Alcon Garfield Movie - News and Discussion Thread

[RoyalRubble]

Animation Magazine article with a bunch of new character posters.

 

[Pooky]

Interesting that other than the obvious three these are all (to my knowledge) new characters rather than Nermal, Arlene etc. Perhaps they're saving them for a sequel? Although Liz is in the trailers but not on the posters, so maybe not.

Still, I'm calling it; Nermal teaser in the mid-credits scene.

 

[RoyalRubble]

Minor but a new teaser.

 

[Pooky]

Is that parodying anything specific or just general ASMR stuff?

 

[RoyalRubble]

04/04:
Snoop Dogg and Keith Urban team up for lead single from The Garfield Movie, "Let It Roll".

04/12:
Official music video. The soundtrack for the movie will be released on May 17.



Full Animation Magazine article.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

I know he's incredibly mainstream now, but it still seems weird to see Snoop Dogg on the soundtrack to a family film.

 

[harry580]

I know he's incredibly mainstream now, but it still seems weird to see Snoop Dogg on the soundtrack to a family film.

same with will I am in rio 1 & 2

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Yesterday at the grocery store I saw Stouffer’s lasagna with an ad from the Garfield movie pasted on top. It makes total sense, but it still seemed kind of random as I don’t think I ever seen a frozen food tie in except for Kid Cuisine.

 

[RoyalRubble]

Didn't realize the movie would premiere in other countries before than the US. Variety reports some box office results.

Overseas, “The Garfield Movie” enjoyed the biggest start in Spain with $3.2 million over five days, followed by Brazil with $2.2 million, Italy with $1.6 million and Peru with $1.3 million. According to the studio, revenues for the film are pacing 76% above fellow kid-friendly film “DC League of Super Pets” (which eventually earned $113 million internationally) and 41% higher than “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (which started slow but eventually earned a huge $295 million internationally). Ticket sales are currently on par with “The Secret Life of Pets 2” (which ended its overseas run with $272 million) for the same group of markets at current exchange rates. “Garfield” will continue to roll out in key international territories throughout the summer.

 

[Marble]

Design-wise, everything in this movie shown so far looks great except for Garfield himself.
This is going to sound really nit-picky but the way they made him look with his mouth closed just looks so off to me, like just a pair of testicles hanging off his nose...
It just don't look right to me without the mouth outline...

 

[Pooky]

Seeing it this afternoon (one of the few local 3D screenings). Reviews have, to put it charitably, not been great, but we'll see. Garfield is kind of a tricky proposition for bringing on screen, because like many comic strips, it exists in a space that doesn't really exist in American film and TV any more, a world of cartoon characters that is entirely G-Rated but isn't necessarily strictly for kids or at least not pitched directly at them. It just about existed in the 80s, in the form of the Prime-Time Specials, but not for many years now. It's true that Garfield and Friends was very successful, and many even consider it definitive, but that was a long time ago now, and back then the character was so popular that they could pretty much do whatever they want (imagine them trying to sell something is intermittently arty and "difficult" as Garfield: His 9 Lives, book or special, now!)


UPDATE: Well, I've seen it, and I can't exactly claim the reviews are totally unwarranted. They went for a rather strange plot, and yes, I can't deny there was a spell where it lost me. But there was a lot I liked about it too. It looks great for one thing, including a nifty 2D sequences and some Little Golden Books-inspired imagery.

A lot of fun has been made of Garfield falling prey to the baffling current cliché of an animated character wrestling with generational trauma. I agree that it's an eye roller of a trend that is surely (hopefully!) in its last throws; for those keeping score this is now the second late 20th Century Character to wrestle with hitherto undisclosed daddy issues while being voiced by Chris Pratt. But I will say this thread creates a heartstring tugger of a scene that reinvigorated my interest at the point where my attention had wandered. Some have said its sentimental streak is incongruous with Garfield's lineage; pretty true if you're only going by the comic strip, but there's a long tradition of pathos with the character in animation, dating all the way back to some very tearjerking moments in the first Garfield special (Here Comes Garfield).

Does it feel recognisably like the work of Mark Dindal? Yes, I would say so, even though it does feel like something where the studio had a heavy hand. There was a song sung in character by the main villain over the end credits; I wonder if that was meant to be a big musical number at some point?

Ultimately, I liked it. I can't say I'm unbiased, but on the other hand my biases have let me down before.

 

[MatthewP]

saw the movie, it was pretty darn good for what it was worth; i’m actually gonna see it again with a friend next time

ngl tho i’m surprised several big names in the animation community wants it dead despite it being an animated movie; something a lot of people probably want to keep alive and well

 

[Pooky]

I'm surprised the US Box Office has been quite so lacklustre. I'm under no illusion Garfield is up there with Mario in popularity or public affection in the 2020s, and has suffered with notable quality control issues in the past 20 years or so, but the marketing has been pervasive and in my opinion much of it was quite brilliant. The film is no classic, but audiences don't know that until they pass through the door anyway.

 

[RainbowCupcake]

I saw the new Garfield film last weekend; honestly, I didn't expect much. However, I was delightfully surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I didn't grow up during Garfield's heyday, but I read some comics and watched the animated specials as a kid. I have a soft spot for some of these characters, so my enjoyment of this film may be biased. Regardless, the movie perfectly blended comedic and heartfelt moments.

I liked how we learned about Garfield's dad (whom I don't believe has ever been seen before this movie) and explored the broken relationship between him and his son. Sure, it was a little predictable, but the ending, where we see all the tallies on the oak tree, was pretty touching. I also loved the scene where Jon first met baby Garfield. It made me want to go out and adopt a kitten right away! Baby Garfield and Baby Snoopy are definitely my two favorite infant cartoon characters.

I laughed quite a bit throughout the film, way more than IF. I liked the zany, Looney Tunes-esque gags, although they thankfully were used sparingly. The dialogue was also pretty funny at times. One of my favorite scenes was Jon being on hold with customer service; it is such a relatable annoyance nowadays. I also thoroughly enjoyed the heist scene and how Garfield became known as "road kill." Not every joke landed, but the film had strong comedic intuition overall.

One thing that ruffled many feathers back in 2021 was the announcement of Chris Pratt playing Garfield. I'm going to make a bold claim: I thought that Pratt's voice fit better here than in The Mario Movie. Okay, maybe that's not a bold claim, but I appreciated Pratt's sarcasm as Garfield and thought it added to the character's charm. I still think Pratt is in too many movies, but I actually liked him as Garfield.

Out of pure enjoyment factor, I'd give this film a 10/10. It was a fun, lighthearted way to spend an hour and a half. I may even watch it again!