Heart and a Few Chuckles Bring The Garfield Movie to Life

Okay, let’s be honest, who didn’t have this stuffed orange bestie splattered on a window of their car?  Yup, I am absolutely 1000% guilty of that offense. Honestly who can relate to the foodie mentality and that acerbically comic sense of humor. Yet, in this latest iteration of our comic book friend come to life events take a turn into relationships – those we idolize, those we love and those that break our heart.

Father and son dynamics are extremely tricky with results rolling over from childhood, which can sometimes become life affirming or devastatingly eye-opening.  For Garfield, this turns out to be true on both counts.  Know for hating Mondays and loving lasagna, in his present world, dude is  seemingly living his best life with a tricked out lounge chair, ordering drone food delivery on Jon’s phone and watching videos on Catflix.  Instead of being annoyed by and competitive with Odie, in this version, they are friends, and Garfield calls Odie his intern. Everything is fine until Garfield’s long-lost father Vic turns up resurrecting abandonment issues for our favorite feline turinng his comfortable uncomplicated life into one he no longer recognizes.

Leading a heavyweight voice cast led by Chris Pratt (Garfield) and Samuel L. Jackson (Vic), the highlight of the film for me was Hannah Waddingham’s deliciously diabolical Jinx and Snoop Dogg (Maurice), who is literally the head dog in the pound with one barb after another.  There are some really nice heartwarming moments between Pratt and Jackson, which will teach young audiences a much needed lesson in what forgiveness looks like.

The animation is beautiful to gaze upon with some quippy dialogue making the film hilariously fun to experience, while taking audiences on an undeniable nostalgic trip to the cat Jim Davis made us fall in love with time and time again.