Summary

• Chris Pratt brings Garfield to life in the upcoming movie, exploring the origins of the iconic lasagna-loving cat and his hilarious adventures.
• The Garfield Movie's star-studded voice cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, promises a fun and exciting high-stakes heist in the film.
• Pratt delves into Garfield's rebellious nature and the deeper themes that have made him a beloved character for generations.

The Garfield Movie follows the world-famous orange cat who hates Mondays but loves lasagna. When the pampered house cat is unexpectedly reunited with his long-lost father, a scruffy street cat named Vic, he sets off on a whirlwind adventure. Pulled out of his cushy life with Jon Garfield, and his canine companion Odie, join Vic on a high-stakes heist full of hilarious hijinks.

Garfield has captured hearts and minds since the comic, created by Jim Davis, first launched the comic strip in 1978. Now the orange cat will not only be explored in a new medium, but his origins will be at the center of the story, shedding more light on how he became the pampered house cat that so many adore. Chris Pratt will voice the titular cat, with Mark Dindal helming the project as director and Davis signing on as a producer. The Garfield Movie includes a powerhouse voice cast led by Pratt, including Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, and Brett Goldstein.

Screen Rant interviewed The Garfield Movie star Chris Pratt. He explained why he was excited to explore Garfiled's origin story, why he is such an iconic character, and his delight regarding Davis' approval. Pratt also shared his hopes for a Nintendo Cinematic Universe following the success of Super Mario Bros.

Chris Pratt Thinks Garfield Has Touched Generations Because "He Was A Rebel"

Garfield is an iconic character and has been since the original comic strip launched. He has captured the hearts and minds of fans for decades, and Pratt is one of those fans. While many love the humor of a lazy lasagna-loving orange cat, Pratt explained the deeper reason that Garfield has remained so popular among fans for generations.

Chris Pratt: My earliest experience was the comic strip. As a kid, I loved Garfield, I loved Odie - my cousin named his dog Odie. I mean, Garfield is this ubiquitous tile in the mosaic of every childhood of every person from 1978 on. It's the most widely-circulated comic strip in the world. There are these themes, like you said, as you get older you start to really understand Garfield's the real appeal.

He was a rebel and kind of an iconoclast, because he was a guy in a world that tells you you've got to get up, put your nose to the grindstone, get after it, eat right, be fit. He was like, uh-uh, no, f all that. Yeah, I don't like Monday, I'm gonna eat what I want. I don't want to work. I'm gonna be sarcastic. And he kind of gave a voice to people in the working class who were like, this 40 hours a week thing is tough. You know? So I think that's why people, adults, liked him so much and I think kids like him because he's a big orange cat.

This movie is about a lazy, pampered, self-centered indoor cat. Who doesn't like stepping out of his comfort zone, but he's forced to go on this crazy, fun adventure. Can you talk about the growth Garfield goes through throughout this journey?

Chris Pratt: Garfield has an understanding of who his biological father is. By the end of this film that's different from who he thinks he is at the beginning of the film. So the growth is really him going from this perfectly pampered life as an indoor cat, him and Odie going on this epic outdoor adventure, this hilarious high stakes heist. It's a great heist action adventure movie, but the heart of it is coming to a deeper understanding that our parents may not be who we thought they were in the best way.

Garfield creator Jim Davis said this about you, "Chris has a great attitude in his voice and incredible timing." He rated you at 10 out of 10. What does that mean coming from Jim, and what did you want to bring to the role of Garfield that wasn't on the page?

Chris Pratt: I'm just gonna bask in that for a second. Jim Davis signed off? This is the first I've heard that. That's beautiful. That makes me feel really proud. That's awesome. It's shocking to think that he would even know who I am. You know what I'm saying? It's Jim Davis! I remember seeing him in the bottom of every cartoon of every Garfield comic strip as a kid. That's cool.

Mark Dindal, our director, was really adamant that he heard my voice coming out of Garfield's mouth before he ever even had a conversation with me. He knew who he wanted this character to be. He knew what he wanted him to sound like. In that regard, that'd be a note you could give to another actor. Say, "Sound just like Chris Pratt."

Or you can just tell me, "Chris, just show up. Share yourself, share your heart, share your voice, and share your spirit with this character." And that's what I did. In that regard, it really took the pressure off. I didn't feel like I had to recreate what had been done before. I just needed to be present and be there. And I'm grateful.

"We Find Out The Whole Story" Of Samuel L. Jackson's Original New Character In The Garfield Movie

The Garfield Movie will explore the titular feline's origins like never before. It will not only show how he was adopted by Jon and became the pampered cat so many know him as today. It will also dig into his life before being adopted by Jon, including a new character named Vic, voiced by Jackson. Pratt shared insight into Jackson's character, Vic, and his connection to Garfield.

Chris Pratt: He's a scruffy street cat, and he's on the run. There's a reason Garfield was raised by Jon, because as we'll learn very early in the film, he's kind of an abandoned street cat that gets picked up by Jon and given his forever home where he becomes incredibly spoiled and pampered.

So we find out the whole story. What happened? How did that happen? And what does this character mean to Garfield, his biological father? So they get swept up on this high stakes, hilarious heist and he gets to learn something about his father that he didn't quite know.

This is an updated version of Garfield for 2024 where he has a lot of the traits we remember, but there's a lot of new stuff in his backstory that we learn. What excites you the most about telling Garfield's origin story?

Chris Pratt: Well, I think it's because it's fresh and it's new. People don't know who Garfield is, you can't really dive deeply into the emotional needs of a character in a comic strip. If you're gonna make a 90 minute movie, you need to understand who this guy is. To know that you need to know who the characters are in his life that have had a profound impact on him.

You need to understand what the drama sure would be and that's what got me excited. Who is Vic? Who is his father? What's his origin story? How is cat? Who is cat? What is cat? That's what got me excited is just diving deeper. What's beneath the surface?

Chris Pratt Shares His Hopes For A Nintendo Cinematic Universe

Pratt has built himself an impressive resume as a voice actor, bringing Garfield and Mario to the silver screen. Super Mario Bros. was wildly successful, with a sequel already in development. Pratt, like many fans, has hopes for a cinematic universe to be built around the iconic Nintendo games, even beyond the world of Super Mario Bros.

Chris Pratt: Oh, man! There's so much to explore. There's decades worth of movies to explore, not only with Mario and Peach and Donkey Kong and Luigi and Bowser and Yoshi; that was teased at the end. But it just gets me so excited. I was such a Nintento head growing up, so just thinking about how everything from Legend of Zelda to the entire Nintendo cinematic universe could be created and what that could look like for all of these characters that I love? I mean, there's really no limit. We could talk about it for hours.

Think about the worlds. Think of like Super Mario, and then Super Mario Brothers, and then Super Mario Brothers 2, Super Mario Botthers 3: The Mario World.

What was your favorite Mario game?

Classically? Probably one, right? But I think Super Mario 2 I spent the most amount of time trying to beat and Super Mario Brothers 3.

About The Garfield Movie

Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), 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 (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) – 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 hits theaters on May 24.

Source: Screen Rant Plus