Development on The Garfield Movie started at Alcon Entertainment in May 2016. Dindal was announced as the film's director in November 2018, and pre-production began the following month. By 2021, Sony Pictures had already purchased the film rights for global distribution and Pratt was cast as Garfield, with the rest of the cast joining the following year. The film was animated by DNEG Animation, while John Debney, a frequent collaborator of Dindal, composed the score.
The Garfield Movie premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on May 19, 2024, and was released in the United States by Columbia Pictures through Sony Pictures Releasing on May 24, 2024. Upon release, the film received generally negative reviews from critics who criticized its unfaithfulness to the source material although the animation and voice acting were praised and was a box-office success, grossing $257.2 million worldwide against a $60 million budget.
Garfield is an obese, sedentary, orange tabby cat who lives a pampered average lifestyle with his beagle dog sidekick, Odie, and their owner, Jon Arbuckle. One night, while getting a midnight snack, Garfield and Odie are abducted by a Shar Pei and a whippet respectively named Roland and Nolan, who take them to an abandoned mall as prisoners. Garfield and Odie are soon rescued by the former's estranged father, Vic, whom Garfield hates, believing that Vic had abandoned him in an alley back when he was a kitten on the stormy night he met Jon. The dogs' boss, Jinx, a deranged Persian cat whom Vic has a history with, arrives to exact revenge on him for leaving her behind during a milk heist at Lactose Farms before she was caught and imprisoned at the animal shelter. She bargains to forgive Vic if he, Garfield, and Odie break into Lactose Farms to steal a large quantity of milk as compensation for her imprisonment while Roland and Nolan closely observe them, which they reluctantly agree after she eats her other henchman, a western bluebird named Barry.
The following morning, Jon notices Garfield and Odie’s disappearance but has trouble calling people to help search for them. Freighthopping a train to Lactose Farms, Vic attempts to bond with Garfield, to no avail as the latter refuses to engage with him. The three reach the farm, which is heavily guarded by an advanced security system. They meet Otto, a Highlandbull and the farm's former mascot, who was cast out after a corporation took over, separating him from his cow girlfriend, Ethel. They agree to help get Ethel out of the farm if he helps them break in.
While preparing for the heist, Garfield and Vic frequently clash with each other, forcing Odie and Otto to tie them to a tree. During a heated argument, Vic forlornly reveals what happened on the night he left Garfield behind: he was actually obtaining food for the starving kitten from across the alley but returned too late to find Jon taking care of him in an Italian restaurant he wandered off to. Solemnly accepting that Jon would be a better care provider, Vic decided to let him adopt Garfield and kept his distance from his son. Finally understanding the circumstances, Garfield forgives his dad. Meanwhile, Roland and Nolan report to Jinx (who reveals to have lied about letting go of her grudge against Vic) that Garfield and crew are ready to heist, and she calls the farm's Animal Control officer, Marge Malone, to frame them for it.
Guided by Otto, the trio successfully infiltrate the farm and circumvent the factory's dangerous equipment, but Marge intercepts them at the loading dock and captures Garfield and Odie. Vic remorsefully leaves them behind despite his son's pleas, stealing the milk truck and successfully delivers it to Jinx, only to be betrayed and captured by her as she gloats to Vic that she actually wanted him to be caught and sent to the pound like she was. But now that he didn't, she wants to do something worse. A heartbroken and confused Garfield and Odie are taken to the pound, where Garfield meets the rest of Vic's old crewmates, who have long distanced themselves from him because he was constantly leaving their capers to check up on Garfield, watching from afar whenever he visits him, but Garfield refuses to believe them. However, Jon unexpectedly arrives to bail Garfield and Odie out and takes them home. Returning to his regular life, Garfield finds Vic's tally marks on an old oak tree across from his house that the cat crew told him about, realizing that Vic does love him and only left him and Odie behind at the farm to keep them safe from Jinx, having deduced she wouldn't honor her promise to forgive him.
With his faith in his dad restored, Garfield decides to go back to the mall and save him, where he and Odie learn that Jinx intends to murder Vic by throwing him off a canyon from a viaduct's train into stalagmites at the bottom of the canyon and a ravine. Garfield and Odie, along with Otto and an army of drones, arrive to rescue him, only to eventually fail after a long climactic chase, leaving the father son cat duo at Jinx's mercy. However, finally seeing Vic's genuine love for his son, and realizing the illogical irony of her plan, Roland and Nolan turn on Jinx. Enraged, Jinx pushes the four of them off the train, only to be knocked off herself by an overpass and falls into the canyon as well. Otto swings a rope to catch them all and safely lands them on a net set up by Odie, also apprehending Jinx. They later return to the farm by the milk truck and bring in Jinx to Marge in exchange for Ethel's release, finally reuniting her with Otto. The reformed Roland and Nolan begin working as security guard dogs for Marge, while Jinx ends up sentenced to community service as punishment for her crimes.
Returning home, Garfield finally reconciles with Vic, who at first begins to visit him more frequently, then eventually moves in with the trio, officially becoming a part of his son's life.
Snoop Dogg as Maurice, a blue Maine Coon with an eyepatch and another of Vic's former crewmembers
Janelle James as Olivia, a green cat and another of Vic's former crewmembers[7]
Angus Cloud as Snickers, a small purple cat and another of Vic's former crewmembers. Cloud completed his voicework prior to his death on July 31, 2023, and the film was dedicated to his memory.
