Parents' Guide to

Garfield's Pet Force

By Joly Herman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Iffy messages and guns make this a good one to skip.

Movie G 2009 78 minutes
Garfield's Pet Force Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 5+

Based on 6 parent reviews

Lebron12James3
Lebron12James3 Parent
November 30, 2021
age 2+

A truly stunning film

Truly an incredible film. The cinematography is breathtaking. This movie inspired me to be a better person. The action is incredible as well.
Melissa M.
Melissa M. Parent of 6 and 10-year-old
October 10, 2021
age 7+

So dumb...

I've never felt compelled to leave a review, let alone while my children are still watching the movie, but here we are. Within the first 15 minutes of this movie, a random evil woman shows up and a lonely emperor (Jon, but on a different planet) begs her to marry him. She agrees and they get married on the spot. She immediately reveals that she is using him to gain world domination. Enter the Pet Force, led by an alternate- universe Garfield superhero, who decides for some reason he needs help from actual Garfield and his friends. The whole thing seems like it was written by a 5th grader. Too much flirting and mean language (shut up, idiot, etc) for a G movie, plus a dumb plot overall.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Far off in another galaxy, a clever professor creates a device that can switch the DNA of two creatures so that they become zombies. His gun is hijacked by an evil alien named Vetvix (voiced by Vanessa Marshall), who steals the gun and forces the Professor and the Emperor to do her bidding. The Pet Force, led by Garzooka (Frank Welker), tries to stop him, but they are thwarted by Vetvix. Garzooka then scans the universe for DNA replicas of the Pet Force, which leads him to Garfield (Frank Welker) and his gang. Mass chaos ensues as Garfield tries to save the universe from an alien invasion.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (16):

As much as we might want it to be the good old wisecracking Garfield from the funny pages, this movie falls short of any expectations. Sure, kids who like action might be entertained by the space chase and the superhero comic book qualities of the story. But this movie pushes some boundaries that fans might not expect; whoever thought roly-poly Garfield would be wielding a gun? The two funny lines in the whole movie come from Garfield, and they relate to his food obsession. The rest is pretty much pulp.

Kids who love Garfield are better off checking out the TV series or even the live-action movie.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence here. Why does Vetvix want to destroy everything? Does she give a reason? How does hearing those words make you feel? Check out these tips about how violence in the media affects kids.

  • How are the females in the movie portrayed? How do the male characters behave toward them? Are they treated as equals?

  • Garfield's obsession with food is a joke, obviously. And it does allow for some of the humor in the movie to come through. But who allows him to overindulge? Could Jon set boundaries? Is being fat funny?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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