I got to take the family to an early screening of The Garfield Movie starring Chris Pratt as the lasagna-loving cat we grew up with. I used to read Jim Davis’s Garfield comic strip in the weekend comics as a kid, and I grew up watching the TV series Garfield and Friends, so I have always been a fan.
It seems like many of the characters we grew up with have been rehashed in one way or another in recent years, so I went into this movie with low expectations.
First off, the voice cast was perfectly chosen, with Pratt perfectly paired with the lazy foody feline. He has played several animated characters over the last couple of years, but this was one of the better matches.
He was joined by Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Snoop Dogg.
Each actor was funny and added their own spin to each character. The film featured a brand new Garfield origin story, and an adventure to escape a new nemesis and find out about Garfield’s father while making friends along the way. The movie had plenty of laughs for all ages, and it didn’t go over the top to pander to any age group.
We all laughed and enjoyed the silliness. There was also a mid-credits scene featuring funny cat videos, and a post-credits homage to Jim Davis’s comic were both fun little treats.
This was a solid family film and a genuine good time at the movies.
