The Garfield Movie (2024) Review: A Predictable but Zippy Fun, Heist-Centric Animation

Not counting the three direct-to-video releases, the last time we had a Garfield movie released theatrically was Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties back in 2006. And that’s 18 years ago and of course, 20 years since the live-action/CGI hybrid Garfield: The Movie debuted in cinemas. Both movies were voiced by Bill Murray, the closest we ever got to the appropriately right voice and tone that sounds lazy and condescending since the late legendary Lorenzo Music.

I was hoping Murray would return to voice the big orange fat cat in The Garfield Movie but what we have instead is the ubiquitous Chris Pratt. It looks to me like he’s the recent go-to guy if you want a big Hollywood star to do voice acting in major animated features with established IPs. While Pratt did great in the first two Lego Movie, he was miscast as Mario in the otherwise mega-hit of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It took me a while to warm up to Pratt’s voice as Garfield from the moment the animated feature opens with him breaking the fourth wall.

The opening scene and the subsequent origin story are easily the best parts of The Garfield Movie. We are introduced to oh-so-cute little Garfield, where his dad Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) leaves him under a shelter one rainy night and promises him that he’ll be back. Little Garfield is cold, frightened and hungry and with no sign of his dad coming back to get him, he’s on his own until he meets Jon (Nicholas Hoult) dining all alone in an Italian restaurant.

This is where they first met and the moment Garfield has his first bite of a slice of pepperoni pizza, well, you know what’s going to happen next. Long story short, Jon ends up adopting the poor little cat. The earlier section of the movie is quintessential Garfield moments like how he loves to bully Jon’s yellow beagle dog, Odie (Harvey Guillén), causing havoc (including a reference from one of Jim Davis’ comic strips where he got thrown out of the window) and his Catflix-and-chill leisure time on his favourite couch.

Then one day, Garfield finds himself unexpectedly reuniting with his long-lost dad. As you may guessed, Garfield isn’t particularly fond of seeing him and more so when his dad gets both of them and Odie into trouble: Vic’s vengeful Persian cat Jinx (Hannah Waddingham) wants her two henchmen, the giant Shar Pei, Roland (Brett Goldstein) and the skinny Whippet, Nolan (Bowen Yang) to keep an eye on them to fulfil a high-stakes heist. And that heist in question revolves around stealing thousands of milk bottles in Lactose Farms.

To do that, the three — Garfield, Vic and Odie — need help to infiltrate the heavily fortified Lactose Farms. The only person animal who can assist them is Otto (Ving Rhames), a grumpy bull who used to be Lactose Farms’ mascot until he was cast away.

The Garfield Movie‘s storytelling shift from the daily hijinks within the confines of Jon’s house to a Mission: Impossible-style caper is as predictable as it gets. The latter even references Tom Cruise, complete with the movie’s famous theme and at one point, a familiar score from Top Gun. The slapstick-heavy jokes fly thick and fast — some landed fairly well while others seem like they try too hard to be funny. Mark Dindal, best known for his animated works in The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little, maintains the pace in a predominantly zippy manner and the story’s kid-friendly approach should keep the younger ones occupied.

The animation is vibrant and colourful, just don’t expect Pixar-level quality. Pratt does a decent if unremarkable job voicing the snarky Garfield while Harvey Guillén and Samuel L. Jackson deliver respectively commendable supporting roles as the dim-witted but loyal Odie and street-smart Vic. It’s a pity that Nicholas Hoult’s Jon is largely sidelined for most parts of the movie while Hannah Waddingham, currently can be seen in The Fall Guy as the conniving movie producer Gail Meyer, is a hoot as the scenery-chewing Jinx. Let’s not forget about Ving Rhames, who steals the show each time he’s on-screen as the grouchy Otto and his penchant for “dramatic pauses”.

The Garfield Movie isn’t as great as I expected, especially after a nearly 20-year wait but it remains a sprightly fun animated adventure.