The Garfield Movie

 

“I hate Mondays.”

Generic, cute and plain, The Garfield Movie is a simple animated adaptation of the iconic comic strip character aimed predominantly at younger audiences who should be easily entertained by fluffiness, food and fast-paced plot and left longing for lasagna and hating Mondays! 

Discussion Points:

Garfield is an interesting character - an “edgy” comic strip who’s edge has not aged well in the slightest and who was never aimed at kids but at newspaper readers. So making an animated film, primarily targeted at younger audiences with little for parents or older cinemagoers, doesn’t necessarily scream “Garfield.” But then again, the characters simplicity does lend itself to a simple, generic brisk 90 minute cartoon. The Garfield Movie is inoffensive and solid. It’s not trying to reinvent or subvert expectations, it’s just a generic, simple and solid kids film. Lots of zany action, quick jokes, surprisingly few pop culture references (so the film should age alright), bright colours and frequently cute moments that will make audiences go awww. It’s well animated with great textures and cartoony shrink/stretch moments. The voice cast does well; there aren’t any groan worthy moments and there’s really not much to complain about. Solid, simple, sweet.