Bill Murray voicing Garfield

Chilly Down

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From Sci-Fi.com News:
ill Murray has signed on to voice the role of Garfield the Cat in the upcoming Garfield movie for 20th Century Fox, Variety reported. Based on the comic strip, the movie centers on the sardonic cat who must tolerate the indignity of being saddled with a nebbish owner (Breckin Meyer) and a nitwit dog as housemates, the trade paper reported.

Helmer Peter Hewitt (Thunderpants) directs the live-action/computer-animated film adaptation, which was written by Toy Story scribes Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, the trade paper reported.

Drawn by Jim Davis, the Garfield strip marks its 25th anniversary on June 19 and remains one of the most widely syndicated strips in the world, appearing in 2,570 newspapers in 111 countries, the trade paper reported.

Garfield Based On Real Cat
John Davis, producer of the upcoming live-action/computer-animated Garfield movie, told SCI FI Wire that the CGI Garfield will look like a real feline. "Garfield is going to look like Garfield would if he was a real, live animal," Davis said in an interview. "The goal there is to make you believe that we found a cat that did all those things, even though it was all created in a computer. A tremendous amount of research and development has gone into making that cat look absolutely real."

But Garfield will still retain the distinct features of the traditionally animated and comic-strip characters, Davis added. "He has features like his ears and his eyes, and he's kind of a fat cat," Davis said. "He's bigger than any cat you've seen. You've got those big paws. You'll look at him and go, 'He's Garfield. That's Garfield.'"

Davis added that he is confident that his computer-animated cat will improve upon Scooby-Doo's computer-generated dog. "I thought Scooby kind of looked a little corny," he said. "We've gone to the next generation of technology." Garfield is slated for a June 4, 2004, release.


Tom's note:
I couldn't think of who should take over the role, but this is perfect. Lorenzo Davis, who originally voiced Garfield, also voiced the Peter Venkman character in The Real Ghostbusters--a role originated by Bill Murray! So everything comes full circle.

I found it odd that Jim Davis picked on the CGI Scooby, when it sounds like they're going the same route. (Actually, I just re-read it: it's JOHN Davis, the movie producer, not JIM Davis, the comic strip creator.) In fact, the description of the CGI Garfield sounds positively freakish, but the reason I'm willing to give it a chance is because the CGI Scooby worked much better than I thought it would.

I just wonder if Garfield will jump into an amazing lightsaber duel with Odie... :wink:
 

MuppetDanny

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I'm not a fan Garfield - BUT it would interesting seein the film in 3D :big_grin:.

I can see Bill Murray voicing Garfield :smile:
 

Don'tLiveonMoon

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I think Bill Murray is a terrific choice to play Garfield. When I heard he was going to do it, I thought that sounded like the perfect match.
Erin
 

Buck-Beaver

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This is brilliant casting! :excited: But with the two possible exceptions so far of Gollum and Yoda, I'm still not convinced CG characters are ready for prime time (so to speak).

Guess we'll have to wait to see what the Hulk and Scooby 2.0 look like. Still, they should have got the Creature Shop.
 

WiGgY

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I'm not a fan of CGI characters that were originally 2d cartoons. Yoda done is CGI was great and done very well. And since Yoda was a puppter, the CGI yoda looked cooler. But with cartoons, it doesn't really work that way for me.

The Scooby thing kind of seemed weird to me. The Garfield thing is going to be just as weird I think. I would have prefered a CGI movie done fully in animation. That would have been cool. I am happy that Bill Murry is doing the voice and I hope that he uses that voice he used in Caddy Sjack. That would be best. I just hope it turns out ok.
 

Fozzie Bear

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I look forward to it. Hopefully, this will redeem the fact that lately the comic strip has been suffering from humor loss.

Of course, Bill Murray must have thought it was a good script if he signed on. I think it's a good idea.

~Kev
 

Jackie

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Originally posted by Chilly Down
From Sci-Fi.com News:
Bill Murray has signed on to voice the role of Garfield the Cat in the
I used to always think Garfield was voiced by Bill Murray when I was a kid. The voices are identical. I loved Bill Murray and I loved Garfield, so now I have to see the movie.
 

Fozzie Bear

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Well, Bill Murray played Pete Venkman in Ghostbusters, and Lorenzo Music voiced Pete in the Real Ghostbusters cartoon as well as Garfield (at least for a while).
 

frogboy4

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I understand what Davis means about Scooby. It wasn't the best rout they took for him. It had nothing to do with being realistic or being CG. The design and composition of the elements was just off. I didn't excite me. It was a capable job, but I think he would have looked better in the hands of another team of artists.

I'm glad they're aware of this before creating Garfield. I'm still worried about the look, but we'll see. I mean, the Garfield cartoon has gone through so many changes that he barely even looks like a cat anymore. The eyes and those big eyelids are probably going to be the biggest challenge. :eek:
 

sarah_yzma

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my worry is not the CGI (although it is one!) but what I read said Odie and Nermal are to be real animals with CGI mouths.....now what dog species is Odie?????? I don't think any dog has that long of a neck.....of course I could be wrong..........because I am not the most reliable source on dog breeds, but I just don't think so.......

Sarah
 
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