Never thought I would see the day when a live action movie based on Garfield would grace the screens. It just didn't seem like the type of strip that could support a feature length movie, much less a non-animated feature. I've been a fan of the big fat cat for years, and this prospect scared me. With 20 some odd years on the comic pages and a few cartoons, could there be enough story to fill a film? Surprisingly there is.
The goal for this to be a successful movie is to capture the essence of what makes Garfield, well, Garfield. He has to be self-involved, egotistical, and hungry, with just a hint of empathy. The rest would be more or less icing on the cake. If they could sustain the cat, they could sustain the movie. I am happy to report they succeeded. Secondly, would we get all of the supporting cast members? We get Arlene, Nermal, the mice, and of course the neighbors dog. And of course, we could not be complete without Jon Arbuckle, Liz the vet, and last but not least, Odie. All of these characters were met with varying degrees of success, but before I get to those, Ii must get the requisite story observations out of the way, the story is, after all, secondary to the characters in an adaptation such as this.
The plot revolves around Happy Chapman, an egotistical talentless TV host with a pet cat. In an attempt to get more TV exposure, he wants to get a dog to replace his cat. In comes Odie, once in possession of the pup, Happy plans to skip town. Now Garfield must step up and rescue his object of aggravation. The story centers firmly on the chase, book ended with short skit like scenes. It works as a framework to hang our characters on, but it isn't that meaty, and it doesn't have to be.
The characters are who we came to see! Let's begin with the people involved. Happy Chapman (Stephen Tobolowsky) is not from the comics, but is portrayed as a one note bad guy to fulfill the plot requirements. He is played well and fits in with the cast, but I couldn't help to think of how much funnier it would have to have Will Ferrell in this role. Next we have Liz the veterinarian, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. They got the look right, but the character wasn't so good. In the comics, Jon never gets the girl, and here he gets her right away! Hewitt was perfect for the role in any respect, although I don't now of any vet that would dress like that, and there is, please let me know! Lastly we have Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle. This guy is too flat to be Jon, Jon's a loser of the first degree, this guy is just dull. He has the right look for Jon (although, just picture a younger Tom Hanks), but the script doesn't really allow him to display his loserness. That's it for our primary human cast.
Heading our support team are a number of animals, all of which are real with cg enhancements, as opposed to Garfield himself which is an entirely cg creation. We have a mouse named Louis, a Doberman named Luka, and a number of others. The animal characters all exhibit more life than their living counterparts. We also get a couple characters straight out of the strip. First is Nermal, the annoying kitten that is not terribly bright, and always bugging our hero. Here he is portrayed as a Siamese, although I never got that impression from the comics, and knowing how antisocial Siamese are in particular, the character was a bit flat, but it was still good to see him getting some screen time. We also get Arlene, who in the comics is the object of Garfield's affections is here as well, but not as an interest, but as another voice of reason to point out Garfield's faults. To round out the supporting critters is the lovable Odie. The dog that performing Odie is perfect, chasing his tail and dancing, the only thing missing was the slobber, although I didn't really miss it.
Finally we have Garfield himself. The cg is perfect for him, I don't think a real cat would have been able to him justice. The introduction was good, we are treated to a series of comical scenes which play out like the panels of a comic strip, it eases us into the story with a smile. Bill Murray is the voice of our fat cat, and that choice is inspired. Murray has that nonchalant, I'm better than you, kind of attitude with his droll voice which is perfect. It is also similar to the original voice from the cartoon specials, which is a plus for those of us familiar with them.
Overall, it was a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy. I was really worried going in that they would not be true to the characters, but they are captured here. One thing that did really bug me, was the way the animals mouths moved. In the comics and cartoons, their mouths didn't move, it was a little odd at first, since the people don't hear them. Minor quibble aside, it was made by someone who is obviously a fan of the cat. Bottom line is I liked it and I think you will too.
Recommended.
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