Hey Look! A GOOD Garfield Movie

[Drtooth]

Direct to DVD.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I can understand that.

 

[frogboy4]

Garfield Gets Real - this Tuesday, November 20th

It's finally coming out - direct to DVD, but it looks to be what life-long Garfield fans and newcomers will like. Hope it's well written.

Amazon says:

The sameness of everyday life sometimes breeds discontent and Garfield is bored with his life in Cartoon World and sick and tired of reporting to work at the Comic Strip Studio every day with co-workers Wally, Billy Bear, Randy Rabbit, and Bonita. When Odie accidentally drops his bone through a patch in the screen that separates the realm of Cartoon World from the Real World, Garfield impulsively decides to dive headlong into the land of hot dog vendors with little regard for his girlfriend Arlene or owner Jon. Followed by the ever-bumbling Odie, Garfield's initial excitement quickly dims at the prospect of dumpster diving for food scraps and spending the night in an old leaky building. What's more, the neighborhood cats don't believe he's the real Garfield from the funny papers and Garfield knows that now that he's entered the real world, he can never return to Cartoon World. When the local newspaper declares its intention to replace the Garfield comic strip for good, Garfield realizes the enormity of his mistake and begs his Cartoon World co-workers to somehow find a way to bring him and Odie back to Cartoon World before their strip is permanently cancelled. This completely CGI animated full-length Garfield movie is a marked departure from the previous two live-action CGI animated movies (Garfield the Movie and Garfield--A Tale of Two Kitties) and has a distinctly unique look that utilizes three-dimensional character modeling against a seemingly flat background that looks like good video game graphics crossed with a colorful comic strip that's somehow been inflated. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

I was hoping for toon shaders in the 3D but this looks to be a good middle ground.

 

[wwfpooh]

Just as long as it's done right and doesn't tank like some other toon-enters-reality films have done, I may take a look at this one.

 

[frogboy4]

Garfield Gets Real: A Review

Garfield Gets Real gets right what the recent theatrical releases got wrong. No real animals, Ghost Whisperer, spontaneous pop music dancing montage or trying to hard to be relevant. Creator Jim Davis was very much at the helm of this project and it shows. If you like the classic strip, television series and holiday specials, you will enjoy this straight-to-DVD picture.

The computer animation is striking and works to the project's advantage. The film takes place in the "comic world" where Jon, Odie and Garfield all live together in a house as equals and work as actors in the comics read by people in the "real world". The animation has a slight ink line in the comic world that vanishes in the film's real world. Besides that, there is little distinction between the two locations, but I didn't mind.

All the characters are back - and look like his and her cartoony self. Nermal, Arlene, some new characters and a few surprise cameos from other comic strip stars. The story could have used a layer or two of added depth and it is geared toward a younger crowd, but if you ever loved Garfield, this is the one you remembered.

Frank Welker voices Garfield (now that Lorenzo Music has passed away and Bill Murray is more of a film actor) with a near-seamless skill that will have you believing the cat is back. This is the first of three such films in the next two years. I'm glad they'll keep coming! I know it's trite to say, but I'm glad this cat got another life - and one without suction-cup paws.

 

[wwfpooh]

Wow! With that summarization, I might check this one out after all!

Hey, you! Chewin' the gum. I hope you brought enough for everybody?

 

[Drtooth]

Frank Welker voices Garfield (now that Lorenzo Music has passed away and Bill Murray is more of a film actor) with a near-seamless skill that will have you believing the cat is back.[/url]

Frank Welker did the voice of Garfield once prior to this. It was only for a breif gag, but ever since rewatching that segment, I felt that he'd be natural to take over for Lorenzo. They had another official Garfield voice (used in a video game and a PSA for writing) but that person couldn't act.

This is the first of three such films in the next two years. I'm glad they'll keep coming! I know it's trite to say, but I'm glad this cat got another life - and one without suction-cup paws.

Just like Futurama. Nice to know these old cartoons can come back as movies. I think these may be a replacement for a Garfield series that didn't happen. They announced a new CGI garfield last year, and so far, nothing has come out of it, sans the movies.
I cannot wait to pick this one up. I wonder how Wally Wingert fares as Jon, though...

 

[frogboy4]

I cannot wait to pick this one up. I wonder how Wally Wingert fares as Jon, though...

It's just a younger different sounding Jon to me. Not my first choice, but he's okay. I totally loved Nermal. The voice actor aint bad either.

It's just nice to see everybody back where they should be and sans Brecken Meyer.

Apparently Frank Welker does the voices for everything in the universe! He even did some Muppet Babies! Reportedly Kermit, Beaker and (fictional, but PC) Skeeter! He truly is the animation world's current Mel Blanc. He's the original Fred from Scooby Doo and even Nibbler from Futurama! Guy gets around!

 

[wwfpooh]

But Frank was around, even when Blanc was in the later stages of his career.

 

[Drtooth]

Apparently Frank Welker does the voices for everything in the universe! He even did some Muppet Babies! Reportedly Kermit, Beaker and (fictional, but PC) Skeeter! He truly is the animation world's current Mel Blanc. He's the original Fred from Scooby Doo and even Nibbler from Futurama! Guy gets around!

And let's not forget, he's the go to guy in Hollywood when a movie studio needs animal noises for big budget films. He was in George of the Jungle amongst other things, and you would probably never have known he was there. He is extreemly gifted, and can do any animal sound dead on.

His Curious George voice is pretty much a cartoony-fied version of his monkey voice for example. Dude's got mad talent. It's hard to find anything he was not in.