Movie Review of "Garfield"
Rated PG
By CK Movie Kid Tori Price

Ever since he was a kitten, he has always been different. He has grown up dancing to songs and watching TV. He is a lot lazier than other cats. Not only does he sleep and eat for hours but he's also never chased a mouse in his life! Instead he makes friends with them. Meet Garfield, a fluff, fat, orange cat who is lazier than life.

In the movie Garfield, we see how great Garfield's life is until his owner Jon adopts a dog named Odie as a favor to the vet Jon has known since high school. If you've read the comics books, you'll know why Jon will do anything for her even if that means adopting a dog. Garfield doesn't like that idea very much and locks Odie outside. Guess what that dumb dog does! When a mean TV star looking for a talented dog for his act sees Odie's "Found Dog' sign, that means trouble. The man puts Odie on a one-way train to New York and now it's up to Garfield and friends from the pound to save Odie.

The computer-generated images (CGI) in this movie were awesome. The CGI Garfield seemed incredibly real as he danced across the floor. The makers of this film were able to blend CGI with real action well. In one scene where Jon and Garfield hug, it was totally believable. In another, when Garfield is on camera with a bunch of real cats, he blends in fairly well.

The Garfield comic books have been around for ages but ten years ago Hollywood wouldn't have been able to make this movie because it wouldn't have been possible to create a cat that dances, talks and acts like a human. Also without CGI, the producers would have had to find a huge cat that acted the way Garfield did and that would be impossible. So it's a good thing that they made this movie now rather than a couple years ago. Without today's computer animation skills, it wouldn't have been very good.

The humans in this movie were not really sophisticated characters and the actors played them well. Happy Chapman, the mean TV star, was a believable villain. You have to wonder whether it's easy to act with a character who's not there.

This is one movie that is good for all ages. It's not really violent or inappropriate for young kids. So chow down on life and get to the movie theater today to see Garfield. Just in case, bring some lasagna along for emergency hunger attacks. As Garfield would say, "Saved by the miracle of LASAGNA!" Enjoy the show! (June, 2004)