The Garfield Movie: release date, reviews, trailer, cast and everything we know about the animated movie

Garfield in The Garfield Movie
(Image credit: DNEG Animation/Project G Productions)

From the comic strips to the big screen, The Garfield Movie is coming soon for fans to enjoy. While not the character's first foray with the movies, unlike the previous entries from mid 2000s that were a mix of live action and animation, this new Garfield will be entirely animated movie.

Garfield originally began as a comic strip by Jim Davis. It was actually originally titled Jon when it debuted in 1976, but when it went into papers around the country it was renamed for then lasagna-loving, Monday-hating sarcastic cat Garfield. It would make the leap from newspapers to TV with the animated TV show Garfield and Friends, as well as some primetime specials, but it has never had a fully animated movie prior to the 2024 new movie.

So here's everything you need to know about The Garfield Movie ahead of its release.

The Garfield Movie release date

Garfield is now playing in movie theaters worldwide.

The Garfield Movie cast

Odie and Garfield in The Garfield Movie

(Image credit: DNEG Animation/Project G Productions)

It's an impressive lineup providing voice talent signed on to The Garfield Movie, though leading the way is Chris Pratt as the voice of Garfield. This is the second major pop culture character that Pratt has provided the animated voice to in as many years, as he also voiced Mario in 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Fans of course also know Pratt for starring in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Parks & Rec and more.

The rest of the cast includes Samuel L. Jackson (Argylle) as Garfield's father Vic, Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Jon and Harvey Guillén (What We Do in then Shadows) as Odie, while Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning), Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live), Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) and Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) are all onboard in unspecified roles.

The Garfield Movie plot

From a script written by Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove and David Reynolds, here is the official synopsis for The Garfield Movie:

"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 Garfield Movie trailer

Watch the latest trailer for The Garfield Movie right here: 

You can also watch the previously released trailer for then animated movie right here:

The Garfield movie reviews

Similar to Garfield and Mondays, critics don't appear to crazy about The Garfield Movie, with the movie being labeled as "Rotten" on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Mark Dindal movies

The Garfield Movie director Mark Dindal is an animation veteran, though The Garfield Movie is his first directed movie in almost 20 years. His previous credits include the animated movies Cats Don't Dance (1997), The Emperor's New Groove (2000) and Chicken Little (2005). 

The Garfield Movie poster

(Image credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment)
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Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.