The Garfield Movie (2024)

Garfield: The Movie hits the big screen with a mix of nostalgia and new adventures for the iconic orange cat.

While the film succeeds in capturing the classic humour of Garfield and his relationship with Jon and Odie, in some respects it falls short of the beloved comic strips and previous film adaptations.

The film tells a story about the father and son relationship as Garfield is upset to feel that his father Vic has abandoned him. The way the film executes this story is simple, but easy to follow.

Garfield keeps his personality intact and remains the same cat who just likes to be pampered. In the film it is seen that he is unable to cope with the outside world and is quite incompetent.

Garfield has no choice but to face challenges against his will and then does so because he finally decides to help Vic.

This makes the character learn to be less selfish and feel more appreciation for Vic. As for Garfield's canine companion, Odie is different from his previous versions. Usually this character has always been naive and fell into Garfield's traps, in this film he is much smarter and although he acts as if he is Garfield's servant, you can tell that he is quite a brilliant dog.

Jon, on the other hand, has a minor role and is left rather in the background. Although Jon was always a supporting character, here he was overlooked.

The rest of the characters are original, as characters from the comics like Liz and Nermal only have cameos. Of these new characters Otto is the best worked in because of his ties to the dairy industry and his love for Ethel.

He is a character with a fascinating tragic backstory and there is more about him and Ethel that would have been good to delve deeper into.

Jinx is a cartoonish and malevolent villain who has a good combination of humour and malice. Her relationship with Vic is pretty much summed up and there is enough more that could have been seen to make her a memorable villain.

Jinx's sidekicks work mostly as comic relief and although they don't do much until the end, they are good characters.

Marge Malone could have also served as a good second antagonist, but she ended up being a minor character. It would also have been nice to have known more about Vic's gang.

The film features vibrant and colourful CGI animation that brings Garfield, Jon, Odie and the rest of the cartoon world to life.

The film captures the essence of Garfield's classic humour, with his lazy banter, love of food and disdain for physical activities.