Summary
- The Garfield Movie’s
Rotten Tomatoes score has plummeted to a dreary 52% against 31 reviews. - Prior to
Garfield’s
domestic embargo lifting, the Chris Pratt-lead animated adventure registered 67% on the Tomatometer. - One critic calls
The Garfield Movie
“a terrible Monday of a film,” and everyone knows how much the lasagna-loving cat loathes Mondays.
If Garfield hated Mondays before, it’s only going to get worse now. What was at one time a 67% Tomatometer reading disappeared faster than Garfield can eat a family-sized serving of hot, delicious lasagna. Before the domestic embargo for The Garfield Movie lifted in the United States, the animated adventure starring Chris Pratt was already struggling with international critics. But now the bottom has completely fallen out as the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score nosedives all the way to 52% as the latest reviews start to pile up. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter writes:
None of these meta references will be entertaining for the very young target audience, nor are they amusing for their adult chaperones. It’s indicative of the laziness and cynicism permeating this enterprise.
Kate Erbland of IndieWire demands an explanation when it comes to what The Garfield Movie is supposed to be and says:
Is this a kid’s movie or a commercial? And if it’s the latter, a commercial for what exactly? Certainly not more movies like this.
The Garfield Movie
- Release Date
- May 24, 2024
- Studio
- Alcon Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Paws
- Tagline
- He gets bigger.
A.A. Dowd of IGN writes:
Kids might be mildly entertained, but that doesn’t make this less of a hairball.
The Garfield Movie is the first time the fat, orange tabby Persian cat has appeared on the Silver Screen in almost 20 years. Bill Murray voiced Jim Davis’ lasagna-loving creation in the live-action/animated Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties (2006), which left a very bad-tasting hairball in the critics’ mouths. And the follow-up to 2004’s Garfield: The Movie in no way improved upon the original’s 14% Tomatometer rating — only scoring 12% itself. So, at least the Pratt-led Garfield adventure hasn’t reached those depressing depths yet.
The Garfield Movie: ‘A Terrible Monday of a Film’
The Garfield Movie’s 67% Rotten Tomatoes score is a thing of the past. At the time of this writing, the film’s Tomatometer is “splatting” with no end in sight. And the critics are having a hard time finding much that is redeeming about the animated adventure outside of actor Chris Pratt’s performance. Carlos Aguilar of Variety writes:
A terrible Monday of a film for the orange tabby whose storied laziness over nearly 50 years has certainly earned him better.
Neil Smith of Total Film piles on by saying:
Stumbles at the same hurdle that has scuppered previous attempts to bring Garfield to the big screen: namely, the impracticality of crafting a satisfying full-length feature around a self-centered sourpuss.
3:18
Chris Pratt Says His Son Makes Fun of Him for Playing the ‘Weakest Avenger’
Garfield’s Chris Pratt jokes that he and his son’s ‘love language’ is teasing, and he gets roasted for his portrayal of Star Lord in the MCU.
However, there is a glimmer of light shinning through the shadows of the endless critiques for The Garfield Movie. For instance, Tessa Smith of Mana’s Geeky didn’t hate the film and writes in her review:
“The animation is gorgeous, and the story is cute enough,
but this is very
clearly a kids movie
versus a family movie. Younger audiences will be invested in the story and bright colors, while
older audiences could get bored and feel the absence of Jon.”
The Garfield Movie still has the fact that it is a family-friendly alternative going for it as the animated adventure eyes its impending box-office showdown with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga over the Memorial Day weekend. However, the reigning No. 1 movie in cinemas, which is John Krasinski’s IF, will just be entering its second week of theatrical release. And IF could end up stealing some of Garfield’s audience if these “splatting” reviews end up influencing moviegoers.
The Garfield Movie
opens exclusively in theaters on May 24.
