Happy 15th Anniversary, Garfield Gets Real!

I celebrated the 14th anniversary of Garfield's Fun Fest on August 5, 2022, the second of three CGI animated Garfield-movies from the late 2000s. All three written by Jim Davis and directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé.

I don't know exactly when this movie was released on DVD (either August 9th or November 20th), but I wanted to release this tribute around August 9th. Unfortunaly, my computer refused to save my work, so I just gave up, took a photo and turned off the computer, so I could redo it all later. And here we are, 2 months later. Thank God, finally done. (It got delayed further for other reasons than laziness.) Wow, what a long introduction. Anyway... Here we go!

Garfield Gets Real is the most special of the DTV trilogy. Not simply because it's the first of them, but it marks Arlene's first official debut in animation. (She should've been in Garfield and Friends and in the cancelled movie Garfield's Judgment Day around 1989-90, but...) And not only that, she gets a voice actress (Audrey Wasilewski) and she declares her love for Garfield in this movie. And they officially become a couple after nearly 27 years (Arlene debuted in 1980).
 
Garfield Gets Real does Arlene justice after so many years - she was finally treated as a character. The movie also dwells into their relationship and expands on it further than ever before. Their interactions through the screen was really endearing and easily my favorite part.
Garfield has shown affectionate moments with Jon and Odie before (even Nermal), so why not Arlene too? (And why did this take so long, Jim?)

Like I said about Garfield's Fun Fest, this trilogy (and long overdue exploration of Garfield and Arlene's relationship) would spark new life in my interest in Garfield. It did also officially bring back Garfield into animation after 13 years (not counting the live-action movies).
Sadly, Lorenzo Music died six years earlier. Therefore, Frank Welker had to take over for him. (Thom Huge retired after Lorenzo's death, hence why Wally Wingert voices Jon now.) These cartoons may be in CGI, but it's animation regardless. And while almost nobody likes these movies, I still have a fondness for them and I'm very happy about their existence, especially this one!

Happy 15th Anniversary, Garfield Gets Real! Special thanks to Jim Davis and Mark A.Z. Dippé.