Garfield (2009 film)

Garfield (released in some countries as Garfield: The New Movie and in Sweden as Gustaf and The Adventures of Garfield as it's working title) is a 2009 American science fiction action comedy epic film directed and written by Stephen Sommers, and co-written by Ehren Kruger. It is a reboot of the 2004 film Garfield: The Movie and it's sequel. The film stars Kurt Russell as the voice of the titular character, alongside Shia LaBeouf, Scarlett Johannson, Matt Damon, Gregg Berger (both reprising his roles from the Garfield and Friends series and the Garfield Show), Jess Harnell as multiple characters, and Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux as the film's main villains. In the film, Garfield (Russell) is a cat who was found by Jon Arbuckle (LaBeouf), after his mom was killed by an unknown creature, eventually, Garfield meets Odie, Jon's newly adopted dog who he adopted from his collage roommate Lyman, who supposedly died from a car crash, and Nermal (Damon), a neighbor cat who tries tormenting Garfield, and Garfield must save a bunch of lost cats and dogs and stop 2 alien cat bounty hunters who are trying to kill Garfield because he is the prophecy, and send a message throughout the cosmos, in order to bring an army of the greatest warriors to Earth.
The film entered production in 2007, after Fox decided to reboot the Garfield films, and decided to go in an action comedy direction, choosing Stephen Sommers as the director, and casting Kurt Russell as Garfield, and getting Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna to produce, a few scripts were written until they decided on the final script, with principal photography commencing in April 2008, and concluding 5 months later in September.
Produced by Regency Pictures and Legendary Entertainment for 20th Century Fox, it was released in the United States on June 16, 2009. It was a commercial success, grossing $850 million against its $132 million budget, the film received generally positive reviews from critics. A video game of the same name was developed by Pandemic Studios for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii. The film's reign at the box office and being considered the best Garfield movie lead to the Garfield film franchise getting revived, with two sequels, Garfield Returns(2012) and Garfield 3: Revenge of the Mole (2017), and a fourth film currently in the works.
== Voice cast ==
=== Live action ===
* Shia LaBeouf as Jon Arbuckle, Garfield and Odie's owner.
* Scarlett Johannson as Dr. Liz Wilson, Garfield's vet, Jon's love interest, an Archaeologist
* David Cross as Ian Hawke, a local television host, and his brother Walter Hawke, a TV news journalist who reports on relevant events, he originated from the Alvin and the Chipmunks film series, but was brought over to the film by Regency.
* Gary Oldman as Jon's Dad, Jon's father who lives on a barn.
* Julie Andrews as Jon's Mom, Jon's mother who also lives on a barn.
* Eve Brent as Mrs. Baker, an old woman who rescues Odie.
* Hailee Steinfield as Minerva, a girl who helps Garfield save the lost pets.
* Joe Bays as Animal Catcher
* Cree Summer as Abby, Hawke's co-worker.
** Summer also voiced Penolope, who was Garfield's girlfriend in the Garfield and Friends series.
* Several Stunt Guys and Chicks as Mummy Soldiers
* Josh Brolin as Imhotep, a Mummy lord summoned by Red and Blue to conquer the earth and kill Garfield, and acts as the secondary protagonist.
Garfield creator Jim Davis appeared as an uncredited security guard during the heist scene, and Jason Lee, makes a brief cameo reprising his role as David Seville from the live action Alvin and the Chipmunks films.
=== Voice cast ===
* Kurt Russell as Garfield, Jon's overweight, cynical, lazy and laid-back orange cat.
* Angela Bassett as Red, a red alien cat.
* Justin Theroux as Blue, Red's brother and a blue alien cat.
* Gregg Berger as Squeak, a quick-witted mouse and Garfield's best friend.
** Berger also voices Odie, a Pet who lives with Garfield and Jon after his old owner, Lyman was killed in a car crash.
* Matt Damon as Nermal, Garfield's rival.
* Terry Crews as Harry, an aggressive black cat who guards the house next door to Garfield.
* Jess Harnell as Myron, a cat who lives nearby from Garfield and who hangs out with him
** Harnell also voices Orson, a pig who lives with Jon's brother.
* Megan Fox as Arlene, Garfield's love interest.
* "Weird Al" Yankovic as Lucky, a cat who lives in a house in Garfield's neighborhood and is helped with his fleas by Garfield.
* Roland Kickinger as Dad Cat
* Carmen Electra as Mom Cat