It has been more than a decade-and-a-half since everyone’s favorite lasagna-loving, Monday-hating tabby cat showed up in a movie of his own on the big screen, but that will all be changing very soon. In less than a dozen Mondays, that hilarious, grumpy, and undeniably iconic feline will be back in an animated feature film that will hopefully capture the comedy and heart of Jim Davis’ beloved comic strip and the animated series (and holiday specials) that followed in its wake.
With information on its release date, the ensemble cast that includes the voice work of Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, and others, and a look at its official trailer, here’s your guide to The Garfield Movie.
What Is The Garfield Release Date?
Go ahead and make a reminder to put a pan of lasagna in the oven for May 24, 2024, as that is the release date for The Garfield Movie. In September 2022, Deadline announced that the latest adaptation of the classic comic strip, cartoon, and never-ending source of licensed merchandise would open over Memorial Day weekend after Columbia Pictures decided to push back its release from the original February 2024 launch date.
With schools and many workplaces being closed for the holiday, maybe Memorial Day will be the one Monday Garfield actually enjoys. So, if you’re looking for something a little less intense than George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which opens the same day, The Garfield Movie is going to do just that.
Chris Pratt Leads The Garfield Cast
A little more than a year after leading The Super Mario Bros. Movie as the iconic plumber, Chris Pratt will do something similar with The Garfield Movie. Better yet, he’s not alone…
Chris Pratt (Garfield)
Back in November 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Chris Pratt, who has spent the past decade leading several of the best Marvel movies, would soon be playing the titular cat in The Garfield Movie. Pratt has been in several animated features over the years, including The Lego Movie, Onward, and most recently, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Samuel L. Jackson (Vic)
Chris Pratt isn’t the only Marvel superstar to land a role in The Garfield Movie, as Samuel L. Jackson will be providing the voice of the character’s long-lost father, Vic. We don’t really know what to expect from the elder feline, but we’re in good hands with the star of The Incredibles and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank holding things down.
Nicholas Hoult (Jon Arbuckle)
A Garfield movie wouldn’t be complete without Jon Arbuckle, and it’s safe to say that the upcoming movie has a great actor taking on the role of the cat’s loving owner. The official Garfield movie Instagram account confirmed in December 2023 that Nicholas Hoult would be playing the beloved human.
Hannah Waddingham
Ted Lasso alum Hannah Waddingham is set to appear in The Garfield Movie, according to the film’s official website. However, it has not yet been revealed who she will be playing in the upcoming animated film.
Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames, one of the longtime staples of the Mission: Impossible movies, will also appear in The Garfield Movie, but his character’s identity has not yet been announced.
Cecily Strong
Former Saturday Night Live standout, Cecily Strong, is another talented and well-known member of The Garfield Movie cast. Strong also happens to be one of the actors whose role has not yet been announced.
Harvey Guillén (Odie)
Just like Jon Arbuckle, Odie the dog is a key component of the Garfield property. When The Garfield Movie opens in May, Harvey Guillén will take on the role of the iconic pup, the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish actor confirmed on X in November 2023.
Brett Goldstein
Brett Goldstein, who will probably forever be known as Roy Kent from Ted Lasso, is also set to appear in an undisclosed role in The Garfield Movie. Over the years, Goldstein has voiced characters on shows like Robot Chicken and Harley Quinn.
Bowen Yang
SNL mainstay Bowen Yang is also set to voice a character in The Garfield Movie, but his role has not yet been revealed. Yang has been quite busy with voice acting for the past couple of years, as he has appeared in Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, The Monkey King, and The Tiger’s Apprentice.
The Garfield Movie Trailer Is Full Of Emotion, Humor, And So Much Lasagna
On November 13, 2023, which happened to be a Monday, Sony Pictures released the first trailer for The Garfield Movie, a nearly three-minute teaser full of emotion, humor, and so much lasagna. Seriously, the first look at the upcoming animated film came in strong with a heartwarming and painfully adorable sequence showing off Jon Arbuckle’s first encounter with the orange cat, or as Garfield says later on, “that’s how I adopted Jon.”
The second half of the trailer, while just as engaging, sees the sarcastic, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving, fed-up feline we’ve come to know and love over the years as he gets into all kinds of ridiculous situations, both before and after meeting his long-lost dad, Vic. We can’t wait to see how many pans of lasagna those two take down.
The Garfield Movie Follows The Famous Cat As He Is Forced To Carry Out A Heist With His Long-Lost Father
Previous Garfield movies have seen the conniving orange cat do everything from trying to get rid of Odie to being mistaken for a royal feline. This time around, Garfield will be reuniting with his long-lost father, Vic, but there’s a good chance this won’t be a lazy get-together where father and son make up for lost time. Instead, The Garfield Movie will follow the titular cat as he and Odie are forced to join his dad on a perilous journey where they will pull off a high-stakes heist. What exactly they plan to steal is a mystery not yet revealed…
The Creative Team Behind The Emperor’s New Groove Is Helming The Garfield Movie
With a movie like The Garfield Movie, especially one based on a franchise so beloved, there needs to be someone more than up to the task of taking it on, as well as someone with a strong track record. And, that person happens to be Mark Dindal, who was hired to direct the upcoming movie back in 2018, according to Deadline.
Dindal has not only directed movies like The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little, and he has also produced and animated classics like The Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, The Rocketeer, Aladdin, and nearly two dozen others throughout his career.
But Dindal won’t be the only person from The Emperor’s New Groove to work on the upcoming movie, as Deadline revealed in November 2021 that David Reynolds, who wrote the underrated Disney animated movie more than 20 years ago. Over the years, Reynolds has also worked on movies like Toy Story 2, Tarzan, and Finding Nemo.
Garfield Creator Jim Davis Is On Board As An Executive Producer
Jim Davis has been involved with the Garfield property ever since he created the beloved character more than 40 years ago in 1978. Since then, he’s assisted various productions ranging from the Garfield and Friends animated series to the previous big-screen adaptations. Even though he sold the rights to the property to Alcon Entertainment back in 2016, according to Variety, he will remain on as an executive producer for the upcoming animated Garfield movie.
Expect to learn more about The Garfield Movie as we get closer to the release of the film. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out the 2024 movie schedule to see what else is coming to theaters in the coming weeks and months.
