The Garfield Movie (2024) is not so Garfield

Give me a plate of lasagna and I’ll think about it.

The Garfield Movie is a 2024 animated film. Garfield has an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father. He refuses to interact with him until they’re caught in a risky heist. To improve their relationship, the lasagna-loving cat must save his father from Jinx’s evil clutches.

On my eighth birthday, all I asked for presents were Garfield comics. I love anything Garfield-related, even the Garfield and Friends cartoon show and 2004 live-action movie. This latest Garfield movie doesn’t capture the humorous spirit of the iconic cat, offering a generic storyline and ignoring pop culture.

Chris Pratt was the wrong choice for the voice of Garfield. Nothing against Pratt, he is a talented actor, but he needs to stick with roles that suit his style. Pratt’s vocals don’t match Garfield’s deadpan humor or lazy demeanor. Pratt does a fine job, but this is not the Garfield we all know and love.

This movie should have stayed in the realms of Garfield’s world, including the characters. The new side characters steal Garfield’s limelight! Samuel L. Jackson does a fine job as Garfield’s father, Vic, but the storyline contains most jokes and interactions seen in similar films. The whole subplot with Otto didn’t fit the Garfield realm.

More voice credits include Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillen, Janelle James, and the late Angus Cloud.

Honestly, Odie was the best character. As most viewers have complained, Odie’s scenes are reduced to background jokes. In my opinion, Odia merits the best jokes and carries this movie. My favorite scene was when Odie continuously walked from the same direction, carrying different supplies. This could have been his movie.

Garfield and Odie’s friendship is so underrated. They already had a movie together where Garfield saves Odie, I would have been satisfied if the 2004 movie had been transformed into a cartoon.

Did Mark Dindal read a Garfield comic before signing on to direct this movie? The film’s plot is disjointed and missing the humorous tone and style. The plot is decent, but it’s not original. The first fifteen minutes grasped Garfield’s zany lasagna-loving world. Most of the comedy focuses on mediocre slapstick humor.

I have several ideas to improve this movie as the writers missed several opportunities. Instead of the storyline with Garfield and his dad, this film would have been more engaging if Garfield and Odie were on a mission to save Jon.

Based on the trailer, I thought the film would focus on the relationship between Garfield, Jon, and Odie. The dynamic between these three characters is the heart of Garfield’s charm. I’m disappointed that Jon only has 10 minutes in the movie!

Another famous Garfield character (whose appearance is reduced to a second) is Nermal. Instead of Jinx, Nermal would have made a more exciting character. And did everyone forget about Arlene? The character of Marge Malone is a recycled character of Captain Chantel DuBois from Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.

The animation of The Garfield Movie is another area that falls short. The animation fairs better than the CGI used for the latest Garfield cartoon shows. I don’t find the style amusing. Why didn’t the film use the signature comic style? I miss hand-drawn animated films and The Garfield Movie would have been a great chance to bring it back.

Children may like The Garfield Movie, but I was expecting more. There were a couple of moments when I laughed, but the movie was a missed opportunity for the iconic feline.