Garfield - The Movie
by Peter Hewitt
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DVD details
Actor: Bill Murray, Breckin Meyer, Evan Arnold, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen TobolowskyDirector: Peter Hewitt
Brand: MURRAY,BILL
Producer: Brian Manis
Producer: John Davis
Producer: John Kilkenny
Producer: Michele Imperato
Writer: Alec Sokolow
Writer: Jim Davis
Writer: Joel Cohen
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-10-19
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Garfield - The Movie
DVD Review: Not Purrfect, But Very Satisfying!
Summary: 4 Stars
Garfield the cat is a fat, lazy, self-centered, and entirely lovable ball of orange fur. He lives with his owner, Jon Arbuckle, a good-hearted young man who has up to now been unlucky in love, but has a huge crush on Garfield's beautiful vet, Liz. One day, after Jon finds Garfield has eaten himself silly on his favorite dish, lasagna, Jon uses it as an excuse to take him to see Liz. This is a happy turn of events for Liz, who has been looking for someone to unload an unwanted dog on; an adorable little pooch named Odie. Soon, Odie is Jon's favorite pet, while Garfield is finding himself in the doghouse. But when an unscrupulous TV personality from the nearby city spies Odie's dancing skills at a local dog show, the simple minded little pup suddenly turns up missing. With feelings of guilt forced upon him by his neighborhood friends and his own conscience, Garfield decides he must go on a quest to the big city to rescue his new friend. From here on out it's a typical Garfield adventure with all the feel of his wonderful animated series and specials, full of excitement, danger, comedic antics, and fun!
In 2001 we lost Lorenzo Music, the true voice of Garfield. Bill Murray (one of the genuinely funniest guys around) fills his shoes in this live-action feature, and he does it well! No, he doesn't sound EXACTLY the same, but there is something very familiar in their voices and deliveries. In fact, Lorenzo voiced Bill Murray's character, Peter Venkman, for the first part of the "Real Ghostbusters" animated series' run. Bill has exactly the right dry, sarcastic, and disinterested wit needed for the role of Garfield. One reviewer complained that he sounded bored. PERFECT! In this movie Bill Murray IS Garfield. I usually have complaints about CGI. I still don't think it's as perfected as the industry seems to think it is, but the fact remains, Garfield looks great. He looks real, yet he looks just like Garfield. Bill does him perfectly. His personality is totally intact. I read a review that complained about Garfield going on an adventure to save Odie, saying Garfield would never do something like that because he's too selfish and self-centered. Folks, if you are not a fan of Garfield's animated exploits, perhaps you may feel the way that reviewer did. The comic strip only gives us a few moments in Garfield's life each day, just enough for a simple gag or sarcastic remark. In the animated series and specials we see all the aspects of Garfield's personality. Under all that selfish fur and flab lurks a warm-hearted, loving cat that would do anything for his family (complaining the whole time, I'll grant you). Therefore, if you only love the brief, sarcastic moments of Garfield you read in the comics, perhaps you just won't get it. Fans of Garfield in animation will understand this film much better. After all, Jim Davis had a hand in this too, he didn't just completely turn things over to Hollywood.
Many complaints about "Garfield: The Movie" are from those who have prejudged this film without seeing it, or from folks who simply don't dig family entertainment. True, Garfield and the other animals move their "lips" when they talk, unlike in the cartoons and comics. The fact is, as long as the humans can't hear what they say, it doesn't matter. According to Jim Davis, they chose to do this because it just looks better on screen, and he's right. Movies like "Homeward Bound," that rely on animal telepathy, can still be great films, but there's something a little more comfortable (oddly enough) about films where the animals actually "speak" when they speak. It's a very minor complaint, even to this long time Garfield fan. A more worthy complaint is over the fact that Garfield is the only CG character. This is also blown out of proportion. It's not that bad for the most part. CGI effects are far more distracting in movie previews, before you are engrossed in the films that feature them. In fact, the only visual aspect that I found really distracting was the fact that Nermal was a Siamese cat instead of a cute gray kitten. Contrariwise, Arlene looked more like a full grown Nermal. I really felt they should have reversed the cats that played these rolls, and I'm still not sure why Nermal wasn't a kitten. Perhaps these two should have been CG too. But overall it was a visually pleasing Garfield experience, with a perfect Garfield and Odie.
But let's not overlook the human characters. Breckin Meyer plays Jon, and one of my personal dreamgirls, Jennifer Love Hewitt, is the veterinarian, Liz. While the actors were nicely cast, their roles were not perfectly written. Jon was still a nice guy and almost on the mark, but he wasn't quite dorky enough. Where was the tacky clothing? Liz was just a little too sweet and into Jon. I guess it wouldn't have made for much of a romance angle, which was cute in the movie, but it would have been more true to the characters if she had been mostly uninterested in Jon. Overall, I'd have to say this is the only SOLID flaw in the film, and the only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars. The villain of the story was very "Garfield the animated series," but I often think it would have been nice if he had been portraying Binky the Clown instead of an all new character. But all in all, this is a wonderful, family friendly movie that really keeps the spirit of the fat cat intact and should be enjoyable to all Garfield fans if they don't prejudge or limit themselves to the world of the comics. This DVD edition, however, offers little more to enjoy than the film itself. You are given the option of viewing in full or widescreen, but there are no extra features related to the film. All the disc boasts is a behind the scenes featurette, but it isn't even about Garfield; it's about "Because of Winn Dixie," a dog movie that was not yet in theaters at the time of the DVD release. I highly recommend getting a copy of this fun family film, but you may want to wait for the upcoming "Purrrfect Collector's Edition." Not sure what will be on that, but it's gotta offer more than this first release.
Description of Garfield - The Movie
When Jon Arbuckle's second pet, a dog named Odie, is kidnapped, it is up to his lazy lasagna loving cat named Garfield to rescue him.Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 19-OCT-2004
Media Type: DVD
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