Garfield (film)
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Garfield (also known as 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.
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.
A sequel, was released in movie theatres on June 16, 2006 in North America.
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 and desperately tries to upstage his newscaster brother (played by the same person, Stephen Tobolowsky). 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, set 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 movie, Liz is portrayed as Jon's love interest, which is significantly different from her comic portrayal, in which she essentially "hates Jon's guts", repelling Jon's advances and insisting on keeping the relationship professional (although they did date in one episode of Garfield and Friends). Jon's entire romantic life in the comics is a series of cancelled or failed dates.
- Although Garfield retains his original design (rendered in CGI), all other characters are portrayed as normal animals.
- Nermal is portrayed as an older gullible cat who is a playmate of Garfield. In the comic strip, he is a vain kitten that often visits Garfield to remind him of his old age, usually on or near his birthday.
- In the film, the lips of the animals move when he talks, but in the comic strip and animated series, they do not.
- In the comic strip and animated series, 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 (although this is in common with the television cartoon Garfield and Friends).
- 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 with a black spot on his side.
- In the film, Jon isn't as much of a hopeless loser as he is in the comics and animated series.
- Arlene's fur was dark gray instead of pink. Nermal's colour was different too, as his fur was dark brown/white. His original colour was light grey.
Trivia
- There is a considerable amount of product placement in the film. For instance, Jon drives a green 2004 Volvo S40 (instead of his red sedan from the comics), uses an Apple iMac and buys pet food and supplies from Petco. There also products from Kellogg's and General Mills and Pepsi among others. Major transportation companies, such as Amtrak and Greyhound.
- The movie was shot in suburban Detroit, Michigan despite the fact that in the TV special Garfield Gets a Life, in the end when John drives away with his newly founded girlfriend, Mona, his license plate says "Indiana", indicating that Garfield lives somewhere in Indiana. (Jim Davis probably added that in because he is from Indiana.)
- 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 dwarf 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 film; the use of the song in the trailer, set to Garfield's dance scenes, was an homage to Tom Cruise's classic dance number to the song in the 1983 film Risky Business.
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
Quotes
- Garfield: Where was I? I was right here. (Garfield dancing in his couch)
External links
| Garfield |
|---|
| Television specials |
| A Garfield Christmas > Garfield Gets a Life | Garfield Goes Hollywood | Garfield in Paradise | Garfield in the Rough | Garfield on the Town | Garfield's Babes and Bullets | Garfield's Feline Fantasies | Garfield's Halloween Adventure | Garfield's Thanksgiving | | Here Comes Garfield |
| Video games |
| | |
| Other media |
| Am I Cool or What? > Garfield | | Garfield As Himself | Garfield and Friends | List of Garfield and Friends episodes | Garfield's Holiday Celebrations |
| Other |
| Jim Davis | U.S. Acres | List of Garfield characters |
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