OxfordPress.com

Grade: B

Verdict: Purr-fectly fun.

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
Cox News Service

A star is born in "Garfield: The Movie" and it isn't the orange-hued fat cat famous from the funny papers. Nope, it's a dog star named Tyler, a half-dachshund, half-cairn terrier mix who's just about irresistible as Odie, Garfield's new rival for the affections of his owner, Jon (Breckin Meyer).

Though Tyler is a wow (a bow wow?), Garfield himself is no slouch. Marvelously voiced by Bill Murray, the slacker cat is an expert CGI effect that interacts almost seamlessly with live-action humans and animals. Like "Scooby-Doo," in a way, but much better.

Based on Jim Davis' enduring comic strip, which was launched in 1978, "Garfield: The Movie" has the same slapstick/sophisticate tone as its print counterpart. The simple, kid-friendly plot begins by establishing Garfield's character as a self-centered sourpuss whose life is basically fur-ball free -- mostly a matter of eating and sleeping and paying attention to Jon when he feels like it.

Then Jon falls for the pretty new vet played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. During one of his frequent -- and frequently spurious -- trips to her animal hospital, she asks him to adopt Odie. He agrees, partly to please the doc and partly because, "I've always wondered what it was like to have a pet that likes to play with you."

Odie is one of those impossibly friendly dogs who likes everyone. No matter how mean Garfield is to him, the pooch is always back, tail wagging. But one of Garfield's tricks inadvertently goes too far and Odie is dognapped by an unscrupulous animal trainer (Stephen Tobolowsky). Feeling slightly responsible, Garfield sets out to rescue him.