Garfield
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: June 11, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
27
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
10
Negative:
19
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The filmmakers obviously understand and love Garfield, and their movie lacks that sense of smarmy slumming you sometimes get when Hollywood brings comic strips to the screen. Read full review
70
Film ThreatPeter Lowry
Overall, Garfield's first movie might not be as amusing as the cartoon but it was still a lot of fun to watch. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
In short, it's an almost flawlessly innocuous entertainment for kids. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
If it weren't for Murray, there'd be nothing at all to the film, which forgets all conventional notions of story or characterization. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
However terrific Murray is, if Antonio Banderas, mellifluous voice of Puss-in-Boots in "Shrek 2," went paw to claw with Garfield, Puss would definitely triumph. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Not even Bill Murray could save Garfield. Perhaps the comedian -- so pitch-perfect as the sardonic actor in "Lost in Translation" -- got too deeply into character. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
The cinematic Garfield: The Movie feels like an 82-minute commercial for Garfield, The Brand rather than cinematic dumb fun. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Cloddish, unfunny dud. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Under Peter Hewitt's phoned-in direction, Garfield chugs along like the slow train to Chattanooga, with only Jennifer Love Hewitt, as the local vet, twittering pertly in a desperate effort to raise Jon's feeble pulse. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Unlike that widely appealing picture with the giant green ogre, this one's strictly for the kiddies. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
The CGI is well-done, but Garfield's presence among the otherwise live cast is a constant distraction. Read full review
40
EmpireJo Berry
Cute and friendly enough, but for anyone over eight, not recommended. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The filmmakers find "laughs" in sadistic violence. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Garfield the comic strip stopped being funny about 10 years ago. Garfield the Movie makes it to about the 10-minute mark before tedium sets in. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
There's nothing to recommend about this film except its sheer innocuousness. And Bill Murray's off-screen voicing as Garfield adds no "Robin Williams" element to the movie. Read full review
30
VarietyJoe Leydon
Only very small children still easily impressed by interaction of human actors and CGI quadrupeds will be amused by Garfield. Read full review
30
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Bland, workmanlike and instantly forgettable. Read full review
30
Village VoiceBen Kenigsberg
No one can accuse Garfield: The Movie of infidelity to its source: It faithfully conveys the banality of Jim Davis's cartoon. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The popularity of Davis' strip represents the ultimate triumph of mediocrity, but even the cartoonist's competent hackwork deserves better than this. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The cat is computer-generated, as are his one-liners. Read full review
25
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This a neutered Garfield, one part tomcat and three parts pussy, recognizable only by his orange coat and love of lasagna. This feline's got a serious case of mange. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
Now here's the reason America won't love Garfield: The Movie: Garfield's gone from the listless feline we all know and love to a fast-stepping, break-dancing cat about town. What's worse, the other characters are even farther from their roots. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The blend of live action and animation is competently done, but the subtly mean-spirited screenplay has more sour meows than hearty laughs. Read full review
25
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
This isn't a movie, it's a marketing ploy. Would you like a plush Garfield toy with that popcorn? Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Thanks to that dog-torture element, Garfield may be too upsetting for younger kids. Meanwhile, older kids (let alone parents) will want to put this movie behind them like yesterday's hairball. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
Nothing really works here, and nobody seems to have put in a huge amount of effort, except maybe the marketing department -- there are many product placements. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeTy Burr
A black-dressing young intellectual of my acquaintance recently ascribed a "lazy generosity" to Garfield and his daily antics. If so, the movie gets the laziness but misses the generosity. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Bill Murray completists, tots under 5 and their unfortunate chaperons are the only ones who need experience the soulless excuse for an entertainment called Garfield: The Movie. Read full review
20
The New York TimesDana Stevens
That Garfield speaks in the supercilious, world-weary drawl of Bill Murray is some small consolation, as are a few of the animal tricks. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
You'd have to be a real a..hole to hate this movie, loaded as it is with adorable animals. Sadly the task falls to me. Read full review
0
New York PostLou Lumenick
Garfield is a downright cat-astrophe. Read full review
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