GARFIELD Films Rebooting as a Fully CG Animated Franchise

Keep an eye on your lasagna, because that Italian food-loving fat cat Garfield is getting a brand new series of movies. Alcon Entertainment (the same production company behind the upcoming Blade Runner 2) has acquired exclusive rights to produce animated movies based on the iconic comic strip. For those who care enough about this to hope that the movies stay true to the character, you'll be pleased to know that Garfield creator Jim Davis is on board as an executive producer.

The company's goal is "to build a franchise of fully CG-animated Garfield feature films," so prepare yourselves for seeing Garfield TV spots sporadically every few years for the next decade. This new rash of movies will be different than the Bill Murray-voiced live-action/animation hybrids, and I assume they're going to start from scratch with the story and not try to continue it in CG form.

“I’ve been so impressed with the quality of animation and storytelling coming out of Hollywood of late,” said Jim Davis. “I can’t wait to get into production with the terrific team Alcon has assembled.”

Garfield originally appeared in 41 newspapers, but its success and immediate popularity made it one of the fastest growing comic strips of all time, ultimately appearing in 2,580 newspapers and journals, with an estimated readership of 260 million. Garfield currently holds the record for being the most widely syndicated comic strip in the world.

I can't imagine anyone being too worked up over this, especially since the other two hybrid movies already paved the way for people to get used to the idea of the character on the big screen. Is Garfield still a character that resonates with audiences today? Are you (or your kids) excited about seeing a CG Garfield movie?