In 2004, comic strip character, Garfield starred in his first feature-length movie. The lazy orange cat, created by cartoonist Jim Davis, took to the big screen via a live-action comedy directed by Peter Hewitt.
In the movie, Garfield’s life is turned upside down when his owner, Jon Arbuckle, brings home a new pet dog called Odie. Garfield takes an instant dislike to Odie, but is forced to see the error of his ways when Odie gets into trouble.
Combining a mix of live-action and CGI, Garfield: The Movie made its debut during the summer blockbuster season of ’04. Although the film was not a hit with the critics, families flocked to see it and the movie turned a healthy profit.
As a result, a sequel called Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties soon followed. This in turn was accompanied by further Garfield movies, building up quite a number of Garfield films in the process.
But how many Garfield movies are there? For all the details and more, keep reading.
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The Garfield movies in order
Garfield: The Movie (2004)
As noted above, the first entry in the Garfield movie series is 2004’s Garfield: The Movie. The live-action film focused on Garfield and his relationship with Odie – a new dog who is introduced into the Arbuckle household.
In the movie, Garfield dislikes Odie and this causes Odie to run away. Odie then gets himself caught up in trouble, causing Garfield to change his attitude and mount a rescue.
Featuring Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield, alongside live-action performances from Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Stephen Tobolowsky, Garfield made over $208 million at the worldwide box-office. This guaranteed a sequel would soon follow.
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
Picking up the story two years after the events of Garfield: The Movie, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties was a direct sequel, predominantly set in London. In the movie, Garfield, Odie, and their owner, Jon Arbuckle, travel to the UK to surprise Jon’s girlfriend Liz.
While overseas, Jon has plans to propose to Liz while she is away on a business trip. Meanwhile, Garfield crosses paths with an identical cat named Prince, who rules over a castle which is under threat from an evil aristocrat.
Garfield Gets Real (2007)
Although Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties made money at the worldwide box-office, the film was not viewed as a huge success. It cost more money to make than its predecessor, and it took less in returns.
As a result of the lukewarm response to Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, for the next film in the series, 20th Century Fox opted to go in a new direction. Rather than create another direct sequel, the studio rebooted the franchise, via a lower-budget direct-to-video, computer-animated film aimed at younger audiences.
In the film, Garfield and his friends live in a world inhabited by comic book and cartoon characters. During the course of the movie, Garfield travels from his cartoon world into the real world.
Garfield’s Fun Fest (2008)
Despite Garfield Gets Real being both a critical and commercial failure, 20th Century Fox released a sequel a year later. The film – Garfield’s Fun Fest – revolved around an annual contest known as the Fun Fest, as well as Garfield’s attempts to improve his humour.
Garfield’s Pet Force (2009)
Following on from the release of Garfield’s Fun Fest, 20th Century released a third and final entry in its lower-budget computer-animated trilogy. The movie – released in 2009 – was called Garfield’s Pet Force – a superhero comedy, in which Garfield and his friends are recruited into a super-team known as Pet Force, in order to stop the villainous Vetvix.
The Garfield Movie (2024)
After the conclusion of 20th Century Fox’s Garfield computer-animated trilogy, the Garfield movie franchise went on hiatus, while the rights to the character changed hands. In the mean time, a new production got off the ground in the shape of 2024’s The Garfield Movie.
Designed as another reboot of the movie series, The Garfield Movie was conceived as an animated comedy featuring the voice talents of Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, and Nicholas Hoult. The story revolves around Garfield’s father Vic, and a high-stakes heist.
The order of the Garfield movies
To date there are six Garfield movies. The movies were released in the following order:
- Garfield: The Movie (2004)
- Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
- Garfield Gets Real (2007)
- Garfield’s Fun Fest (2008)
- Garfield’s Pet Force (2009)
- The Garfield Movie (2024)
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Are all of the Garfield movies part of the same series?
The Garfield movies are not all part of the same series. The films are divided as follows:
The live-action movies
- Garfield: The Movie (2004)
- Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
The computer-animated trilogy
- Garfield Gets Real (2007)
- Garfield’s Fun Fest (2008)
- Garfield’s Pet Force (2009)
The animated movie
- The Garfield Movie (2024)
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Who are the cast of the Garfield movies and are the movies the work of the same director?
Notable names in the Garfield movie series include Bill Murray, Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Alan Cumming, Nick Cannon, Debra Messing, Richard Kind, Brad Garrett, Billy Connolly, Ian Abercrombie, Lucy Davis, Tim Curry, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Vinnie Jones, Joe Pasquale, Richard E. Grant, Sharon Osbourne, Jane Leeves, Jane Horrocks, Roscoe Lee Browne, Frank Welker, Wally Wingert, Jason Marsden, Chris Pratt, Harvey Guillén, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, and Nicholas Hoult.
In terms of the directors, the Garfield movies are the work of the following directors:
- Peter Hewitt directed Garfield: The Movie
- Tim Hill directed Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
- Mark A.Z. Dippé directed Garfield Gets Real and Garfield’s Fun Fest
- Mark A.Z. Dippé and Kyung Ho Lee directed Garfield’s Pet Force
- Mark Dindal directed The Garfield Movie
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What is the best Garfield movie?
According to IMDb, the Garfield movies are rated as follows:
- Garfield: The Movie (2004) – 5.0/10
- Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) – 5.0/10
- Garfield Gets Real (2007) – 4.3/10
- Garfield’s Fun Fest (2008) – 4.2/10
- Garfield’s Pet Force (2009) – 4.1/10
- The Garfield Movie (2024) – Not yet rated
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Garfield movie series. For more movie posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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