“The Garfield Movie” is a bizarre animated story that is in no way perfect

Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), right, seems a little annoyed by Odie (voiced by Harvey Guillén), left, and Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) in “The Garfield Movie.”
Courtesy of Sony Pictures

“The Garfield Movie” – 1.5 stars

When you watch the latest Garfield movie, you might not expect to see the famous orange cat fleeing from bad guys on the roof of a bullet train. Eating lasagna? Sure. But some kind of cardio?

Then prepare for “The Garfield Movie,” a strange new animated attempt to re-monetize the comic book icon by giving him an origin story and then asking him to do things a galaxy away from what was he does on the funny pages. It's like Snoopy running an underground bare-knuckle fight club.

Chris Pratt voices the Monday-hating, self-centered hero, and Samuel L. Jackson animates his long-lost father, who abandoned Garfield in an alley one rainy night, resulting in a lifelong trauma. This may explain his voracious appetite to fill the void of parental neglect. What does The Garfield Movie say about this idea? Are you serious?

Jon (voice: Nicholas Hoult), left, finds Vic (voice: Samuel L. Jackson), above, and Garfield (voice: Chris Pratt) eating in “Garfield the Movie.”
Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Directed by Mark Dindal, “The Garfield Movie” reunites Garfield with his not-so-tasty father — there is no mention of a mother and there are plot references to “Kung Fu Panda 3” and “Chicken Run” — as he becomes embroiled in a criminal scheme to rob a dairy and steal thousands of gallons of milk.

Sorry, what was that? Garfield is perhaps the most domesticated cat in history, and it's just plain weird to see him dodging giant cleavers or boulders on screen. Even weirder is that his partner Odie – traditionally a drooling idiot – is re-imagined here as highly competent, perhaps even a savant. This is not canon.

The film gets a little amusing as, along with the theme from Mission: Impossible, it recreates the type of dairy heist that involves searching vents and evading the security guard, and that's largely because the gang is led by a cop, voiced by Ving Rhames, a veteran of this franchise. There are also references to “Top Gun”: “I do my own stunts,” says Garfield. “Me and Tom Cruise.”

Odie (voice: Harvey Guillén), left, is frightened by Garfield (voice: Chris Pratt) in “The Garfield Movie.”
Courtesy of Sony Pictures

The screenplay by Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove and David Reynolds anchors the film in the present day. Garfield uses food delivery apps and Bluetooth, watches Catflix and the characters declare themselves to be “self-actualized.” There are also some rather clumsy product placements, like for Olive Garden, that may not convey the intended message.

This is the part when we talk about food abuse. Garfield has a bit of a problem on that front, and the filmmakers more than embrace it. Thousands of pounds of junk food are inhaled by the tabby, but not lettuce. Heaven is described as an “all-you-can-eat buffet in heaven” and cheese is Garfield’s “love language.” It's the laziest way to write.

Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) loves his lasagna in The Garfield Movie.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures

There's a small “Ted Lasso” reunion featuring Hannah Waddingham (playing a psychotic gang leader) and Brett Goldstein (as her henchman), while Snoop Dogg makes a cameo as the voice of a one-eyed cat and contributes a song, that plays during the credits.

The animation is pretty great — at least the backgrounds. Ladders show rust and forests are lush, but then the main characters are a step or two less realized, more cartoonish. Jim Davis, who created Garfield, is executive producer, so he must be OK with all of this, a forgettable, unfunny animated slog. At one point Garfield says, “Bury me in cheese,” and that seems like a fitting final resting place for this cat's film career.

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A Columbia Pictures release. Rated PG for mild thematic elements, action and danger. 101 minutes