Garfield (film)
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Template:Infobox Film Garfield (aka Garfield: The Movie) is a 2004 live-action movie based on the Jim Davis comic strip Garfield. In this movie, Garfield the cat was created with computer-generated imagery, though all other animals were real.
The movie was directed by Peter Hewitt, produced by Davis Entertainment for 20th Century Fox, and stars Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Dr. Liz Wilson, and features Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield. None of the voice actors for Odie received screen credit.
The movie was released in the United States on June 11, 2004. Reviews of the movie were generally very negative, although Murray's voice work received some positive notices.
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties is currently in Post-Production, and is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 23 2006 in North America.
Contents |
Box Office
| First Week Gross | US$ | $21,727,611 |
| Domestic | US$ | 75,369,588 |
| Non-Domestic | US$ | 123,232,506 |
| World-Wide | US$ | 198,602,094 |
Summary
The movie for the most part follows the comics. Garfield is a fat, lazy, selfish cat who hates Mondays and eats a lot. One day, his owner Jon takes him to the vet. There, they meet a homeless puppy, Odie (portrayed as a "normal" house dog). Dr. Liz Wilson tells Jon that Odie will be taken to the pound if nobody claims him, so Jon brings him home, much to Garfield's chagrin (in this film adaptation, Liz is portrayed as Jon's love interest). He torments and teases the dog. One day, Jon and Liz go out to a dog show with Odie. Odie steals the show with his dancing (accompanied by the Black Eyed Peas), which does not go unnoticed by Happy Chapman, a television host who features house pets. He offers to put Odie on his show. Jon refuses. One night Odie gets lost (after Garfield lets him out), and is kidnapped by Happy Chapman. Garfield, together with Louis, one of Jon's pesky house mice, Persnikitty, Happy Chapman's cat, and other characters, sets out to rescue Odie, although Garfield is seemingly indifferent at first ("Nermal" and "Arlene" [both are briefly named in the film] resort to shaming Garfield and making him feel guilty in order to get him to help).
Differences
- In the comics, Liz essentially "hates Jon's guts", as it were, repelling Jon's advances, and insisting on keeping the relationship professional (although they did date in one episode of Garfield and Friends). In the movie, Liz is portrayed as Jon's love interest (significantly different from her comic portrayal). In the comics, Jon's entire romantic life is a series of cancelled or failed dates.
- Although Garfield retains his original design (rendered in CGI), Odie is portrayed as a "normal" looking dog. "Nermal", the "world's cutest kitten", is portrayed in the film as older and more "masculine". "Arlene" also has a generic "cat" design, and does not have her trademark pink fur.
- In the film, Garfield's lips move when he talks, but in the cartoon they do not.
- In the comic strip, Garfield is portrayed as an extremely lazy cat, seen mostly sleeping or eating. In the movie, Garfield can be seen dancing, running, jumping and making a lot of unnecessary movement that seems out of character.
- Odie in the comics wasn´t originally owned by Jon like in the film. In the comics, he was originally owned by Jon's former roommate, Lyman.
- Odie in the film is a dachshund. In the comic strip, Odie is a beagle.
- Many of these differences are, of course, needed to make it easier to tell the story.
Trivia
- There is a considerable amount of product placement in the film. For instance, Jon drives a Volvo (instead of his red station wagon from the comics), uses an Apple iMac and buys pet food and supplies from Petco. There also products from Kellogg's and General Mills, among others.
- Interestingly, Lorenzo Music (the original voice of Garfield) was the original animated voice of Peter Venkman in The Real Ghostbusters, the animated series based on Ghostbusters, in which Venkman was played by Bill Murray.
- All the scenes, such as those involving dancing, utilised motion capture to render Garfield.
- A midget wore a motion capture suit to portray Garfield when he pushed Odie off of the couch in the last scene.
- The song "Old Time Rock 'n Roll" by Bob Seger was featured in the trailer, but did not appear once in the movie"
Cast
- Breckin Meyer - Jon Arbuckle
- Jennifer Love Hewitt - Dr. Liz Wilson
- Stephen Tobolowsky - Happy Chapman
- Bill Murray - Voice of Garfield
- Evan Arnold - Wendall
- Mark Christopher Lawrence - Christopher Melo
- Nick Cannon - Voice of Louis
- Alan Cumming - Voice of Persnikkity
- David Eigenberg - Voice of "Nermal"
- Brad Garrett - Voice of Luca
- Debra Messing - Voice of "Arlene"
- Vanessa Christelle - Miss True-Value
- Daamen Krall - Announcer
- Rufus Gifford - Dog Owner #1
- Randee Richer - Dog Owner #2
- Ryan McKasson - Dog Owner #3
- Susan Moore - Dog Owner #4
- Eve Brent - Mrs. Baker
- Bill Hoag - Roy the Lodge Member
- Michael Monks - Deputy Hopkins
- Mel Rodriguez - Security Officer
- Juliette Goglia - Little Girl
- Ben Kronen - Older Man
- Fabio Serafini - Red Cap
- Jerry Hauck - Cop
- Jerry Giles - Conductor
- Evan Helmuth - Stewart
- Annalea Rawicz - Information Agent
- Danny Gil - Engineer #1
- Frank Payne - Engineer #2
- Joe Ochman - Engineer #3
- Leyna Nguyen - News Reporter
- Joe Bays - Raccoon Lodge Member
- Danna Hansen - Older Woman
- Joseph Edward Taylor - Frank
- John F. Schaffer - Larry
- Ariel Joseph Towne - Technician
- Joseph Hale - Little Girl's Dad
- Jimmy Kimmel - Voice of Spanky
- Valek X. Sykes - Puppeteer
- Richard Kind - Voice of Dad Rat
- Debra Jo Rupp - Voice of Mom Rat
- Jordan Kaiser - Voice of Kid Rat #1
- Yatt Smith - Voice of Kid Rat #2
- Alyson Stoner - Voice of Kid Rat #3