Garfield: The Movie

Check out our review of Garfield: The Movie - is it any good and how suitable is it for kids?

A Dog's Purpose Poster

Garfield: The Movie

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt. (U)

Release date: 2004

3 out of 5

3

Jim Davis’s comic strip (which then became a TV cartoon series) about a lazy, lasagne-loving cat gets the big-screen treatment in an adventure aimed at the most undemanding, junior members of the audience.
Garfield (voiced by Bill Murray) hates his owner Jon’s (Meyer) new pet, Odie, but when the dog goes missing he braves the big city to find him (isn’t that almost the plot of Toy Story?). A live-action movie with Garfield the only CGI character (the other animals are played by real cats and dogs), this doesn’t offer much for anyone over the age of ten (though Murray’s quips will raise a few smiles) but as a diversion for littler viewers, it is pure catnip. (And it’s a must for cat fans, too.) Trivia fact for grown-ups: the reclusive Murray apparently agreed to do the movie when he heard the writer was Joel Cohen – unfortunately Murray thought he was Joel Coen of Coen Brothers’ fame (Fargo etc), whereas this Joel is the co-writer of Cheaper By The Dozen. Oops…

Is Garfield: The Movie suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...

Very small children may find the bad guy, Happy Chapman, a little sinister.

If you like this, why not try: Garfield: A Tail Of Two Kitties, Marmaduke, Bolt, Toy Story, Cats And Dogs,