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The Garfield Movie (2024)
Garfield is Back: An Unapologetically Animated Classic
The Garfield Movie is the first new Garfield adaptation to come out since The Garfield Show in 2009, meaning there hasn't been a new attempt to revitalize the character in the mainstream in nearly 15 years. This has caused Garfield to lapse out of the public zeitgeist to some extent, at least in North America, and many have taken to believing that Garfield is incapable of being good - a natural consequence of the general belief that only great things are naturally pickled and preserved by the eternal online algorithms.
In truth, Garfield is good. It's a good franchise and a great character. Yes, he sells merchandise. Yes, he is often a mascot. But that doesn't diminish from the fact that golden-era Garfield holds up extremely well considering things.
The Garfield Movie feels like a love letter to that golden era - specifically, the 1980s incarnation of the cat. Inspiration specifically seems to be taken from 1983's Garfield on the Town, one of the best Garfield TV films ever made. The movie is funny and charming, but not afraid to take liberties to tell a better story.
Here's the truth, if you want it all very briefly. I predict that many people will hate this film because of what it is. It's a Garfield movie with heart? With funny slapstick and character gags? That's nothing like the Sunday strip I saw when I was 8!
But then, in five or ten years, people will say this is a forgotten classic. They'll say it was one of the best animated movies of the decade. So why wait? Go out and enjoy it today as if it's something you'll remember tomorrow.