‘Garfield: Away from Home’ entertains with a lively and sentimental adventure; g1 has already seen | Movie theater

Enshrined in comics since he was created by Jim Davis in 1978, Garfield has starred in films with actors and TV shows. But “Garfield: Away from Home”, which premieres this Wednesday (1st), is the first feature-length animation to hit theaters.

Fortunately, all the elements that established the lazy and good-for-you cat appear in the film with the good humor that made him world famous, but in a way that pleases parents and children.

The plot shows Garfield’s origins, since he was a little puppy who, after being left on the streets, is attracted to the smell that comes from an Italian food restaurant, where he meets the lonely Jon. The two become great friends and Garfield, in addition to gaining a new home, shows an insatiable appetite (especially for lasagna), much to his owner’s dismay.

Watch the trailer for the movie “Garfield: Away From Home”

After years of a settled and comfortable life, accompanied by his dog Odie, also adopted by Jon, Garfield sees everything turn upside down when he and his companion are kidnapped by the stray cat Jinx and her companions. The reason is that, along with the bandits, there is Vic, Garfield’s real father.

The old cat got into trouble and, as a result, is forced to take part in a robbery at a milk producer. Even though he resents Vic for having abandoned him in the past, Garfield puts his laziness aside to help his father out of this mess.

“Garfield: Away from Home” is right in targeting children, without boring adults, with very colorful and captivating animation. Even more so with protagonists who are not only very popular but also very charismatic.

The action sequences (especially the one at the end) are very well done. This is due to the team led by Mark Dindal, who had already directed “Chicken Little” (2005) and “The Emperor’s New Groove” (2000) for Disney.

The film also succeeds in creating fun scenes that show the growth of Garfield’s relationship (and stomach) with Jon and Odie, as well as his fear of Mondays, one of his most famous characteristics.

The animation technique used for the film maintains the characteristic style of the characters’ features, while making them more updated and textured. Even so, his movements are quite cartoonish, with no room for greater realism. Which, fortunately, would not match the proposal of the film.

The script written by six hands also works when dealing with the relationship between Garfield and his father, who had been missing for years. By showing the protagonist’s resistance to reestablishing ties with Vic, the plot succeeds in showing the situation in a fun and, at the same time, emotional way, without falling into the sentimental, which could cause distancing from the public, especially the older ones. .

One of the weak points of “Garfield: Away from Home” is the villain Jinx. Full of clichés of the genre, the character does not arouse interest and is limited to shouting and making faces that have already been seen in several animations. The good guys, this time, are much more interesting.

Anyone who has the opportunity to see “Garfield: Away From Home” in its original version will be able to hear the voices of several actors and actresses in international cinema.

Garfield is voiced by Chris Pratt, who is already becoming an easy figure in animation. Star-Lord from “Guardians of the Galaxy” has already voiced Mario in “Super Mario Bros.” and did voiceovers in other films such as “Two Brothers” and “A Lego Adventure”.

In addition to Pratt, the cast of voice actors also includes Samuel L Jackson as Vic, Nicholas Hoult (Beast from “X-Men: First Class”) as Jon and Hannah Waddingham (from the “Ted Lasso” series) as Jinx.

“Garfield: Away from Home” is a good animation for families to go to the cinema together, thanks to the good humor and cuteness of its main characters. Furthermore, it is a perfect program for anyone who enjoys cats of all types. Especially those who don’t like Mondays.