Chris Pratt’s turn as Mario worked because Illumination and Nintendo took care to make sure The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s red-hatted plumber sounded distinct yet enough like Charles Martinet’s take on the character to pass the smell test. For fans of Jim Davis’ Garfield comics, there was hope that Columbia might take a similar approach with The Garfield Movie, its new animated feature from director Mark Dindal starring Pratt as the eponymous orange cat. But from the sounds of The Garfield Movie’s new trailer, Pratt might be playing the lasagna-obsessed cat very straight.
Along with detailing how he first met his human, The Garfield Movie will tell the story of how Garfield’s life is turned upside down when he learns that his father Vic (Samuel L. Jackson) is still alive and roaming the world as a railway cat. Life looks pretty sweet for Garfield, dog Odie, and Jon in their cozy, lasagna-filled home. But when Garfield and Odie end up far from home and lost, they unexpectedly cross paths with Vic, and the grizzled old tom’s street sense is the one thing that can guide them back to Jon.
The trailer makes it seem like The Garfield Movie’s going to be a straightforward family-friendly adventure sort of deal that’ll get at least a few kids excited. But for older fans — especially those of Garfield and Friends — The Garfield Movie’s probably going to leave everyone reminiscing about Lorenzo Music when it hits theaters on May 24, 2024.
