"GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES" (2006) (Breckin Meyer, voice of Bill Murray) (PG)
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QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: A sardonic and lazy American cat finds his appetite and need for pampering fulfilled when he's mistaken for a pompous, missing English cat that's recently inherited a vast fortune and estate.
PLOT:
Garfield (voice of BILL MURRAY) is a fat, lazy and sardonic cat who thinks he's master of his domain, especially considering that his animal companion is the dimwitted dog Odie. Then there's the fact that his human owner, Jon Arbuckle (BRECKIN MEYER) is completely fixated on trying to figure out how and when to ask veterinarian Liz Wilson (JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT) to marry him.
Just when he's about to pop the question, Liz gets an invite to speak at an animal conference outside London. Realizing he can't miss his opportunity, Jon hops the next plane across the pond, unaware that Garfield and Odie have stowed away in his luggage.
Not far away, Prince the cat (voice of TIM CURRY) truly is king of his castle as he's just inherited his late owner's entire estate, much to the dismay of the woman's greedy nephew, Dargis (BILLY CONNOLLY), who wants to turn the place into a resort. Accordingly, and keeping his actions secret from Prince's faithful human servant Smithee (IAN ABERCROMBIE), Dargis bags Prince, drops him in the nearby river and goes about with his plans.
As Prince's animal subjects, including bulldog Winston (voice of BOB HOSKINS), try to find their leader, Smithee happens to spot Garfield in London, mistakes him for Prince, and returns him to the castle. Garfield initially thinks the worst, but when he realizes the royal treatment he's receiving -- including all the food he could want -- he changes his mind and quickly adopts to the posh lifestyle.
Similarly mistaking Garfield for Prince, Dargis then sets out to do what he can to get rid of the cat, including siccing attack dog Rommel (voice of VINNIE JONES) on him. At the same time, Jon has found Prince and mistaken him for Garfield, all while still trying to find the nerve and right time to ask Liz to marry him. From that point on, the two cats must deal with their new surroundings, eventually realizing they need to get back to their respective homes.
OUR TAKE: 2 out of 10
Although humans seek out their pets for some mother nature type companionship, many veterinarians and other animal experts believe that while such animals do get the love and attention they need from people, many critters would also like to have animal companions of their own. That's not only because it will keep them from being lonely when their owners aren't around, but also because the likes of cats and dogs generally are social animals among their own.
Such thoughts -- but not many others apparently -- must have been going through the minds of those looking for a plot idea for the sequel to "Garfield," the 2004 comedy based on the popular comic strip character. Featuring the vocal work of Bill Murray as the title character, the film was a moderate, but mostly poorly reviewed hit that inserted a less than state of the art, computer-rendered version of the feline into a live-action film.
Success, of course, may breed contempt, but in the movie world it spawns sequels and thus we now have "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties." Named after Charles Dickens' famous "tale" but burrowing the basic plot gist of Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper," the film gives us two versions of the lazy, lasagna loving cat. The one from the first film -- still voiced by Murray but seemingly with less fun on his part -- isn't thrilled that his owner is going to pop the question to his veterinarian girlfriend (returning Breckin Meyers and Jennifer Love Hewitt respectively in throwaway parts that do nothing for the film).
The other, voiced by Tim Curry, is his regal doppelganger who's just inherited his recently deceased owner's estate. The human heir -- played in slapstick style, over the top villainy by Billy Connolly -- isn't pleased with the results of the will, and thus gets rid of the feline named Prince. Or so he thinks, as Garfield is mistaken for the missing cat and returned to the castle, while Meyer's character mistakenly believes the royal puss is Garfield. And thus the shenanigans begin.
At least in theory. Working from a script by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, director Tim Hill mines the "P & P" story idea, but without any sort of success. Rather than playing up the social satire as occurred in Twain's work, we get repeated jokes about the cats' feeding habits (appropriately paralleling the comic strip, but without any sort of panache).
There are bits playing off the identical cat's name that just so happens to be the same as Mr. Purple Rain ("the cat formerly known as Prince") as well as various cultural references (including one from "The Silence of the Lambs" and an odd montage scored to the theme song from the 1970s TV sitcom "The Jeffersons") that presumably are supposed to play to any adults unfortunate enough to find themselves in the line of sight of this boring dog (sorry, couldn't resist the mixed pet metaphor).
Since the title character is obviously more "important" than the newly introduced one, most of the plot focuses on him. Part of that goes the "Babe" route with a bevy of talking barnyard and court animals -- voiced by the likes of Greg Ellis, Jane Horrocks, Rhys Ifans and Vinnie Jones among others -- questioning the sudden change in their leader. The other involves Curry's cartoon (in theme, not actual representation) character repeatedly trying to knock off some of the kitty's lives. Of course, he doesn't realize, until it's too late (natch), that Prince is really Garfield. As a result, he become more rabid in his antics and attempts as the story unfolds. Little kids might find the slapstick style material amusing, but it will try the patience of most any teen or adult.
The parts featuring Prince living the "pauper's" life are less successful due to lack of enough time or effort put forth by the filmmakers. The two felines don't actually meet until the end of the film -- so much for the companionship bit, although Garfield still has Odie, but the pooch (thankfully) doesn't speak -- but by then it doesn't really matter, as there are no surprises to be had in the way the plot unfolds.
Having previously tried to flush any memory of the first film from my head to avoid any sort of long-lasting cranial damage, I can't say for sure if this sequel is better, worse or about the same as its predecessor. Standing on its own four feet, it's not very good for a variety of reasons, not least that its protagonist is not at all likable (compare him to Shrek regarding how to make a seemingly unlikable character lovable). I suppose young kids might enjoy it as presumably occurred the first time around, but I'm hoping that since both of the main cats here are males, we might be lucky enough not to have to sit through "Garfield 3: A New Litter." This "Tail of Two Kitties" rates as a 2 out of 10.
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