"GARFIELD’S PET FORCE"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Frank Welker as GARFIELD Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Directed by: Mark A.Z. Dippe Back to DVD Review Home |  |
When you look at “Garfield’s Pet Force,” taken simply as a one-shot release to DVD, the movie isn’t that bad. It’s a cute, relatively creative take on the legendary fat cat and his pals. However, set against Garfield’s long history of cynicism and mainstream appeal, this film clearly isn’t for everyone.
I can’t say that this is a particular like or dislike about “Garfield’s Pet Force.” I suppose it is a little of both. This thought stems from an interchange I had with a friend of mine who saw the DVD in my collection. He looked at the case and asked me how the movie was. I told him it was decent, but geared towards younger kids.
My friend told me that he used to love watching the old Garfield cartoons that were made, first as prime-time specials with Lorenzo Music voicing the orange tabby, then later as television shows geared more for the child audience. He used to read the old Garfield book collections, noting how much Garfield has changed from the morbidly obese cat in his very first comic strips.
If you’re looking for that brand of Garfield, you won’t find it anywhere in “Garfield’s Pet Force.” In fact, even if you’re looking for the Garfield of the old “Garfield and Friends” television show, the Bill Murray-voiced Garfield from the feature films a few years back or even the Garfield of the comic strips leading into the early 2000s, you’ll find something totally different.
With “Garfield’s Pet Force,” the classic feline has reached the level of Mickey Mouse, where his current incarnation is vastly different than his debut and presented to a preschool audience. In this respect, “Garfield’s Pet Force” has a lot more in common with Playhouse Disney CGI shows like “My Friends Tigger and Pooh” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.”
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you’re looking for entertainment for your kids under ten years old, and preferable those under the age of six. “Garfield’s Pet Force” is a very snappy, poppy version of the original characters. It takes place on another world where Garfield, Arlene, Nermal and Odie are superheroes.
When an evil comic demoness (an alter ego of the veterinarian Liz) threatens to take over the world with a mind-control device, the Garfield superhero searches the universe for genetic equivalents of the heroes. This leads him to the “real” world where he transforms the real Arlene, Nermal and Odie into superheroes. Eventually, Garfield himself might need to transform to beat the bad guys.
The coolest part of this movie is that the story is very different from the run-of-the-mill kids show concept you’ll find in most cartoons. It’s not about baby versions of the original characters. It’s not about cartoon characters that simply use their imagination to travel to new places. With the inclusion of a superhero story that, albeit silly and childish, is realistic in the context of the show, the movie works.
Being cut from the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” cloth, the show is geared for a much younger audience, arguably even younger than Garfield’s previous films like “Garfield Gets Real.” Still, it’s funny enough and not beaten down with repetition and educational merit that makes it irritating to watch for adults.
I did enjoy “Garfield’s Pet Force” to a certain degree, and my kids (ages six and eight) enjoyed it more. I do long for the days of the cynical, bitter Garfield of yesteryear, but I can handle this for the time being.
