Garfield 2: A Tail of Two Kitties

Two London-based kid flicks in the same week? Must be something going down. I remember catching the first ‘Garfield’ movie in 2004 and can vaguely recall how unfunny it was. Well, here’s more of the same. Utilising the Prince and the Pauper theme, Garfield (Bill Murray, again) finds himself in a mix-up with an identical cat called Prince (Tim Curry). Prince is heir to a magnificent country pile, something which Billy Connolly’s raving Lord Dargis, the next in line, is keen to address – by lobbing Prince into the Thames. Garfield, meanwhile, is in London with his canine sidekick Odie, owner Jon (Breckin Meyer) and Jon’s wannabe-fiancée (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Somehow the made-on-the-fly plot contrives to have Garfield in the Palace and a bedraggled Prince walking the London streets before they link up with the estate’s barnyard animals to teach scheming Lord Dargis a damn good lesson.

I recall the kids in the audience laughing maybe once or thrice, invariably at something flatulent. They certainly weren’t laughing at anything in the stagnant script. As for the voiceovers – Bob Hoskins as a bulldog? Purrleease. Despite the negatives, one must tip a hat to the production team for managing to get the computer-generated cats to merge so seamlessly with the live action; both felines mosey about in realistic fashion and are superbly rendered, right down to their acutely detailed ginger coats. But that, I’m afraid, is all.