Movies
by MBE Kids Writer
Danielle Adler Hassan
Mother of 2
The summer movie season kicks off a bit early when the animated adventure comedy The Garfield Movie (2024, Sony Pictures, Rated PG) opens in theaters this weekend. Read on for a candid review with my real life family's thoughts and reactions after seeing this film ahead of the big screen release.
Thanks Sony Pictures for screening access, post contains affiliate links
The Storyline, Characters and Cast
In The Garfield Movie, the lazy and grumpy indoor big orange cat Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) sets off on a wild adventure forcing him to face his fears of the outdoors. Along the way Garfield stumbles upon his long-lost Dad, a raggedy street cat named Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), for an unexpected father-son reunion that starts off in a really awkward way.
Before these characters (and the movie's audience) know it, Garfield and his dog friend and trusty side-kick Odie (voiced by Gregg Berger) are uprooted from all the creature comforts of home and are dragged into Daddy Vic's outlandish heist scheme. Central characters also include Garfield's human owner Jon Arbuckle (Nicholas Hoult), as well as Otto (Ving Rhames), Jinx (Hannah Waddingham), Snoop Cat (Snoop Dog), and Roland (Brett Goldstein). An eclectic slew of other characters round out the cast as the adventure unfolds.
Kids, Grownups Reactions
For this review my husband brought our two boys (ages 3 and 7) to the theater along with the kids' grandma to see The Garfield Movie. My sons were not really familiar with the Garfield comic strip, so this was actually their first introduction to the Garfield character and all his wacky friends which include others from the original comic strip as well as new characters created for the movie.
Eventhough they are four years apart, both our sons thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Overall they loved that funny, sarcastic orange cat and all his antics and there was plenty of non-stop action and dialogue capturing their attention from the opening scene until the closing credits. The kids agreed that their favorite parts were the train ride and Garfield surprise party near the end of the film. In fact, the boys liked this so much that eversince they came home, they keep asking if they could go back to see theater to see this movie again. They ended up settling for watching Garfield on YouTube the next day.
With double storylines to entertain the adults and kids at the same time, Dad and Grandma agree that The Garfield Movie is chock full of funny moments and very kid appropriate. Based on our own family's experience, this definitely is a family friendly movie which will appeal to multiple generations. The great sound track is also worthy of note, entertaining Baby Boomer and Millennial grownups alike with songs like 1992's Wild Thing by Cheap Trick to Talk to the Animals performed by Sammy Davis, Jr. and What's New Pussy Cat performed by the great Tom Jones who at 83-years old still tours globally.
As my seven-year old son so aptly comments, "There's nothing better and more exciting than seeing a really fun kid's movie like The Garfield Movie in a big theater like we did. That's why I love going to the movies."
Get Your Very Own
30" x 60" Officially Licensed
--> Garfield Movie Beach Towel <--
The Garfield Backstory
The movie is based on the Garfield cartoon strip created by Jim Davis which went into national syndication in 1978. Set in the creator's hometown of Muncie, Indiana, as of 2015 Garfield was syndicated in an estimated 2,100 newspapers and journals in 80 countries. In fact, the beloved cartoon still holds the Guinness World Record for the most syndicated comic strip in the world and is still read today by about 200 million people.
About The Garfield Movie
Learn more about The Garfield Movie from Sony Pictures by checking out the official movie trailer and by following @garfieldmovie on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.