Sony Spices Up The Catter With Release Of 'The Garfield Movie' Trailer

Samuel L. Jackson voices deadbeat dad to Chris Pratt’s lasagna loving cat in the new movie

First he was Mario and now Chris Pratt is voicing another ‘80s exploding icon, Garfield in the upcoming fully animated The Garfield Movie, releasing in theaters this May.

The trailer starts with a homeless baby Garfield in the rain, crossing and meeting Jon at an Italian restaurant window before he lets the cat in and devour all of his and several others’ food. Or at least that’s how he tells he adopted Jon. There’s an intense bath sequence, and the administering of Parmesan cheese on Garfield’s latest three lasagna meal, which was not eaten prettily. Garfield comes upon his dad, Vic, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, and of course, being a deadbeat does not grant him the best reception. But they sure go to town on the fridge.

As the official synopsis puts it: Garfield, the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure. After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic – Garfield and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist. The film also stars Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, and Bowen Yang, without specific roles disclosed.

The Garfield Movie isn’t director Mark Dindal’s first cat-starring movie, having directed Cats Don’t Dance, and well, we all know how Yzma ended up at the end of The Emperor’s New Groove. He also directed Chicken Little. The script was written by David Reynolds, who served similar duties for Finding Nemo. The film is produced by Columbia Pictures and financed by Alcon Entertainment. Sony Pictures will distribute the film globally, excluding China. Franchise creator Jim Davis serves as executive producer, with Bridget McMeel and Craig Sost. John Cohen, Steven P. Wegner, Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Namit Malhotra and Tom Jacomb are the film’s producers.

It should be noted that this film had been in development for quite a while and predates Viacom’s 2019 purchase of Paws Inc., which included the rights to Garfield comics, merchandise and animated series. The Bill Murray-voiced films are still Disney-bought Fox assets for that reason. Just as with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a new animated series is in development at Nickelodeon, but is taking considerably longer to be made or see anything from. The Garfield Movie is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 24, 2024, currently opening against Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

Source: Variety