Portraying the iconic lazy, orange cat in The Garfield Movie evoked memories for Chris Pratt of his own past when he was in his late twenties and early thirties. In an interview with Reuters, he confessed, "I used to eat so much and was extremely lazy. I never exercised and indulged in a lot of food, and it was amazing." The actor, known for his role in Guardians of the Galaxy, added, "While I no longer have those habits, I still have the sense of being constantly pampered. So, depending on the stage of life we're discussing, there are similarities between myself and the character, although I haven't experienced all of them simultaneously." Pratt amusingly mentioned that his connection to the character grew stronger before the interview, saying, "I've become Garfield. Look around me, everything is orange. I was pampered and petted all morning, and now I'm going to devour a massive bowl of lasagna."
The renowned 1976 comic strip created by cartoonist Jim Davis is transitioning from print to animation, with its release in US cinemas scheduled for Friday, distributed by Sony Pictures. The movie tells the tale of Garfield, a lazy and gluttonous orange cat, who is snatched away from his luxurious lifestyle and forced to carry out a heist to help his alley cat father, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson.
Pratt is no stranger to lending his voice to animated characters, having previously portrayed the Italian plumber Mario in the successful film The Super Mario Bros. Movie and voiced the elf Barley Lightfoot in Pixar's Onward. For the 44-year-old actor, assuming the role was effortless due to the prior vision of Mark Dindal, a prominent animation pioneer renowned for directing hits like The Emperor's New Groove, who had already imagined Pratt's voice as the perfect fit for Garfield. Pratt revealed, "Mark Dindal, the director, approached me and said, 'I've been working on this for a couple of years, and all I hear is your voice coming out of Garfield's mouth. To me, this is Chris Pratt as a cat.'"
Obtaining the approval of Jim Davis, whose comic strip is published in over 2,000 newspapers and journals worldwide, was significant for Pratt. He expressed, "He is the creator of the character, and I recently learned that he gave a sweet quote and rated my performance as the voice of Garfield a perfect 10 out of 10. I hadn't realized how much pressure I had been feeling to get his approval, so his endorsement means a great deal to me."
