‘The Garfield Movie’ Interview: Chris Pratt

Opening in theaters on May 24th is the new animated film ‘The Garfield Movie,’ which centers around Jim Davis’ famous cartoon cat.

Directed by Mark Dindal (‘Chicken Little’), the movie stars Chris Pratt (‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) as the voice of Garfield as well as 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.

Related Article: Director James Gunn and Chris Pratt Talk ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’

Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to audience members sitting down in a theater to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?

Chris Pratt: Oh, they’re already in the theater? I’d say turn your phones off, get your popcorn, sit back and relax. You thought you knew Garfield? You didn’t know nothing yet. That’s what I would say, something like that. But to those who are thinking of going to the movies, I would say get your tickets now, because they’re going to sell out. May 24th don’t miss it!

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

CP: Man, I’m grateful. This is an entire collaborative effort by a great production team and a wonderful director who had been working on this for years before I jumped on board. So really, I was just 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’ve got a natural, lazy, sarcastic tone to your voice. I want that 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 for my whole life, apparently.” So, it was nice. In a way it kind of took the pressure off 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 relate to him right away?

CP: Yeah, early on. There are elements in my life that make me feel like Garfield now. I’m very pampered. I’m a Hollywood guy. There was a certain affectation in the voice which was kind of closer to what a person sounds like when they’re about to yawn, and I just thought that was kind of something to work in. That’s where I was feeling like a lot of times the voice would come from, and just trusting the director and knowing that we had a great script. Once the action took over, it was about a character that was on an adventure. So, it’s like the sleepiness and the laziness that really works for the character who’s being pampered and who’s living a lazy life. But when you’re on the run and you’re in a heist movie, you must shift gears and become a character on an action adventure. Because suddenly, this cat that’s typically sarcastic and a little bit of a biting, comedic laziness, can’t be sarcastic and lazy, he must be on the road. Once you get clipping along, 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 bit about that and Garfield’s relationship with Vic?

CP: It’s a great relationship. Samuel L. Jackson voices Vic beautifully. Vic is this streetwise, scruffy, outdoor cat, and he’s kind of on the run. Garfield is your world-famous lasagna-loving, Monday-hating, sarcastic, indoor-pampered pet. Vic takes him on this epic outdoor adventure along with Odie, and they basically are enlisted in this really high-stakes and super-funny heist scenario. So that’s the movie. That’s the relationship. The relationship is one of a father who his son believed abandoned him in an alley one day, and you see that from the trailer. You see that in the opening scene of the movie that he’s got an issue with this guy Vic who claims to be his dad, because his dad left him in an alley. So, healing that relationship and seeing the father try to teach this cat some valuable tricks of the trade, some hard knocks lessons on how to be an outdoor cat, is some of the fun in 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 have a wild outdoor adventure! After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie (voiced by Harvey Guillén) are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist.

Who is in 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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