Chris Pratt to voice ‘Garfield’ in new animated movie
Guardians of the Galaxy actor Chris Pratt will reportedly voice the iconic comic strip feline Garfield in a new animated film.
According to a report by the The Hollywood Reporter, Pratt has been cast to voice the Monday-hating cat in an upcoming animated film of the same name from Alcon Entertainment, with creator Jim Davis serving as an executive producer.
Pratt's new animated movie featuring the grumpy, lasagna-loving cat will be written by Oscar nominee David Reynolds (Finding Nemo) and will be directed by Mark Dindal (Chicken Little).
DNEG Animation, which previously worked on the animated feature Ron’s Gone Wrong, will reportedly animate and produce the film. The rest of the cast members, plot details and release date, meanwhile, have not been revealed as of this writing.
On Monday (US time), the actor confirmed that he's set to voice Garfield in an Instagram post, where he shared a picture of the titular cat along with the caption "Well this Monday doesn't suck."
The popular comic strip chronicles the lives of an orange, fuzzy tabby cat named Garfield, his owner John Arbuckle and his fellow pet dog Odie. The comic strip, which garnenered worldwide popularity for several decades, became known for Garfield's laziness, obsession with lasagna and pizza, and disdain for Mondays and diets.
Davis' Garfield made its debut in the comic section of 41 newspapers in 1978. As of 2015, Garfield holds the Guinness World Record as the world's most syndicated comic strip, appearing in about 2,100 journals in 80 countries.
Apart from reigning the comic section, the orange feline also appeared in two live-action/CGI animated movies by 20th Century Fox: 2004's Garfield: The Movie and 2006's Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, with renowned actor Bill Murray voicing the titular character.
Additionally, three direct-to-video films based on the beloved feline were released: 2007's Garfield Gets Real, 2008's Garfield's Fun Fest, and 2009's Garfield's Pet Force. Aside from that, Garfield has also been adapted into a cartoon series including 1988's Garfield and Friends, 2009's The Garfield Show, and 2019's Garfield Originals.
Meanwhile, prior to being cast as Garfield, Nintendo announced over a month ago that Pratt is slated to voice the beloved Italian plumber Mario in an upcoming animated movie adaptation, Super Mario Bros. The new animated movie based on Nintendo's perennial favorite video game series is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 21, 2022.
Joining Pratt in the highly-anticipated movie adaptation are Charlie Day (Luigi) Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek), and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike).
The 42-year-old actor previously worked on several animated films such as Pixar's Onward and various Lego movies. The former Parks and Recreation star also appeared in a number of blockbuster movies such as Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World film series and more recently, Amazon's sci-fi tentpole The Tomorrow War.
Pratt's upcoming projects include Universal Picture's Jurassic World: Dominion, Amazon Studios' The Terminal List, and Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.