Garfield: The Movie Recommended
In a summer with such popular kids films Shrek and Harry Potter dominating the marketplace comes along a special treat for true Garfield fans. Sure Garfield is a kids movie but that is not say it doesn't appeal to grown up in all of the classic fat cat's fans. There have been other cats in cartoon history such Sylvester the Cat and Tom from Tom and Jerry just a few to name a few but it is Garfield: The Movie which captures the exact imagination of the original lazy fat cat invented by Jim Davis.
The lazy, sarcastic, lasagna eating fat cat is brought to life by director Peter Hewitt (The Borrowers) by using digital technology and the voice of Bill Murray (Osmosis Jones). The story is traditional to the original cartoon created by Jim Davis, Garfield is content at home and happy being lazy and doing nothing around the house while teasing other cats and driving neighborhood dogs nuts. One day, Garfield's owner Jon (played by Breckin Meyer of Road Trip) takes him to see the vet played by Jennifer Love Hewitt of Heartbreakers. Jon who has a crush on the vet is convinced to take home a adopted dog name Odie which causes a stir with Garfield. As all of the attention is focused on Odie, Garfield feels left out and eventually locks Odie out of the house. Odie eventually goes missing at the hands of a evil television producer named Happy Chapman who want to use the dog is his inhuman dog shows. This sets Garfield off who attempts to rescue Odie and bring him home to Jon.
The story and characters in the film are all believable and somewhat interesting as Bill Murray is perfectly cast as the voice who brings Garfield to life. The story is unoriginal yet simple enough to capture the essence of what Garfield d really is, Garfield is a lazy, sarcastic fat cat who thinks of nobody else but himself. Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt are the main characters in the film who try to strike up a romance cast appropriately in their roles and bad guy Stephen Tobolowsky (The Country Bears) as Happy Chapman is just evil enough to keep you interested until the end .
The special effects and computer generated imagery are nothing extraordinary but the digitally created Garfield far outshines another famous cartoon animals such as Scooby Doo. Fans of the Garfield comic strip will be delighted to know that Garfield stays true to the original fans and doesn't try to appeal to fans who are not too fond of the cat and the best thing about Garfield is that the cat dominates most of the film as the computer generated Garfield is the real star of the show.
Garfield is not for everyone. Garfield is for those who are fond of the comic strip or for those who are looking for something a little different to the mass appealing kids films of Shrek and Harry Potter. Garfield is never laugh out hilarious but has just enough humor to make you smile. Garfield is never to cheesy nor cutesy as Garfield comes to life for the true fans of the original comic strip.
Runtime: 80 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1:85.1
Twentieth Century Fox
Rated: PG
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