Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties

I braced myself for 90 minutes of unfunny and weak cat jokes.

We were totally, and I mean totally, surprised: a really well-made film with lots of genuine laughs and the kids were all enthralled. Talking animals, a great turn by Billy Connolly (Who got my wife's vote for best dressed man in the movies this year - whoever did the tailoring on this really did a good job). Excellent sets (Castle Howard is perfect for this), and just plain fun all round.

Garfield and his doppelganger are very well animated: you really can't fault it.

Nothing too scary, nothing too rude, and lots of pratfalls, good one-liners, and fun to had by all. A nice dose of sentimentality -- all in all, and I hate myself for saying it, one of the most enjoyable films we've seen in a while - whether for kids or not.

OK, I admit that I watched this movie. But thankfully I watched it on a pirate DVD bought for two dollars from a dodgy looking bloke on Sadovaya Triumfalnaya in Moscow. He liked my girlfriend's red shoes and said they looked like the shoes of a Princess, which she is of course. I like her red shoes too, they are very nice shoes. They have embroidery and flat heels, but they got very wet when we got caught in the rain the day we went to Novospassky Monastery. Neither of us had a jacket or an umbrella so we got pretty wet but it was worth it because the monastery is beautiful. If you ever go to Moscow you should pay this place a visit, it's stunningly beautiful. Go to Taganskaya on the Circular line and it's a five minute walk along Kamenshiki Street, or at least it should be if you go with someone who knows how to read a street map. Still, it was a nice walk in the rain and we got there eventually even though the red shoes got very wet. Now, being that Novospassky is a Russian Orthodox monastery, women must cover their heads and must also cover their shoulders and should not be wearing trousers or short skirts. Red shoes are OK. So just inside the main gate there is a big box of scarves, shawls and wrap around skirts for the use of any women that may be unsuitably attired for entry into the church, and I must say that my beautiful girlfriend looked rather wonderful wearing all these things. I have pictures if you would like to see them. The inside of the church is decorated with painted walls and ceilings and there are stunning golden icons that look fabulous in the candlelight. There are no electric lights. The Russian choir sings and the priests walk around among the congregation, who stand and chant, there are no seats. It is one of the most spiritual experiences you'll ever have. Quite extraordinary. It is almost like being transported back to some medieval age. Anyway, why am I telling you all of this? Quite simply because it is much more interesting than talking about this movie. As I said, I, or should I say we, watched it on a dodgy pirate DVD that was on sale the day after the movie opened in Moscow. This, as it turned out, was a very good thing because it meant that I couldn't see or hear the movie very well so we turned it off after 20 minutes and that's the best way to watch it in my opinion.

The red shoes still look great though.

I did not like the first 'Garfield'-film, and although this sequel is an improvement I didn't care much for this one as well. Too many talking animals and a story involving a mix-up, which is too simple to begin with, make a boring movie out of elements we have seen many times before.

The mix-up is between Garfield and Prince, a London cat who just inherited a whole castle. The inhabitant of that castle, Lord Dargis (Billy Connolly), thought he would have it all. Only after the cat is dead and buried the place will be his. He gets rid off Prince, but the loyal butler Smithee (Ian Abercrombie) finds him back, only it is Garfield instead of Prince. Now owner Jon (Breckin Meyer) finds Prince, thinking it is Garfield. He is in London for a subplot involving his love Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who he wants to marry.

As in the first film it is Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield who can bring the occasional smile to your face. Again the dancing sequences, one repeating a famous mirror scene from the Marx Brothers, belong to the highlights. 'A Tale of Two Kitties' contains some more laughs than the first film, but should be seen as another failure. I am not sure whether a good film about this character can be made, but better than this seems quite possible.

1st watched 7/6/2006 - 5 out of 10(Dir-Tim Hill): OK family comedy with the obnoxious over-eating computer-animated cat "Garfield" playing a dual role, sort of. The real Garfield is accidentally switched with an uppity prince-like cat in England which brings many fish-out-of-the-water scenarios for both cats(called "Kitties" in the title). To myself as an older person familiar with the other mediums used for Garfield(aka. Sunday papers and television), the computer animation was a deterrent when you're used to the cartoon character as well as not having the original television voice(Carlton the Doorman on Rhoda) in the role of Garfield, who was "purrfect". But Bill Murray doesn't do a bad job and it's fun for the kids for the most part. Some of the best scenes include a song where the animals cook up a batch of Lasagne for Garfield and some adult-focused quips from Murray added to the fun. There were some early scenes that were supposed to be funny that fell flat for both the kids and adults in the audience. There were times in the theatre where there was complete silence which seemed a little odd when there was supposed to be laughter. This was not a good sign for the movie right off the bat. It did become better later but there seemed to be too many attempts to emulate other popular animal movies like "Babe" by adding many animals having talking parts as well as what I've already mentioned to make a unique experience that could have been had if more attempts were made to follow the original cartoon concept.

I did not know this was a children's movie. After all, Shrek, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, etc., appeal to children, but are also squarely aimed at adults. Garfield, Tale of Two Kitties is squarely aimed at younger folk, with a few mild chuckles for the parents. It was colorful, well done, excellent quality, etc. but let's face it, by being designed for 5-10 year-olds, it also had to be really sloooooooow.

Brekin Myer is a charming actor with good vibes. So is the chick--- Jennifer Love Hewitt. Likable people. The British supporting cast (note that the movie starts in America, but moves to an English location soon enough) is also excellent. Billy Connoly plays an odious villain; I find that comedian rather odious in person, myself. But I must confess he seemed to be a good actor--- maybe his odi-osity was due to great acting ability? Anyway--- Bob Hoskins is a hoot as the bulldog, and the other animal voices are good, too. Tim Curry was an amazing counterpart to Garfield, playing the ultra-posh aristocratic English cat, Prince. But again, the jokes are NOT multi-leveled. They are simple, aimed at 5 year-olds. If you take your kids, you'll like it too. If you go with adults, you'll have a lot of cognitive capacity left over whilst viewing it to accommodate virtually any daydreaming task.