Jeff Foxworthy as a bird who was electrocuted on a Lactose Farms fence
In May 2016, seven years after 20th Century Fox's license with Paws, Inc. expired, it was announced that Alcon Entertainment would develop a sixth Garfield film, with John Cohen and Steven P. Wegner producing, from a script by Mark Torgove and Paul A. Kaplan.[8][9]Warner Bros. was considered a likely distributor given their partnership with Alcon, and Alcon also intended to launch a franchise of CG-animated Garfield films.[10]Mark Dindal was announced as director in November 2018, with pre-production beginning the following month.[11][12] In November 2021, David Reynolds was announced to write the film, reuniting with Dindal after having previously worked together on Disney's The Emperor's New Groove (2000).[13]Sony Pictures would distribute the film under its Columbia Pictures label except for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and DNEG Animation would provide the animation.[13] By September 2023, it was reported that the film would be entitled The Garfield Movie.[14][15]
Garfield creator Jim Davis has approved of Pratt's casting as Garfield, believing his performance embraced "all sides of the character" and not just Garfield's deadpan humor.[22] Pratt was also director Mark Dindal's first choice to voice Garfield, believing "he had been 'imagining [Pratt's] voice coming out of Garfield' for years".[22] Dindal believed that his natural voice captured Garfield's laziness and sarcasm, and to test the compatibility, the animators have paired his voice with snippets of Garfield's dialogue.[23]
Animation
Animation services for the film were provided by DNEG Animation.[24][25]Visual effects supervisor Freddy Chaleur recalled Dindal expressing to DNEG that "the aim and goal of the film [was] to pay homage to Jim Davis and the comic strip," with Davis himself being involved early on in preproduction.[25]
Animation supervisor Karun Reddy explained that the team aimed to "capture the 2D aesthetic of the comic" in a 3D space, and deemed "overcoming the technical difficulties associated with fur and exaggerated animation" to be the most challenging task.[24]Character rigs were designed with "multiple arms, legs and eyes" to allow for more exaggerated poses; "classic Garfield shapes" from the strips were also used as reference points.[24] Additionally, the team sought to translate the "painterly, handmade quality" of the production’s concept art into the finished film, which was done in part by "incorporat[ing] brush strokes and handmade details to achieve a softer look."[24]
Music
In November 2023, it was reported that John Debney would compose the film's score, marking his third collaboration with Dindal following Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little (2005).[26]Snoop Dogg collaborated with Keith Urban on an original song for the film titled "Let It Roll", which was released as a single on April 12, 2024.[27] Another single titled "Then There Was You" was released by Calum Scott in May 2024.[28] On May 15, 2024, yet another single titled "Good Life", this time from Jon Batiste, was released.[29] The soundtrack was released on May 17, 2024, by Republic Records.
A musical number titled "I'm Back" was sung by Hannah Waddingham for her character Jinx. However, Waddingham did not record it until after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Not long after recording, the crew discovered that they had run out of time to animate the song's sequence, and the song was subsequently cut from the film, but it does appear in the end credits of the final film, along with parts of the animatic of its sequence.[30]
Release
The Garfield Movie was theatrically released earlier in international markets on May 1, 2024,[31] and later in the United States on May 24, 2024.[32] It was previously scheduled for release domestically on February 16, 2024.[33]
In April 2021, Sony signed deals with Netflix and Disney for the rights to their 2022 to 2026 film slate, following the films' theatrical and home media windows. Netflix signed for exclusive "pay 1 window" streaming rights, which is typically an 18-month window and included The Garfield Movie. Disney signed for "pay 2 window" rights for the films, which would be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu as well as broadcast on Disney's linear television networks.[38] The film began its run on Netflix in the US on September 21.[39]
Video game
A video game based on the film is in development.[40][41]
Reception
Box office
The Garfield Movie grossed $91.9 million in the United States and Canada and $162.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $254.8 million.[5][2]
In the United States and Canada, The Garfield Movie was released alongside Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Sight, and was projected to gross around $30 million from 4,000 theaters in its four-day opening weekend.[42] The film made $8.4 million on its first day, including $1.9 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $24.8 million (and a total of $31.1 million over the four days), finishing second behind Furiosa.[43] In its second weekend the film dropped 42% to $14 million, finishing in first.[44]
The film opened in 18 countries on May 3, and grossed $22 million in its first weekend. Its largest markets were Mexico ($8.8 million),[45] Spain ($3.2 million), Brazil ($2.2 million), Italy ($1.6 million), and Peru ($1.3 million).[46]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 136 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Garfield Movie rolls along at a zany enough clip to be diverting for kids, but this animated adventure doesn't much resemble Jim Davis' iconically grumpy creation."[47]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 31 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[48] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale (the same as the live-action films), while those polled by PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 73%.[43]
In a negative review, Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film's unfaithfulness to the comic, writing, "As anyone familiar with cartoonist Jim Davis' iconic feline character knows, Garfield doesn't like to move around very much. He likes to eat, particularly pepperoni pizza and lasagna, and he likes to lie around and make sarcastic comments. In other words, he's not a cat of action. And yet for some reason, the creators of the new animated film revolving around him think that what the audience really wants is to watch Garfield engage in Mission: Impossible-style, stunt-laden violent mayhem."[49] Brandon Yu of The New York Times criticized the quality of the animation, stating the film was "visually flat, with compositions that seem oddly half-populated and cheap",[50] while a review in The Guardian went as far as to call it a "foul feline origin tale littered with product placement".[51] A mixed review for TheWrap, however, praised certain aspects of the film mildly and conceded, "While this new film isn't especially funny it's still a reasonably enjoyable kids flick. It's short on laughs but surprisingly big on tenderness."[52]
