Garfield: The Movie

Garfield: The Movie (sometimes known as Garfield onscreen) is a 2004 American live action/computer-animated comedy film directed by Peter Hewitt inspired by Jim Davis' comic strip of the same name and the 1988 animated series mh:besttvshows:Garfield and Friends. It stars Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Dr. Liz Wilson and features Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield, who was created with computer animation, though all other animals were real. The film was produced by Davis Entertainment Company and distributed by mh:greatestmovies:20th Century Fox. It was released in the United States on June 11, 2004 and received a sequel in 2006 entitled Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.

Plot
Jon Arbuckle buys a second pet, a dog named Odie. However, Odie is then abducted and it is up to Jon's cat, Garfield, to find and rescue the canine... Garfield, in an out of character move, goes to search for and rescue Odie with the help of a variety of animal friends along the way.

Worse Than Any Monday Qualities

 * 1) Wooden acting from much of the cast with the exception of Bill Murray (see GQ #1).
 * 2) Many poor attempts at humor throughout the entire film, particularly when Garfield gets chased by dogs at the dog show, he runs by a lady and yells, "Ma'am, I'm hitching a ride in your moo-moo!" which also became an infamous 'joke'.
 * 3) The storyline is tiresome, especially when you compare it to the original TV show and comic books that inspired it.
 * 4) Blatant amount of product placement, a lot like Man of Steel.
 * 5) Lackluster and dated CGI, especially on the titular character himself.
 * 6) They made all the characters (except for Pooky the Teddy Bear) in the movie look nothing like their own original designs, which is especially the case with both Jon and Liz, who also don't behave like their comic book and cartoon counterparts.
 * 7) *It should also be noted that Odie is portrayed by a real dog rather than a CGI character (the same can be said for Nermal and Arlene), resulting in a character that obviously lacks the quirky physical appearance and personality of the comic book's character.
 * 8) Speaking of characters, most of the characters are incredibly forgettable.
 * 9) The main antagonist of the movie, Happy Chapman, is so bland and forgettable that his motivation makes no sense.
 * 10) A rather bad grasp of the source material.
 * 11) The writing and the ending itself certainly feel very rushed.
 * 12) Contains needless pop culture references, including a moment when Garfield watches mh:besttvshows:The Simpsons (despite that The Simpsons is owned by Fox, the film's distributor).
 * 13) Plot hole: Happy Chapman is allergic to cats, but never sneezes or shows any signs of his allergy on the two occasions he is in a room with Garfield.
 * 14) When Garfield gets kicked out of the house, the first scene we see him is during the day but the very next scene is at night. Why did Jon waited so many hours for it to be night instead of kicking out Garfield when it's still during the day?

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Bill Murray did a pretty good job voicing Garfield.
 * 2) Despite the lackluster CGI, Garfield's design does remain faithful to the original comics and cartoons.
 * 3) Passable soundtrack composed by Christophe Beck.
 * 4) *Speaking of which, Baha Men’s “Holla!”, which was made specifically for this movie, is incredibly catchy.
 * 5) Some Garfield fans may like this movie.
 * 6) Garfield does retain part of his character despite being a bit flanderized at times.
 * 7) There are a few references to the comics, such as Garfield still hating Mondays and eating lasagna.

Reception
Garfield: The Movie received generally negative reviews from critics and audiences alike, and currently holds a 15% approval rating on mh:rottenwebsites:Rotten Tomatoes, with a general consensus that states: "When the CGI novelty of Garfield wears off, what's left is a simplistic kiddie movie." On Metacritic, the film has weighted a score of 27 out of 100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews," while mh:rottenwebsites:IMDb has a score of 5/10.

Trivia

 * Bill Murray took up the lead role because he thought the script was being written by Joel Coen of the Coen Brothers, but he shortly found out that it was actually Joel Cohen, the writer of mh:greatestmovies:Toy Story, Cheaper by the Dozen, Money Talks and Daddy Day Camp.
 * In 2009's mh:greatestmovies:Zombieland, Bill Murray (in a cameo) claimed he regretted starring in Garfield.
 * Jack Nicholson and Dan Aykroyd were both considered to voice Garfield in the film.
 * Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, and Adam Sandler were all considered for the role of Jon, but were too expensive.
 * Jennifer Garner, Cameron Diaz, and Drew Barrymore were all considered for the role of Liz.

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