Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)

Jennifer Love Hewitt
Breckin Meyer
Bill Murray
Lucy Davis
Billy Connolly

Directed by Tim Hill

Plot: When Garfield follows his owner, Jon Arbuckle, to England, the U.K. may never recover, as Garfield is mistaken for a look-alike, regal cat who has inherited a castle. Garfield savors the royal treatment afforded by his loyal four-legged subjects, but his reign is in jeopardy. The nefarious Lord Dargis is determined to do away with Garfield, so he can turn the castle into a resort. Garfield's bigger, better, more purr-fect world is soon turned upside down in this tale of two kitties.

Review: I love Garfield, I love lasagna, and I thought Jim Davis was a comic strip god. I watched the cartoons, read the strip every Sunday, had books, and probably every other Garfield product that existed at the time of my childhood. Garfield was also the first character that I learned to draw from memory. What is all this leading up to? I am pointing out my personal attachment to the character and why my feelings toward this franchise may be harsh.

When the first film was announced I was excited. When the film came out I was pissed off. Although I felt Bill Murray did a brilliant job as Garfield, I felt the movie itself just sucked. I couldn’t figure out why they did a second one, but my wife and kids both wanted to see it so I gave the fat cat I loved a second chance. I will say this sequel is better than the first film, but that isn’t saying much. They seemed to focus more on the animal story and even incorporated the barnyard friends type storyline from the cartoon, whether they meant to or not. Once again I thought Bill Murray was great, but the story and film still fell short. My biggest ongoing beef in this franchise is Odie. I don’t understand the use of the normal dog and the computer cat, it is just wrong. Overall it is a film the kids will love and a good family film, just not one that I think a true Garfield fan would like.


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