Chris Pratt to voice Garfield in new animated movie about the lovable oafish cat

Chris Pratt has made a foray into yet another popular animated franchise, this time in the form of Americans’ favourite lazy orange cat. It was announced that the Guardians of the Galaxy star will voice Garfield in the upcoming animated movie based on the popular comic strip character.

According to reports in The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming film will be directed by Mark Dindal, who had helmed the popular animated movies The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. David Reynolds, who has been nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Finding Nemo, will pen the script. Garfield creator Jim Davis will be on board as an executive producer.

ALSO READ: Bringing back the nostalgia: Series from 2000s on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix 

The film is from Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson of Alcon Entertainment and will be distributed by Sony Pictures.

The American comic strip featuring the orange tabby cat first debuted in 1978. The comic follows the lazy adventures of the titular feline as he navigates his life with his servile owner Jon Arbuckle and tolerates his dog companion, Odie. Garfield is known for his love of lasagna, hatred for Mondays and his sarcastic quips directed at Jon and Odie.

The comic, which has appeared in over 41 newspapers, became widely popular all over the world. It holds the Guinness World Record for most widely syndicated comic strip.

Garfield has spawned various media adaptations, including animated series, video games, stage shows and two films, where the character was voiced by Bill Murray.

ALSO READ: Live-action adaptations of animated Disney classics to bring your wildest imaginations to life 

Garfield is the latest franchise Pratt has had his name attached to. It was recently announced that he would also be voicing the popular character of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated film.