Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
Two lazy companions, one transatlantic trip, and a cat who's about to ruin everyone's nap schedule.
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties is a 2006 live-action and CGI-animated comedy film that serves as the direct sequel to the 2004 Garfield movie. Produced by Paws, Inc. and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it follows the famously lazy orange tabby and his dog Odie on a transatlantic adventure to England, where they encounter a new feline companion and a shady scheme that threatens to upend their comfortable, lasagna-fueled routine.
For long-time fans of the comic strip and the 2004 film, this sequel represents the franchise's second foray into the live-action/CGI hybrid format. It leans heavily into the buddy-comedy dynamic between Garfield and Odie, giving the dog more screen presence than he typically receives in the strip, while keeping Jon Arbuckle and Liz in their familiar supporting roles. The film is a lighthearted, family-oriented entry that prioritizes visual gags and slapstick over the more satirical edge of Jim Davis's original work.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Live-action; CGI-animated comedy film
- Release year
- 2006
- Director
- Tim Hill
- Voice of garfield
- Bing
- Voice of jon arbuckle
- Breckin Meyer
- Preceded by
- Garfield (2004)
Lore & Background
In the world of Garfield, the orange tabby's greatest enemy has always been the disruption of his daily routine: Monday mornings, diet food, and the occasional social obligation. A Tail of Two Kitties takes that core anxiety and stretches it across an ocean. When Garfield and Odie find themselves whisked away to England, the familiar domestic landscape of Jon's modest house is replaced by cobblestone streets, unfamiliar customs, and—most terrifying of all—a new cat who seems to command the attention Garfield has spent years cultivating.
The film's central tension plays on Garfield's well-known possessiveness and jealousy. His bond with Odie, while often one-sided and grudging, is the closest thing the cat has to a genuine friendship. The arrival of a rival feline in foreign soil forces Garfield to confront the possibility that he is not the sole center of Jon's (or anyone's) universe. The comedy arises from his escalating schemes, his inability to adapt to English social norms, and the way Odie's boundless enthusiasm repeatedly sabotages his plans.
Within the broader Garfield mythos, the film occupies a space between the strip's grounded, single-panel humor and the 2004 movie's broader ensemble storytelling. It is, in essence, a two-hander: a road movie for a cat and a dog who would rather be on the couch. The English setting provides a fish-out-of-water backdrop that amplifies the physical comedy, from mispronounced words to cultural misunderstandings played for broad laughs.
Reader's Guide
The 2004 Garfield film proved that a CGI cat could anchor a live-action comedy, and the industry quickly moved to capitalize. Paws, Inc. and Warner Bros. greenlit a sequel with the working title A Tail of Two Kitties, tapping Tim Hill—known for his work in animation—to direct. Bing returned to voice Garfield, maintaining the grumpy, sarcastic tone that had worked in the first film, while Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt reprised their roles as Jon and Liz.
The production shifted much of its shooting to English locations to sell the transatlantic premise, blending practical sets with the same CGI pipeline used in 2004. The result was a visually consistent sequel that felt like a natural extension of the first movie's tone. For long-time strip readers, the film's significance lies less in plot and more in tone: it is Garfield as a road-trip comedy, a format the strip rarely explores. The English setting, the cat rivalry, and the escalating slapstick all serve the central joke—a creature who would die before leaving his couch is forced to do exactly that.
It is a gentle, family-friendly entry that reminds fans why the character endures: the universal comedy of a creature who just wants to be left alone.
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