‘The Garfield Movie’ Interview: Chris Pratt

On May 24, the new animated film ‘The Garfield Movie’, which focuses on Jim Davis’ famous cartoon cat, will be released in theaters.

Directed by Mark Dindal (‘Chicken Little’), the film stars Chris Pratt (‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) as the voice of Garfield in addition to Samuel L. Jackson (‘Secret Invasion’), Hannah Waddingham (‘The Fall Guy ‘), Ving Rhames (‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’), Nicholas Hoult (‘X-Men: First Class’) and Harvey Guillén (‘What We Do in the Shadows’) as Odie.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Pratt about his work on ‘The Garfield Movie’, what fans can expect from the film, his approach to voicing the iconic cat, and telling Garfield’s origin story.

Moviefone: To start, what would you say to viewers sitting in a movie theater to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?

Chris Pratt: Oh, are they at the movies yet? I would say turn off your phones, grab some popcorn, sit back and relax. Did you think you knew Garfield? You still didn’t know anything. That’s what I would say, something like that. But I would say to those who are thinking about going to the movies to get their tickets now, because they are going to sell out. May 24, don’t miss it!

MF: You’re following in the footsteps of Lorenzo Music and Bill Murray, who have voiced this role. What does it mean to you personally to have the opportunity to put your own spin on an iconic character like Garfield?

PC: Man, I’m grateful. This is a total collaborative effort from a great production team and a wonderful director who had been working on this for years before I joined the project. Truly, I felt honored and blessed that they thought the voice of the guy from ‘Parks and Rec’ was the voice of this cat. That’s what they told me. He said, “I’ve been working on this for years. I keep hearing your voice coming out of this cat in my head. That’s what I want. You have a natural, lazy, sarcastic tone to your voice. I want this voice.” I was like, “Well, that’s cool. Because I know the guy who has that voice, and he could do it for you. I’ve been working on this voice my whole life, apparently.” So, it was nice. In a way, it took the pressure off me because I knew what they wanted and only I could give it to them. It was just something organic and natural, my own breath, my own voice, my own spirit for this character. I feel blessed.

MF: Can you talk about your approach to the character? Did you identify with him immediately?

PC: Yes, from the beginning. There are elements in my life that now make me feel like Garfield. I am very spoiled. I’m a Hollywood guy. There was a certain affectation to the voice that was closer to what a person sounds like when he’s about to yawn, and I thought that was something to work on. That’s how I felt many times. the voice would come, and just trust the director and know that we had a great script. Once the action took over, it was a character who was on an adventure. So it’s like sleepiness and laziness that really work for the character who is being pampered and living a lazy life. But when you’re on the run and you’re in a heist movie, you have to shift gears and become a character in an action adventure. Because suddenly, this cat who is typically sarcastic and a bit biting and comically lazy, can’t be sarcastic and lazy, he must be in the way. Once you start cropping, that’s what the movie becomes.

MF: Finally, we got to see Garfield’s origin story in this movie and meet his father, Vic. Can you talk a little about that and Garfield’s relationship with Vic?

PC: It’s a great relationship. Samuel L. Jackson voices Vic wonderfully. Vic is a stray, scruffy, outdoor cat, and he’s on the run. Garfield is your world famous lasagna loving, Monday hating, sarcastic, indoor spoiled pet. Vic takes him on this epic outdoor adventure along with Odie, and they basically enlist in this really fun, high-risk heist scenario. So that’s the movie. That’s the relationship. The relationship is that of a father whose son believed he abandoned him in an alley one day, and that is seen in the trailer. You see in the opening scene of the movie he has a problem with this guy, Vic, who claims to be his father, because his father left him in an alley. So healing that relationship and watching the father try to teach this cat some valuable tricks of the trade, some tough lessons about how to be an outdoor cat, is part of the fun of the movie.

What is the plot of ‘The Garfield Movie’?

Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), the world-famous Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to go on a wild outdoor adventure. After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, scruffy alley cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), Garfield and his canine friend Odie (voiced by Harvey Guillén) are forced to leave their lives behind. perfectly pampered to join Vic on a fun, playful adventure. high risk robbery.

Who is part of the cast of ‘The Garfield Movie?

Chris Pratt is the voice of Garfield in ‘The Garfield Movie’. Copyright: © 2023 Project G Productions, LLC. Photo: DNEG Animation.

Other Garfield Movies and TV Shows:

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