Garfield Gets Real

OK I didn't watch the whole thing, I fell asleep, I didn't need to. I'll sum it up, I saw the first movie, they screwed up the characters (besides Garfield) on that. But this one is much much worse, lets see...none of the voices even sound at all like the old cartoons or even have half the of the character that they had. They all sound like they're on autopilot. It looks like it was made for 2 year olds, and here's the biggest problem, get this, Garfield's mouth moves with his words. His mouth is supposed to stay still because he's only thinking the words, he can't actually talk to john, if these morons had actually read a garfield comic strip or watched one of the cartoons before animating it they'd know that. Just as bad as the guys who made that pink panther cartoon series where he talked. It's upsetting to watch them take something I liked as a kid and dumb it down so far. See it didn't need to be dumbed down for kids, I watched the old garfield specials (before the show) when I was a kid and they were great, they were already basically for kids. This is pathetic, Garfield deserves better. Unfortunately according to this site it says Jim Davis wrote it, his strips have also been...not very funny for awhile, I think he needs to give it up, sorry to say, I still think the old garfield comic strips (collected in volumes) and the old TV specials are great. This DVD is horrid.

When I was younger, I loved this movie. I watched it on repeat all the time and it always entertained me. I found the disc today and decided to watch it again for old times sake. The experience... is not what I remembered. Watching it now, I realise how flawed it is. For a Garfield movie, the jokes fall rather flat. The animation is almost terrifying in some moments and it's rather boring overall. So, I wouldn't say it's terrible. I'd say I grew out of this film around the age of eight, so therefore this is a movie for young kids only. Pre-teens and up will find little to no enjoyment while sitting through this, but overall it's not the most unbearable thing your child can make you sit through.

In the traditionally animated Garfield cartoons of the 80's and 90's (a bunch of TV specials, plus the long-running TV series, "Garfield and Friends"), the distinctive voice of the character was provided by the late Lorenzo Music. Since his sad passing in 2001 at age 64 from lung and bone cancer, there have been other Garfield projects (aside from the strip). In 2004, the character's first theatrical movie, simply titled "Garfield", was released, featuring the popular lazy feline as a CGI figure, voiced by famous actor/comedian Bill Murray, and live actors and real animals for all the other characters. In 2007, that movie, along with its 2006 sequel, were followed by this full CGI animated direct-to-video feature, starring voice acting veteran Frank Welker. Although both of these films have spawned sequels, neither of them is very good.

Garfield lives in a suburban house with his owner, Jon Arbuckle, and dog, Odie, in the cartoon world. Other inhabitants in this world include Arlene and Nermal, also from the Garfield comic strip, and many characters from various other daily strips. Every day, these cartoon characters go to a studio to play their parts for the newspaper funnies. Garfield is tired of the same old routine, and longs for a life outside the comics. So, he escapes to the real world, and Odie soon follows as he tries to get a bone back. However, the two of them soon learn that their strip will be cancelled unless they get back into the comic world in 24 hours, and there is no known way back in from the real world! Fortunately, the other inhabitants of the cartoon world are trying to find a way to get Garfield and Odie back, but unfortunately, a muscular cat and dog really want to take their place, so they try to prevent the two stars from making it back in time!

Frank Welker doesn't do a bad job providing the voice of Garfield, though it does sort of sound like a parody of the original voice. Replacing Lorenzo Music obviously wasn't easy. Of the three main characters in the series, the only original voice from the 80's and 90's cartoons featured here is that of Odie, provided by Gregg Berger. This means the voice for Jon was also replaced. Thom Huge provided that voice in the TV cartoons (except for the first one), and in this film, it is provided by Wally Wingert. There's something about Wingert's Jon voice that I didn't like. The film also doesn't quite capture Jon's famous antics. However, the biggest problem with "Garfield Gets Real" is that it isn't very funny. I smiled a bit during the scene where Odie hides the bone from the Prop Boy in his mouth and denies having it, and also smiled when Shecky (a cat Garfield and Odie meet in the real world) puts on a show so people will throw his dinner at him, but I never laughed. There are some fairly lame gags I could mention, such as the whoopee cushion joke that leads to real flatulence, and Garfield's hot dog fantasy, but I would say most of the gags are too average to be noteworthy.

The 2004 live action theatrical Garfield movie is said to be strictly for kids, and I guess that's also the case with this direct-to-video computer animated film. "Garfield Gets Real" definitely bears more resemblance to the comic strip and traditionally animated cartoons than 2004's "Garfield" does, but there are still differences (not good ones) between the two. One major thing the two movies have in common is that they're not very funny at all, at least not for adults. There's one sequel to the live action film called "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties", which was released in 2006, and so far, two more direct-to-video computer animated features have come since this one ("Garfield's Fun Fest" and "Garfield's Pet Force"), but I obviously don't intend to watch any of those three films, since I don't like their predecessors. So, kids might like this 2007 non-theatrical animated feature, but if you're an adult who grew up with Garfield, then you might as well skip it and try watching some traditionally animated Garfield cartoons if you still like the character and are feeling nostalgic.

I believe this is the last of the Garfield movies I'll ever have to see in my life and boy am I glad. I realize that Garfield was something that has not held up as an adult. I guess you could say I grew out of it, but it just no longer entertains me. This movie features really bad CGI and everyone and everything just looks so ugly. I do admit that I like the premise as it shows how a comic strip is made. It's set up on a stage where a director takes pictures for the panels. That's actually an interesting setup. The main plot doesn't even appear until 24 minutes into the whole movie and for a film that's fairly short, that's a bad idea.

I realize now that I miss characters like Arlene appearing in the actual comics more. The only comic strip character that I recognized as appearing was Dagwood. It's just painful to watch this cheesy animation. It's rare that direct to video animated films use CGI like theatrically released ones and maybe this is the reason why. People don't seem to recognize Garfield even though there's comics of him right in front of their noses. It's not funny, it's just a dumb plot point. *1/2

This film is not like the other Garfield films. The other ones anyone who loved the comic could watch. This film is JUST for kids and totters. The animation is really good for this type of film and the voice acting is great. The plot of the comic Garfield entering our world is an idea that could have been done much better if they filmed the "real" world stuff with real people because you just don't get the feel that he is in the real world.

If you are a regular Garfield fan over 10 or so you can just watch this on a Sunday afternoon as a time waster. If you have any, watch this with your kids. They will love it but could be confused never knowing who Garfield is. They will still enjoy it