June 16, 2006 Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
Studio: 20th Century Fox Rating: PG-13 for some rude humor and mild comic action.
America's favorite feline is once again starring in his own feature film.
But the second story doesn't rise to the level of the original.
The first "Garfield" was a surprise hit, making more than 75 million dollars at the U-S box office and nearly 200 million worldwide.
With that kind of money a sequel was inevitable.
In "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties," the fat orange cat voiced by Bill Murray makes his way to England. He's trying to stop his owner Jon (Breckin Meyer) from proposing to his girlfriend Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt).
In a storyline lifted straight out of a Mark Twain or Charles Dickens novel, the finicky feline is mistaken for another tabby named Prince.
The English cat is a pampered pet who has just inherited a stately country manor.
However, a family member jilted by the will (Billy Connolly) decides to get rid of Prince and all of his animal buddies. So it's up to Garfield to save the day and have some fun while doing it.
While Garfield is living it up in the mansion, Prince is hanging out with Jon, Liz and Odie the dog, learning about his counterpart's life.
This "Garfield" sequel really didn't do much for me. After seeing the incredible computer animation in Pixar's "Cars," the CGI-created Garfield just doesn't cut the mustard. For much of the time the jokes fall flat, with Garfield himself coming off as rude and obnoxious rather than rude and endearing. Bill Murray's voice work is good, but he just doesn't have the material to make this movie really click.
As you would suspect, the humans don't have very much to do. The animals are clearly the stars of this show and while young viewers may enjoy their antics most everyone else will be anxiously awaiting the final credits.
Despite a couple of clever musical numbers, this is an all-too familiar "by the numbers" effort. It's not original or clever. It's just bad.
On my rating scale, "Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties" earns a Single.
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June 16, 2006
