Chris Pratt’s Garfield movie looks like a touching lasagna love story

After a blockbuster turn as the voice of Mario, Chris Pratt, the man of at least two voices, will bring Garfield to life in next summer’s The Garfield Movie. In the first trailer for Garfield’s third major cinematic outing, we get an origin story for the grumpy orange cat and his obsession with (or deep emotional attachment to) Italian food.
Don’t let the first heart-rending minute of The Garfield Movie’s debut trailer fool you: This is an animated comedy, and hijinks are promised. According to Sony Pictures’ official synopsis, Garfield and his adopted brother Odie will embark on a “hilarious, high-stakes heist” in The Garfield Movie after a run-in with Garfield’s biological father, scruffy street cat Vic. Samuel L. Jackson is Vic, joining Pratt alongside Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, and Bowen Yang.
The movie’s first trailer signals an overreliance on lasagna gags, but The Garfield Movie sure looks nice. And for the Jim Davis heads out there, it’s loaded with Easter eggs, including at least two references to Binky the Clown. The trailer also graciously lets you know that there will be abundant product placement from Olive Garden.
The Garfield Movie is directed by Mark Dindal (Chicken Little, The Emperor’s New Groove) with a screenplay by Paul A. Kaplan and Mark Torgove (Spin City, George Lopez), and David Reynolds (Finding Nemo). The film is scheduled to hit theaters on May 24, 2024.