Created by Jim Davis, Garfield is a lazy and cynical tabby cat that serves as the protagonist in the comic strip of the same name. Garfield often passes sarcastic remarks at his owner Jon Arbuckle and his dog Odie while hating on Mondays and exercise.

Another popular character trait is his immense love for lasagna. These traits have led Garfield to be quite a popular comic character, matching the likes of Charlie Brown or Calvin and Hobbes. With syndications in over 2,000 newspapers worldwide, Garfield also holds the Guinness World Record for being the most widely syndicated comic strip. Unfortunately, the orange cat has not been that successful in his cinematic endeavors, with two features and three direct-to-DVD films.

5 Garfield’s Pet Force (2009) – 4.2

Garfield’s Pet Force completed a trilogy of 3D-animated Garfield films that were mostly released straight to video (with a limited theatrical run in Poland and Spain). The film’s plot is directly inspired by the Pet Force novels, a spin-off series that featured Garfield and his friends as superheroes on a planet called Polyester.

The film involves Garfield enjoying a cook-out only to have it interrupted by an extraterrestrial interference. Odie and Nermal turn into superheroes to combat this sinister alien princess and her army of zombies, but Garfield shows his reluctance as he feels superhero-ing doesn’t suit his usual laziness. However, with his allies in danger, he would have to don a cape too later on.

Even though its character design matched the comic book designs pretty accurately, the film failed to make a mark and remains to be the worst-received Garfield film. Even creator Jon Davis’s screenplay couldn’t be of much help.

4 Garfield Gets Real (2007) – 4.4

Garfield Gets Real was also known as Garfield 3D in some markets, as it was the first fully-3D Garfield film. Written by Jim Davis and produced under his Paws Inc. company (owned by Nickelodeon), the movie had a limited theatrical release, with the DVDs being shipped to the stores three months later. Frank Welker, who’s otherwise known as the voice of Fred in Scooby-Doo, provided the voice for Garfield. Comic-book aficionados can spot several Easter Eggs in Garfield Gets Real with a subtle mention of Snoopy from Peanuts and cameos featuring Dagwood Bumstead and Blondie from Blondie and Grimm from Mother Goose and Grimm.

The film is of a self-parodying tone as Garfield leaves the world of newspaper comic strips, to step into the “real world” and find a purpose. The reviews were still unfavorable, but Garfield Gets Real could be popular enough to spawn two spiritual sequels.

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3 Garfield’s Fun Fest (2008) – 4.4

This CGI sequel to Garfield Gets Real finds the cat competing at a talent contest called the Fun Fest. A yearly winner with his seemingly “funny” dance routine, he faces little to no competition until a cat called Ramone enters the game. His girlfriend, Arlene, gets bored with his routine and joins Ramone for a Tango performance. With just a few hours left to the Fest, Garfield and Odie embark on a tour to find the ‘Holy Grail of Guffaws’ that would reveal the secrets of comedy. Yes, the storyline is as ridiculously over-the-top as it sounds, but it still can make for an amusing watch for younger viewers.

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Mark A.Z. Dippé helmed the direction of the film. Additionally, he directed the other two Garfield animated films, as well as the 1997 cinematic take on Spawn. Even though his directorial works weren’t that successful, he has been a fine visual effects artist and animator, having worked on the visual effects teams for Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park.

2 Garfield (2004) – 5.0

Not even Billy Murray and his charming wit could save Garfield’s big-screen debut. Murray was chosen for the titular role after John Goodman and Jack Nicholson rejected it. The actor potentially has regrets taking on this film in the first place, as one can see from his cameo in Zombieland. As a parodied version of Murray (played by himself) dies, he’s asked if he has any regrets. To this, Murray mutters, “Garfield, maybe.”

Garfield, also known as Garfield: The Movie, was an interesting experiment to bring the cat to life. For starters, the CGI avatar of Garfield seemed pretty different from his original form in the comics. The premise got too kiddish, however, and it dragged for some viewers. Despite the criticism, the film went on to be a box office success, grossing 200 million dollars on a budget of 50 million. Interestingly, legendary film critic Roger Ebert gave Garfield a pretty favorable review, rating it 3 stars out of 4. To put it in his words, “the filmmakers obviously understand and love Garfield, and their movie lacks that sense of smarmy slumming you sometimes get when Hollywood brings comic strips to the screen.”

1 Garfield: A Tale Of Two Kitties (2006) – 5.0

Bill Murray went on to reprise his role for Garfield: A Tale Of Two Kitties. This sequel finds Jon and his cat embarking on a trip to the United Kingdom. Here, Garfield finds an identical feline named Prince, who plans to rule a castle after the death of his owner. As Prince faces the threat of the castle being destroyed by a real estate company, Garfield decides to help him out. The film additionally features several other talking animal characters.

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While the universal consensus for this film too was largely unfavorable, some critics and audiences did find it to be more fast-paced than its predecessor. With this being said, A Tale Of Two Kitties still has its share of goofy humor and bad puns—the title itself being one of the more aggregious—and would make for a good viewing experience mainly for young children. Unlike the first film, this one failed to earn much at the box office and ended up getting Razzie nominations for ‘Worst Sequel’ and ‘Worst Excuse for Family Entertainment.’

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About The Author


Shaurya Thapa
(726 Articles Published)

Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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