All cat lovers and all non-cat lovers completely agree on one thing — they all love the lazy,

Monday-hating, lasagna-eating fat-orange cat named Garfield. In The Garfield Movie, the cat, who loves to stay indoors, goes ‘out’ to help his long-lost dad, Vic. The story begins five years ago when Vic leaves behind Garfield for a better future, but Garfield is upset with his dad, as he thinks that Vic ‘abandoned’ him.

We have all seen and read in comics that Garfield is a cat who rules his owner Jon’s home who, like the dog ‘Odie’, is a mere spectator. Odie is subject to Garfield’s pranks, which is normal for the household, until normalcy goes away. One must commend the makers’ decision to explore the other side of Garfield, which keeps the audience entertained.

The story involves Garfield and his friends and family, with the evil Jinx wanting the lazy Garfield to pull off an epic heist with a team not known for their adventure skills.

The team has to steal 6000 quarts of milk from a farm, or else…. The 101-minute family comedy movie has Garfield mostly on the roads; the action scenes remind one of Tom Cruise movies, who can jump from trains and fall from heights.

From ordering food via smartphone to taking care of Jon, or watching videos on Catflix, Garfield is a darling. The titular character is voiced by actor Chris Pratt, who you know as Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, Owen Grady from Jurassic World, Emmet in The Lego Movie, and as the voice of Mario in Super Mario Bros.

Vic, the older and heavier cat, is voiced by Samuel L Jackson, who we know as Nick Fury from The Avengers. Hannah Waddingham, the Witch Mother from Hocus Focus 2 is there as the evil Jinx, Ving Rhames is there as Otto, the bull who helps Garfield and dad out. We also have Snoop Dog as a cat, which sounds funny.

Renowned animator Mark Dindal directs the movie which encourages honest communication between parents and children; and tells kids that they should be forgiving to their parents. It also shows the parents’ love for their kids and promotes teamwork. The highlight of the movie is that nothing can be achieved without a good team, and one should always rely on that.

Go for Garfield! n

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 27th, 2024