Chris Pratt's The Garfield Movie Trailer Released

Sony Pictures Animation has released the first trailer for The Garfield Movie, the upcoming, animated adaptation of Jim Davis's long-running comic strip. The new trailer gives the best sense yet for the story of the movie, which apparently centers on Garfield's father coming back after years away, only for the fat orange cat to learn that his father has become mixed up with some very dangerous people...err, cats.

Garfield, the iconic comic strip by Jim Davis, first debuted in 1978. There were previously two Garfield feature films starring Bill Murray, which were released in 2004 and 2006, as well as innumerable TV and direct-to-video movies over the years. The character is one of the most merchandised in history, and also one of the most memed on the internet, with Garfield horror becoming its own shockingly common (and often shockingly bleak) subgenre online.

The character has also been appearing in a number of video games recently, including in the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl franchise. The Garfield brand is now owned by Nickelodeon, so expect plenty more non-movie appearances if the movie turns out to be a big hit. Like how Sony plans to capitalize on Spider-Man after Marvel breathed fresh air into his movies, it's hard to imagine Nick not wanting to do something with their own IP if Sony successfully brings it to the big screen.

You can see it below.

Here's the film's official synopsis:

Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure! After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist.

Besides Pratt, The Garfield Movie features a star-studded voice cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, and Bowen Yang. 

The Garfield Movie is directed by Mark Dindal (The Emperor's New Groove), from a screenplay by Paul A. Kaplan & Mark Torgove (Raising Hope) and David Reynolds (Finding Nemo). Producers on the film include John Cohen, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Steven P. Wegner, Craig Sost, Namit Malhotra, and Crosby Clyse.

The Garfield Movie is executive produced by Jim Davis, Bridget McMeel, David Reynolds, Scott Parish, Carl Rogers, Simon Hedges, Chris Pflug, Louis Koo, Steve Sarowitz, Justin Baldwin, and Peter Luo.

The Garfield Movie is coming to theaters on Memorial Day weekend.