The Garfield Movie comes to Blu-ray fresh from its theatrical run courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The Production: 3.5/5
Next to 9-Lives spokescat Morris, Garfield is likely the most recognized fictional cat character. A staple of comic strips for nearly fifty years, it was his animated television specials and Saturday morning children’s series that were very popular thanks to some terrific voice-over work by the late, great Lorenzo Music. Attempts were made to bring the character to the big screen with two live action films Garfield: The Movie and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. Neither were highly successful, placing a CG animated cat (voiced by Bill Murray) in a live action film. That brings us to this third attempt, a CG animated feature-length film under the direction of Mark Dindal, his first time back in the directing chair since 2005’s Chicken Little.
As the movie opens, we get a quick origin flashback with Garfield (Chris Pratt) as a kitten who has apparently been abandoned in an alley by his father Vic (Samuel L. Jackson) in the middle of a rainstorm. Wandering the streets, he comes across Jon (Nicholas Hoult) sitting by himself at an Italian restaurant. Jon sneaks him in and Garfield devours the large pepperoni pizza that has just been delivered to the table. The two quickly bond, with Jon taking him home and later adopting Odie the dog (Harvey Guillen), with Garfield constantly placing large home delivery orders for lasagna and pizza and draining Jon’s bank account. One evening, while preparing a midnight snack, Garfield and Odie are kidnapped by a pair of dogs, Roland (Brett Goldstein) and Nolan (Bowen Yang), and strung up in the air inside an abandoned shopping mall, only to be rescued by and reunited with Vic. That is, until a deranged Persian cat named Jinx (Hannah Waddingham) stops them in their tracks and wants revenge on Vic for allowing her to get captured during a botched milk heist they had planned of Lactose Farms. She agrees to forgive Vic if the three of them (including Garfield and Odie) can complete that botched heist of the corporate-owned dairy. When they arrive at Lactose Farms, they meet former co-spokesbull Otto (Ving Rhames), who then trains the trio on how to break into the dairy and complete the heist in exchange for reuniting him with his long-lost love, the dairy’s spokescow Ethel (Alicia Grace Turrell).
It is that plot that tries to stuff Garfield, the world’s most laziest cat (and proud of it), into a heist movie, something that betrays the core character of the titular character, that causes the film to feel somewhat disjointed. Plus the fact that Mark Dindal, whose animation style is heavily influenced by Tex Avery, also causes the film to feel as if it was miscast. His style was pitch-perfect for his three prior films (Cats Don’t Dance, The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little). It is as if Garfield was cast in the Tom Cruise role in a Mission: Impossible movie. That is not to say that the film isn’t entertaining, because there are some nice action sequences and laughs to be found in the film. It just doesn’t feel like something Garfield would or even could actually do.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Sony has released The Garfield Movie on Blu-ray bypassing a physical 4K release at this time (the movie is available in 4K from digital retailers). The 1080p AVC encode is, not surprisingly, free of any obvious compression artifacts. Detail is about as good as the animation is, with nice textured fabrics and fur where intended. Colors are vivid and very pastel-like, replicating the color scheme of the Sunday versions of the comic strip as best it can. Black levels and contrast are excellent, allowing for great shadow details in darker scenes and giving a sense of depth throughout.
Audio: 4.5/5
Sony has included a default DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix that works very well, providing a nice wide front soundstage with plenty of surround activity in the more active sequences. LFE is very good, assisting many of the musical montages with a nice low end. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 3/5
Indoor Cat, Outdoor Adventure (1080p; 3:25): Typical EPK trailer that explains what the movie is about and bringing Garfield into the present day.
Cast of Critters (1080p; 4:08): A very brief rundown of the voice talent involved in the film.
Gag Reel (1080p; 2:34): Line flubs and other antics from the recording booth.
Easter Eggs: Garnishes a la Garfield (1080p; 3:49): Director Mark Dindal walks us though some of the many easter eggs buried in the film.
Deleted Scene – I’m Back Animatic (1080p; 2:41): A musical number cut from the film, although the song is included in the end credits.
How-To Draw’s (1080p; 18:15): Character Designer Taylor Krahenbuhl shows us how to draw some of the characters in the film. In the first segment, he shows us how to draw Garfield, Odie and Jon, and in the second segment Vic, Otto, Jinx, Roland and Nolan.
Concept Art and Animation: Animation Progression Reel (1080p; 2:07): Various sequences are shown in different stages of production from storyboards all the way through to completed sequence.
Concept Art and Animation: Character & Environment Gallery (1080p): A slide show of storyboards, concept art, and character designs.
DVD Copy
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included on an insert to redeem an HD digital copy of the movie.
Movies Anywhere: HD, Dolby 5.1
Apple TV: HD, Dolby Atmos
Fandango at Home: HD, Dolby 5.1
Prime Video: HD, Dolby 5.1
Overall: 4/5
The Garfield Movie tries to stuff the laziest cat into a heist movie with mixed results.
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