Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Purrfect, But Very Satisfying!, September 2, 2004
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute, Funny Movie, February 5, 2005
I am little bit surprised that Garfield: The Movie got such negative reviews from critics. I thought it was quite cute and funny.
The plot of the movie is a silly caper. Garfield is well ensconced as John's favorite companion until John meets a cute nurse at the vets office. In trying to work up courage to ask her out, she fobs a dog off on him, Odie. Well, it doesn't take Garfield long to get jealous of the new pet in John's life and he works to get rid him. There are some very funny scenes with Garfield knocking Odie around, trying to play tricks on him, and funniest of all, competing with each other dancing.
Enter a nefarious TV personality who needs a trained animal to hit it big. After seeing Odie dancing at a dog show (another silly and funny caper) he kidnaps poor Odie. And Garfield finds he does have a heart and off to the rescue he goes.
Overall, for some light, comic entertainment the movie was enjoyable. I'm not sure how true the movie is to the comic strip as I am a sporadic reader of it, but it seemed to fit to me.
There are not really any particularly good special features in the DVD.
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25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Lasagna-Loving Cat Dances His Way Into Your Heart, June 13, 2004
Having been a fan of Garfield for as long as I can remember, I have been eagerly awaiting this movie for months. I was not disappointed and can hardly wait to see it again as soon as possible. Garfield's voice has passed from the late Lorenzo Music to Bill Murray with great success. Murray has successfully captured all the subtle nuances of the tubby tabby as Garfield reveals his love/hate relationship with Odie, his disdain of Jon balanced with his desire to be #1 in his care-giver's life, and, of course, his love of lasagna, tv, and self. What we loyal readers of Garfield may not have realized is that the Fat Cat is a smooth dancer as he gyrates, swings his tail, and even does an astonishingly good imitation of Elvis. The plot takes us back to the day Odie came into Garfield and Jon's lives and of the jealousy that Garfield felt for the intruder in his happy home. Also present are Pooky, Nermal, and Arlene. Though Nermal is far different from the cute little kitten who appears in the strips, he still is the butt of Garfield's not-so-nice little tricks. On the other hand, the animation of Garfield is just right as is the moviemaker's ability to integrate a cartoon cat into a world of real humans and animals. Speaking of humans, Jon and Dr. Liz the Vet have had personality upgrades from the strip. Jon loses much of the geekiness but retains the innocence and even gets a chance with Dr. Liz---something that's never happened in the daily strip. There are plenty of laughs in this and I had a totally good time watching the full hour and twenty-five minutes.
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