‘The Garfield Movie’ is Rated PG—Is It Ok For Young Kids?

“Garfield” was a staple of my childhood. I had all the Garfield-themed comic books, stuffed animals, and T-shirts a kid could have. 

My dad would separate the newspaper for me every morning. (Remember physical newspapers that were delivered to your front door?) He’d pull out the sports section to check and see how “his Mets” did the night before and would leave the cartoon section for me so I could read the Garfield comic strip before school. Every Saturday morning, I’d plop myself down with a bowl of whatever sugary cereal we had in the house and would immediately turn on Garfield and Friends.

Of course, once I got older, all of that changed. Many newspapers also became digital. Though “Garfield” is still being produced by cartoonist Jim Davis, it’s a little bit harder to find. 

There were six movie adaptations along the way in an attempt to revive the popularity of the beloved fat cat, including the live-action Garfield: The Movie released in 2004, and the subsequent Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties in 2006.  I watched both of them only because Bill Murray’s voice as the sarcastic, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving Garfield was perfect. Despite box office success, the movies were incredibly cheesy, and honestly hard to watch, at least from an adult point of view. 

So you can imagine the skepticism when I saw the trailer for The Garfield Movie, starring Chris Pratt as the voice of Garfield. Having enjoyed him as the voice of “Mario” in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and “Emmet” in The Lego Movie, I was curious if Pratt would be able to dominate yet another franchise based on a favorite childhood character. And would this movie, coming two decades after the commercial success of Murray’s films, be hard to digest?

Watching The Garfield Movie, in theaters May 24, I was pleasantly surprised at not only how much I liked Pratt in the role, but also about how much heart the movie had. 

The film is appropriately rated PG, given some of the sophisticated themes of adoption and family dynamics involving estrangement, along with some mild violence. None of that would stop me from bringing my young boys to see the film. The movie resonates with parents through its emotional portrayal of friendship and family bonds, while the animated hijinks, humor, and slapstick action make it perfect for young audiences.

The Themes of The Garfield Movie

The Garfield Movie taps into what makes the iconic cartoon, just that. We see some of his original nuances in this film: his disdain for Mondays, his heavy appetite for food—mainly pizza and lasagna—and a little bit of his sarcasm and cynicism.

Audiences get to understand Garfield’s origin story in the film, which reveals in part, that our favorite lazy orange tabby was abandoned in a box on the street by his criminal cat father Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) and then adopted by his current person Jon Arbuckle and his dog Odie. Garfield has been living a life of ease and luxury until Vic is thrust back into his life.

The two, along with Odie are forced to go on a milk heist together to satisfy a debt that Vic owes to the evil Jinx, a cat voiced deliciously by Hannah Waddingham. Along the way are plenty of physical comedic moments aimed at younger audiences, mixed with tender moments and a deep dive into Garfield and Vic’s relationship. 

Not everything is as it seems though, and there are some fun surprises and reveals I won’t spoil here. But there are a couple of dramatic opportunities that may make your eyes water. 

“It’s a moving movie,” Chris Pratt agrees. “It does have some emotionally resonant themes, and I think people will feel that way, which is great!”

“It’s really hard to take a comic strip and turn it into a 90-minute movie,” he admits. “If you take away all the action, the adventure, the jokes, the songs, the dance, all the stuff, what is the story?”

Pratt tells Parents he was drawn to the themes, particularly the exploration of father-son relationships, and how those relationships can be complicated. When it came to Garfield and Vic reuniting, he focused on the “rekindling of their relationship, and them having a lot to learn from each other.”

“It’s about showing grace,” he adds. “Being able to forgive one another for our shortcomings, accept one another for who we are, and understand that we are better together. And not everything had to be perfect to be great.”

Parenting Defined

While riding along on the epic adventure of Garfield, Vic, and Odie, audiences come to understand the vast differences in the two parenting styles between Garfield’s “adoptive” father Jon, and his tough-as-nails biological father Vic. 

Jon Arbuckle is a notorious pushover, acquiescing to Garfield’s every desire, want, and need. Though there is mutual love between the two, Garfield is often the one in charge, fully exploiting Jon’s empathy and loneliness. 

Vic, on the other hand, is a larger-than-life charmer who has conned his way through almost everything in his life. He rules with an iron fist and gentle parenting is far from his vocabulary. While he is fully prepared to take on the heist, his pampered son is not, but the two have to work together as a team. 

When it comes to parenting styles in real life, Pratt says staying in the middle between a “Jon” and “Vic” is challenging, and credits his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, with whom he shares two daughters, for being able to navigate the balance between the two. 

“As a kid, we didn’t have much, so it was easy to defer gratification, and there’s a certain strength in not giving your kids everything that they want. But at the same time, my parents gave us everything they could give us,” he explained.

“So I’m in a bit of a dilemma because if I give my kids everything they want, they run the risk of getting spoiled, so trying to find that balance, I rely heavily on Katherine,” he admits. “She was raised by parents who had a lot to give but were smart about holding some of it back. She’s just got a great maternal instinct.” 

Hannah Waddingham says being a “single mum” means ensuring her daughter knows “the buck stops with me, and understands the difference between right and wrong.” She also admits she’s a “stickler for manners.” 

The Ted Lasso star says she and her daughter recently watched the original Annie movie together, one of Waddingham’s top three favorites. Waddingham then asked her daughter if she thought Waddingham was more like Miss Hannigan (the evil antagonist) or Grace Farrell (Annie’s surrogate mother.)  

“And she said, ‘Mmm… a little bit of both!’” Waddingham says smiling. “And I went, ‘That is the right answer!’” 

“Firm, but fair, and very fun,” she adds, “But in equal measure.”

Playing an ‘evil’ character, Waddingham says, doesn’t faze her daughter either. “I think she’s used to her mom playing, as she calls, ‘naughty characters’ now,” she laughs.

“I said to her, ‘Isn’t it fun though, that you can be cheeky and twinkly and not really nasty?’ I mean, she hasn’t seen Game of Thrones yet, so that might all change when she sees that,” she says laughing. 

A Fresh Start

Admittedly, I have done a poor job explaining to my boys who Garfield is. They really have no clue about the obsession I had with the comic strip star, and that he’s more than just a random balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Waddingham’s daughter was also recently introduced to the character. “She had no idea who Garfield was until I showed her,” Waddingham admits, saying she took on the role because of her daughter, and the stellar cast attached to the film.

Pratt, however, says his love of the character was passed on to his 11-year-old son Jack, whom he shares with ex-Anna Faris. 

“He did know who Garfield was because we have a Garfield comic strip book at home,” he admits. “It’s nice that we’re keeping the torch moving in a medium that’s familiar to kids, so hopefully for kids who don’t know who Garfield is, they will after this Memorial Day.”

While this version of Garfield explores new territory and offers a different version of the cartoon icon that we old-school fans may not expect, the movie proved to be a heartwarming and fun animated family adventure that blends genres of comedy, drama, and action. And that will always beat a Monday.