanwhile, Jon discovers that Garfield is missing using his Sherlock skills of deduction—Garfield never leaves food on the floor, there are open doors, broken glass is on the floor, etc.
When going into something like “The Garfield Movie,” it’s best to go with low expectations, especially if you don’t have any attachments to Davis’ work or affinity towards over-the-top slapstick comedy. While the film does hone in on Garfield’s behavioral patterns, like eating, sleeping, lounging, and mocking others with his deadpan, it also has to go beyond the one-line comic strip. As such, some added (sometimes unnecessary) fluff will help pad for time. So Garfield reconnects with his estranged father, and the heist serves that purpose.
Much of the fun comes from the manic energy in the Tex Avery-inspired hijinks. Of course, a lot of that humor comes at Garfield’s expense. One scene sees Vic kicking his son off a train, only to be bounced off trees, RV awnings, and windshield wipers on both sides of the tracks – this is as Roland and Nolan cheerfully watch. Then there’s Garfield and freinds hatching a scheme to break into the dairy farm to get their milk and break Otto’s sweetheart free. And the comedy doesn’t just come from the physical humor. The voice work is also splendid, although that has to do mostly with the supporting cast. Pratt, who has voiced Emmett in “The Lego Movie” s and Mario in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” is flat. It almost sounds like he just reads off the script without adding any color or personality. Pratt’s voice work in “The Garfield Movie” doesn’t compare to the deadpan voice that Lorenzo Music had during his run between the late 80s and early 00s. Even Bill Murray had a more inscrutable work when he voiced Garfield in the two live-action films.
However, Jackson, Waddingham, and Goldstein’s voice work really shines. All three lose themselves in the characters they voice, with Jackson channeling his tough guy routine into the father, who actually is a big softy at heart. Waddingham enjoys playing the villainous diva who is simply trying to right a wrong by getting back at the cat who hurt her. And then there’s Goldstein, whose gruff and tough voice matches the brutish dog whose folds can swallow you. And Cecily Strong’s security officer character mirrors Frances McDormand’s Minnesota-accented Marge from “Fargo.”
Turing Garfield into an action hero was certainly an interesting choice, and one that goes against his deadpan and lazy personality. Throwing the cat outside of his comfort zone and forcing him into situations he would not be in is certainly a new and fun way to look at him. It’s an attempt to make things fun for the whole family that doesn’t always work, but when it does, it is likely to elicit a few laughs. But it works so hard to be something that it’s not that the adult chaperoning kids will roll their eyes at the meta jokes or wink and nod to Tom Cruise doing his own stunts. Then, there’s the product placement, which is spread throughout the film.
7.5/10
