The Garfield Movie

Tonight, I saw “The Garfield Movie,” which was released theatrically back in May, but on Netflix in September. How is this new installment that is based on a comic strip character that had his own cartoon series in the 90s?

This is the third feature length movie based on the popular comic strip character created by Jim Davis. Just like the first two, this one was panned by critics, but is commercially successful. Robert Roten said in his review, “The only reason I went to see this is because it is being shown in 3D. I did not expect much from this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. I laughed, and the story was compelling enough to hold my attention.”

In this new Garfield movie, Garfield is reunited with Vic, his estranged father. A vengeful Persian cat named Jinx forces Garfield, Vic, and Garfield’s dog friend, Odie, to perform a theft. Garfield, Vic, and Odie are helped in the theft by a depressed bull, Otto, who agrees to help them steal a truck full of milk (the required theft) if they will also rescue his love, a cow named Ethel, who is trapped at the dairy farm.

There are so many problems during the theft, and the getaway that follows. There is a very determined security guard, Marge Malone, to deal with, and two dogs named Roland and Nolan who both work for Jinx, who has no means of getting Vic off easy for his supposed betrayal of her.

One of the jokes in the movie is Odie. Shown as very vacuous and clumsy in the comic strip, in the movie, he is far smarter than Garfield or Vic. The depressed bull, Otto, is a true genius, who ends up running the theft mission.

Garfield is angry with Vic, who abandoned him when he was a kitten, but during the course of the movie, he learns what happened when he was a kitten is different than he thought. Vic had good reasons to keep his distance when he saw that Garfield had been adopted by a loving owner, Jon Arbuckle.

Roten noted, “This is mostly a movie for kids, but there are a few trappings for adults, such as calculated cultural and movie references. There is a good supply of slapstick comedy in the movie that is effective at times.” This film is written by Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, and David Reynolds, and is directed by Mark Dindal.

The voice cast include Chris Pratt as Garfield, Samuel L. Jackson as Vic, Harvey Guillén as Odie, Ving Rhames as Otto, Alicia Grace Turrell as Ethel, Hannah Waddingham as Jinx, Brett Goldstein as Roland, Bowen Yang as Nolan, Nicholas Hoult as Jon Arbuckle, Garfield and Odie’s owner, Cecily Strong as Marge Malone, Snoop Dogg as Maurice, a blue Maine Coon cat, and Jeff Foxworthy as a bird that gets electrocuted.

I was curious about checking this movie out because I have never seen any of the other Garfield movies, and I have seen the cartoon series and read the comic strips growing up. I know critics are thrashing this, but I personally found myself enjoying this movie. I think this is a family film everyone can check out and enjoy. If you have an ad-free plan on Netflix, you can watch this no problem. Otherwise, you will have to find this film somewhere else.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned next week for the continuation of “Buddy Cop Month.”