Garfield, the famous orange cat created by Jim Davis in the late 1970s, is back on the big screen in cartoons with The Garfield Movie (Garfield – The Movie in French version) from director Mark Dindal, responsible for the visual effects of Disney classics like The Little Mermaid And Aladdin. If the animation is very successful, it is the complete opposite of the story (signed by David Reynold, at the origin of Finding NemoPaul A. Kaplan and Mark Torgove), which leaves us wanting more.
In the prologue, we find Garfield (Chris Pratt, Super Mario And The Lego Movie) which explains how he was adopted by Jon (Nicholas Hoult, Mad Max – Fury Road) after being abandoned by his father, the alley cat Vic (Samuel L. Jackson, Paws of Fury – The Legend of Hank). A very cute moment, big eyes at the Puss in Boots included.
Well settled in Jon’s house with Odie as a new friend, Garfield is now living his “best life”, with an overabundance of food and a subscription to Catflix, when he is kidnapped by two villains in the pay of the hysterical Jinx (Hannah Waddingham , The Fall Guy And Ted Lasso). The latter wishes to take revenge on Vic who was unable to help her during a theft committed several years ago. Throughout their adventures, father and son will have to put aside their misunderstandings to learn to work together in order to succeed in the mission entrusted to them by Jinx, that of stealing thousands of liters of milk.
But too many obstacles will stand in front of the duo (always accompanied by Odie). And by wanting to multiply the twists and turns, the scenario ends up suffering from several lengths (including an interminable train chase) during which the young children in the room (and their parents) struggle to follow the thread of the story. Not to mention the abundance of good feelings from the two cats (who knew that Garfield had such a spectrum of emotions?).
The Garfield Movie moves away from the very essence of the universe of the potbellied feline, that is to say a lazy cat who would not even lift a paw to save anyone. Let us also highlight the rare appearances of the character of Jon and the extreme kindness of Garfield with Odie, normally his foil.
But with a catchy soundtrack, which includes songs by Jon Baptiste, Keith Urban and Snoop Dogg, and some effective gags, including well-placed slaps that provoked plenty of laughter from children, The Garfield Movie will find its audience, despite its message on the importance of family heard many times.
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Animation
The Garfield Movie
(VF: Garfield – The Movie)
Mark Dindal
Featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson and Hannah Waddingham
1h40
Indoors