Garfield's Fun Fest
By Tracy Moore,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Lame, convoluted movie has rude behavior and mature themes.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Based on 4 parent reviews
Scary
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Antisemitic!
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What's the Story?
Garfield is participating in the annual Fun Fest, the annual comic competition that he wins without a miss every single year. However, this year Ramon is a dark horse candidate for winner, and, worse, he's stolen Arlene's affections. Can Garfield ensure funniness? Does he even really understand what funny is?
Is It Any Good?
Ironically, for a movie that's all about a quest to find the real meaning of funny, this isn't a very funny movie. The plot is convoluted, and the notions behind it -- various theories on how to construct a joke or what makes one funny -- likely would go right over the heads of kids who just want to see a fun CGI cat movie. More problematic are the copious fat jokes, which are surely nothing most parents would want to normalize for kids at home, much less to give them an opportunity to repeat elsewhere.
That said, older kids who understand "Garfield humor" (or oxymorons) may laugh through this and enjoy some of the slapstick and silliness of another commercial notch on the Garfield merch post. Parents who loved the Garfield comics growing up may feel nostalgic or very possibly wonder why they ever thought it was funny in the first place.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes something funny. What kind of jokes are your favorite, and why?
Many of the jokes in Garfield's Fun Fest are at the expense of others. Do you think jokes have to hurt someone else's feelings? Why, or why not? What kinds of jokes can be funny for everyone?
Garfield is a big fan of shortcuts. Have you ever tried taking shortcuts in your life to get something done more quickly? What happened? How did things turn out?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: August 5, 2008
- Cast: Tim Conway , Gregg Berger , Wally Wingert , Frank Welker
- Directors: Mark A.Z. Dippe , Eondeok Han
- Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
- Genre: Family and Kids
- Topics: Book Characters , Cats, Dogs, and Mice , Friendship
- Run time: 79 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: December 22, 2022
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