Garfield (2004)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Peter Hewitt

Writers (WGA):

Jim Davis (comic strip "Garfield")
Joel Cohen (written by) ...

Release Date:

11 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

It ain't the Cat in the Hat.

Plot:

Jon Arbuckle buys a second pet, a dog named Odie. However, Odie is then abducted and it is up to Jon's cat, Garfield, to find and rescue the canine.

Plot Keywords:

Garfield | Dog | Cat | Veterinarian | TV Host

Cast

Breckin Meyer	...	Jon
Jennifer Love Hewitt	...	Liz
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Happy Chapman
Bill Murray	...	Garfield (voice)
Evan Arnold	...	Wendell
Mark Christopher Lawrence	...	Christopher Mello
Vanessa Christelle	...	Miss Ace Hardware
Daamen J. Krall	...	Announcer (as Daamen Krall)
Rufus Gifford	...	Dog Owner #1
Randee Reicher	...	Dog Owner #2
Ryan McKasson	...	Dog Owner #3
Susan Moore	...	Dog Owner #4
Eve Brent	...	Mrs. Baker
Bill Hoag	...	Roy the Lodge Member
Michael Monks	...	Deputy Hopkins

Also Known As:

Garfield: The Movie (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

Denmark:A | Iceland:L | France:U | USA:PG (certificate #40176) | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/4 | South Korea:All | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Ireland:G | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | Germany:o.Al. | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The amount of CG Garfield shots (400) doubles the amount of Gollum shots in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jon is driving into his driveway after picking up Odie, you can see into the back seat of the car and see that Garfield isn't there.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Garfield: I hate Mondays.

Movie Connections:

Features An Affair to Remember (1957)

Soundtrack:

I Got You (I Feel Good)

Not too bad

Honestly, "Garfield" wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. Of course, Garfield himself is a pretty bad computer-animation of the cat and looks not much like him at all. And Odie the dog isn't "Garfield-ish" looking as in the strip, he's a real dog (except when he's doing silly things that need more crappy computer animation).

There are actually some decent funny moments, nothing earth-shattering but pleasant enough. Garfield's buddies are pretty funny, especially the mouse, he's hilarious. It seemed as if the movie was repeating the same animations of the mouse which made it even funnier because it looked so cheesy.

The guy who played Jon did well enough with what he was given, and while he was afraid to go after his dream girl, he was in no way the loser that Jon is in the comic strip. And of course there is Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is totally gorgeous and hot in a weird way, her great body giving the guys in the crowd something to admire if they were forced to bring their wife and kids to the show.

A few other things I noticed is that Garfield has a LOT of lines. He never seems to shut up. He sure speaks a lot more than in the strip! He's also a lot mellower than the original Garfield when the strip first appeared in 1978. Back then, Garfield used to do things like knock furniture over just to make Jon angry, and go after Odie with a baseball bat. Of course he's mellow in the strip nowadays and that's the Garfield we see on the big screen, although the old one would have been a lot more fun to watch.

The nastiest thing about this film is the electric torture dog collar, which is nothing any true lover of animals would ever use or condone the use of (unless a pit bull is ripping your kid's face apart).

Also, there aren't many humans who have speaking lines, which is a shame because you want Jennifer Love Hewitt on screen as much as possible. Except for an old lady, she's the only female in the film I believe. But Garfield is the star here of course, and he knows it too.

Being such a big cat person, I was laughing when Garfield was referring to Odie (and dogs in general) as dumb and smelly, because love or hate them, that's what dogs are. But as a true trooper, Garfield shows you must love all animals, even dumb and smelly ones like Odie. Heck, even the rats came through for the cause.

So if you like anti-dog jokes and crappy computer animation, along with a funny little story and Jennifer Love Hewitt's body, this is the film for you.