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Garfield

EMAILPRINT20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Garfield reviews
26
4.3 User Score:

Generally unfavorable reviews

Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 46 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Animation  |  Comedy  |  Family/Kids

Written by: Joel Cohen
Alec Sokolow
Jim Davis (comic strip Garfield)

Directed by: Peter Hewitt

Release Date:
Theatrical: June 11, 2004
DVD: October 19, 2004

Running Time: 82 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG for brief mild language

Starring Bill Murray, Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Evan Arnold, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Daamen J. Krall, and Rufus Gifford

Garfield marks the long-awaited motion picture debut of America's favorite feline and the world's laziest cat. (20th Century Fox)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The filmmakers obviously understand and love Garfield, and their movie lacks that sense of smarmy slumming you sometimes get when Hollywood brings comic strips to the screen.

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70

Film Threat Peter Lowry

Overall, Garfield's first movie might not be as amusing as the cartoon but it was still a lot of fun to watch.

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58

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

In short, it's an almost flawlessly innocuous entertainment for kids.

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50

USA Today Claudia Puig

Not even Bill Murray could save Garfield. Perhaps the comedian -- so pitch-perfect as the sardonic actor in "Lost in Translation" -- got too deeply into character.

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50

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

The cinematic Garfield: The Movie feels like an 82-minute commercial for Garfield, The Brand rather than cinematic dumb fun.

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50

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

If it weren't for Murray, there'd be nothing at all to the film, which forgets all conventional notions of story or characterization.

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50

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

However terrific Murray is, if Antonio Banderas, mellifluous voice of Puss-in-Boots in "Shrek 2," went paw to claw with Garfield, Puss would definitely triumph.

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42

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Cloddish, unfunny dud.

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40

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Under Peter Hewitt's phoned-in direction, Garfield chugs along like the slow train to Chattanooga, with only Jennifer Love Hewitt, as the local vet, twittering pertly in a desperate effort to raise Jon's feeble pulse.

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40

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Unlike that widely appealing picture with the giant green ogre, this one's strictly for the kiddies.

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40

TV Guide Angel Cohn

The CGI is well-done, but Garfield's presence among the otherwise live cast is a constant distraction.

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40

Empire Jo Berry

Cute and friendly enough, but for anyone over eight, not recommended.

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38

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Garfield the comic strip stopped being funny about 10 years ago. Garfield the Movie makes it to about the 10-minute mark before tedium sets in.

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38

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The filmmakers find "laughs" in sadistic violence.

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30

Washington Post Desson Thomson

There's nothing to recommend about this film except its sheer innocuousness. And Bill Murray's off-screen voicing as Garfield adds no "Robin Williams" element to the movie.

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30

Variety Joe Leydon

Only very small children still easily impressed by interaction of human actors and CGI quadrupeds will be amused by Garfield.

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30

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Bland, workmanlike and instantly forgettable.

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30

Village Voice Ben Kenigsberg

No one can accuse Garfield: The Movie of infidelity to its source: It faithfully conveys the banality of Jim Davis's cartoon.

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30

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

The popularity of Davis' strip represents the ultimate triumph of mediocrity, but even the cartoonist's competent hackwork deserves better than this.

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30

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The cat is computer-generated, as are his one-liners.

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25

Boston Globe Ty Burr

A black-dressing young intellectual of my acquaintance recently ascribed a "lazy generosity" to Garfield and his daily antics. If so, the movie gets the laziness but misses the generosity.

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25

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Thanks to that dog-torture element, Garfield may be too upsetting for younger kids. Meanwhile, older kids (let alone parents) will want to put this movie behind them like yesterday's hairball.

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25

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

This isn't a movie, it's a marketing ploy. Would you like a plush Garfield toy with that popcorn?

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25

ReelViews James Berardinelli

This a neutered Garfield, one part tomcat and three parts pussy, recognizable only by his orange coat and love of lasagna. This feline's got a serious case of mange.

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25

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

Nothing really works here, and nobody seems to have put in a huge amount of effort, except maybe the marketing department -- there are many product placements.

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25

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

Now here's the reason America won't love Garfield: The Movie: Garfield's gone from the listless feline we all know and love to a fast-stepping, break-dancing cat about town. What's worse, the other characters are even farther from their roots.

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25

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The blend of live action and animation is competently done, but the subtly mean-spirited screenplay has more sour meows than hearty laughs.

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20

The New York Times Dana Stevens

That Garfield speaks in the supercilious, world-weary drawl of Bill Murray is some small consolation, as are a few of the animal tricks.

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20

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

Bill Murray completists, tots under 5 and their unfortunate chaperons are the only ones who need experience the soulless excuse for an entertainment called Garfield: The Movie.

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10

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

The best way for Fox to atone for releasing this shameless pile of c--- is in the manner befitting all unwanted kittens: put all the negatives in a bag filled with rocks and sink them in a very deep river. Sprinkle some garlic over the water for good measure, to make sure the movie never rises to torment the living again.

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0

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Garfield is a downright cat-astrophe.

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0

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

You'd have to be a real a..hole to hate this movie, loaded as it is with adorable animals. Sadly the task falls to me.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 4.3 (out of 10) based on 46 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Laila V. gave it a0:
I really like garfield but this movie it's a waste of time and the cat it's very stupid.

Chantz E. gave it a0:
The worst movie i have ever seen that was not white chicks. The comic strip is mildly amusing, and the character is I guess tolerable as a ploy to sell T-shirts, I mean, Who cant love a fat cat? But who cant HATE a fat cat all Comp Generated, voiced by the lackluster bill murray,and set in a TERRIBLE plot line? The characters were just taken from the comic book and edited to fit this ABOMNIATION to humanity. I have lost all faith in god.

Joe E. gave it a10:
I really liked this movie. befor i never payed attion 2 movies like garfield but when i saw it i loved it.

Anthony D. gave it a10:
Best movie ever i like garfeild i am 16 years old and loved it, best movie ever!!!

T S gave it a10:
The best movie I have ever seen.

Joe B. gave it a0:
I nearly gone insane watching it. There should be a law to stop crap like this. Garfield Sucks!

[Anonymous] gave it a6:
Good enough to watch once, but not interesting enough to watch twice.

Read more user comments >

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