Chris Pratt Divulges Harder Character to Pull Off (Garfield vs. Mario), Why Cat Hates Mondays

It’s not even close, Chris Pratt reveals that it was harder to make Mario’s “Italian accent subtle,” as opposed to pulling off Garfield’s “dry, lazy demeanor.” The question came up while the star of The Garfield Movie was busy doing a press tour to promote the upcoming animated adventure. In 2023, Pratt portrayed Luigi’s (Charlie Day) brother in one of last year’s most successful films, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. During his sit-down, Pratt was asked: “Now, what’s harder to pull off? Is it Garfield’s dry, lazy demeanor? Or is it making Mario’s Italian accent subtle?” Pratt answered the question in his interview with ComicBook.com:

“Hah, probably the latter [laughter] because Garfield, I don’t do all that much.
I’m mostly doing my own, something similar, very similar to my own voice.
With Garfield or with Mario, we tried a lot of different things
before landing on what was ultimately like this, like, sort of subtle, acceptable commercial Italian accent that, you know, was reminiscent of the video games —
but also its own thing and that could sustain a 90-minute story without being annoying.”

Pratt continued:

“So, I think that was probably a little bit more of a challenge.
This one, Mark Dindal
the director on Garfield said, ‘I just want your voice.
I just want you to do your thing. You…
I’ve been hearing your voice come out of this cat for the last two years in my mind and that’s what I want.'”

Garfield Hates Mondays… But Why?

Now that the social media embargo has been lifted, the first reactions are praising Chris Pratt’s performance as the lasagna-loving cat, even though The Garfield Movie is registering only 67% on the Tomatometer, at the time of this writing. So, for Pratt, it was arguably an excellent day. Nonetheless, the Garfield actor has a good idea why the orange tabby Persian cat loathes Mondays so much — when it comes to his new movie anyway. Pratt said in an interview with Looper:

Pratt elaborates on his own theory about Garfield’s appeal and his character’s aversion to Mondays in the same sit-down:

“I enjoy my time with my kids at home and being home and being away from work.
I have the great benefit of loving my job.
And I think that what made people love Garfield so much was when it came out in the late ’70s,
the American dream was working 40 hours a week. And
he was the first one to come out and say, ‘This sucks. I don’t want to be at work on Monday. I want to be lazy.’

And he spat in the face of this nose-to-the-grindstone,
American hard-working attitude.
And I think that’s why it resonated with people.
So, I happen to like Mondays because I love my job, but
I understand that people don’t like Mondays because most jobs suck.”

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Garfield can hate Mondays all he wants, but the fat cat might come to appreciate them a little bit more if his new big-screen adventure pays off over the long holiday weekend, which ends with Memorial Day on Monday, May 27. The Garfield Movie is predicted to make around $35 million during its debut domestically as the animated film goes head-to-head with director George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.