Garfield: The Movie

I don't see why people blast this movie so much. It is funny, well acted and well animated. Breckin Meyer plays the nerdy Jon very well and acts like the pet loving dork that we loved so much in the cartoon. Garfield looks amazing, almost identical to what he looked like in the cartoon. Bill Murray is perfect to play him and his voice is similar to Lorenzo Music. They included all the trates of Garfield- lasagne, TV and being a lazy fat cat. Thye kept Odie the moronic but lovable dog. They kept the fact that Garfield has an agreement with the mice and gets on with them. They kept Liz the vet, which brings so much more to Jon. This is a great kids movie, that i am sure adults who watched this as a kid will love too.

All the years I've been a loyal reader of the Garfield comics, I never had the impression it's merely meant for kids. On the contrary, most of the dry humor and charismatic Garfield poses are difficult to 'get' for young children. And yet, the film completely aims for a youthful audience. I have no problem with a movie being pro-children, but this is exaggerated and hardly accessible for adult viewers. The movie totally lacks all the elements that make the comics so entertaining. Garfield's clever and sarcastic remarks, Jon's clumsy womanizing techniques… All this has been replaced with an unhealthy dose of feel-good messages and lame jokes. The computer engineered Garfield doesn't appeal and the other, real pets are badly chosen. The plot is standard-sentiment, with Garfield saving his new housemate puppy from a sneaky, fame-chasing TV host. Breckin Meyer (as Jon Arbuckle) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (as the yummy vet Liz) walk around without anything to do and Bill Murray voices Garfield like it's some sort of dire job he wants to get rid of asap. The first (long-awaited?) cinema adventure of everybody's favorite cat appears to be a quickly produced and unprofessional flick soon to be forgotten. Too bad, since you're left behind with the feeling they could have done something better with this.

As a kid in the late 80's and early 90's, I remember watching "Garfield and Friends" every morning (The Show was also in syndication for weekdays at the time, so not just Saturday mornings fyi). I eventually began reading Garfield comic strips daily, but stopped because of the time factor. This was my favorite, and nothing else compared, except the Ninja Turtles from 1990-92.

But when Jim Davis had the audacity to sell his idea to 20th Century Fox and allow those dumb*ss producers and writers to f**k it all up by introducing Bill Murray as the Voice of Garfield (now a dancing jumping athletic cat, as opposed to being lethargic), Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle, and a wide array of Hollywood's A and (A- to B) list including Jennifer Love-Hewitt, (the highly unfunny)Jimmy Kimmel, Monique, Debra Messing, Nick Cannon, and Brad Garrett et al, It looked as if another great memory of our childhoods has been flushed down the toilet.

Therefore, In short, this movie is weak. And I nominate "Garfield the Movie" for the 2005 Razzie Awards "Worst Film of the Year" (the opposite of the Oscar) Unless, Jennifer Lopez starts doing movies again, or otherwise if there is something even worse.

0/10 stars

As simple good clean entertainment this movie really isn't that bad. The movie however fails to making a lasting impression. Nothing in the movie is something new or memorable. The story itself is also extremely simple. The fact that the movie is so incredible short makes the story seem even worse than it perhaps is.

I'll admit that Garfield is a better looking CGI-character than Scooby-Doo was. Still that doesn't mean that Garfield looks incredibly impressive or realistic. Plus of course this movie has very little to do with the original cartoon, so many grew up with. None of the characters really make an impressive appearance, not even Bill Murray's voice talent can change this. Jennifer Love Hewitt is looking good in this movie but she gets very little to do and her characters just felt needless for this movie. A big disappointing character was the villain Happy Chapman he was not fun, not villainous enough and his exact motivations were too unclear and/or too lame.

The movie also fails to be really funny. The movie will perhaps make you grin at times but it almost most certainly won't make you laugh out loud. Still as simple clean entertainment it serves it purpose and I can't not entirely trash this movie. It does has its few moments but it simply all doesn't make a very lasting impression.

Entertaining enough to watch it once.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I didn't absolutely hate Garfield 1, but I personally thought the film wasn't that great. The first problem is that the plot is as thin as a piece of cardboard and rather slow-moving. Bill Murray does his best with rather superficial material, but at times he sounds rather monotonic. While the script isn't completely devoid of humour, it is very uneven, and while kids will like the jokes, adults won't find much to go on. Stephen Tobolowsky's villain, despite having some good delivery, just doesn't quite convince, likewise with Brekin Meyer as Jon.

However, there are several redeeming merits, the most obvious one being Oadie the dog. I am 17, but I still found him so adorable, especially when he started dancing on his hind legs. Another obvious plus is the always lovely Jennifer Love Hewitt as Liz, who has been in a number of duds, but still shines because of her endearing personality and beauty. I also thought there were some well chosen locations, and while the film on the whole wasn't very funny, the scene when Garfield is blown so hard into the air-conditioning duct that his face gets stamped into the metal was very funny indeed.

Overall, not a bad movie, but not a particularly good one either. I don't really recommend this other than for Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oadie or if you're a Garfield fan, but I did enjoy the sequel more. 4/10 for a brave attempt to bring a comic book to the big screen. Bethany Cox