Animated movies are a labor of love. And considering The Garfield Movie (2024) took four years to make, we know that this was definitely a love letter to the character and his creator. But even in an animated movie, there can be characters that steal the show.
While we love Garfield and Odie, it is impossible to deny that Hannah Waddingham‘s Jinx was a scene stealer. As the villain of the movie, Jinx had a fascinating backstory that made her a more sympathetic character. But at the end of the day, she was a villain. And she did not want to be redeemed.
**Spoilers for The Garfield Movie below**
Jinx may have had plenty of reasons for why she became a villain, but even her henchman changed their tune by the end. They understood that Garfield and his father, Vic, did not deserve what Jinx was doing.
So what lead to Jinx becoming the main villain of The Garfield Movie? Well, it turns out that Garfield‘s father betrayed her. Or at the very least, she felt betrayed by him. It seems that they were part of a crew that had broken into a dairy factory to steal milk. Unfortunately, they triggered an alarm on their way out, and it was Jinx that was captured by the pound. No one came to save her, and she ended up breaking out with her two sidekicks. She decided that she wanted revenge on Vic for what she saw as his betrayal.
With just her voice, Hannah Waddingham brought depth to Jinx. Not only did we believe her struggle, but we can also sympathize with her feelings of betrayal. That doesn’t mean that we agree with her kidnapping Garfield and Odie in order to trap Vic. However, we do understand that she wanted revenge. She felt scorned and left behind, and that can change the person you are fundamentally.
Waddingham brought nuance to this character. And she also made us love the villain. Obviously, we want the hero to win. And we want the villain to fail. But in this case, we would not be mad to see Jinx come back in the future. It would be nice to see a sequel to this movie where we get to see Jinx make another stand, even if this time it is just against Garfield and Odie for putting a stop to her villainous behavior.
Going into The Garfield Movie, we didn’t know what to expect. But as fans of Garfield, we couldn’t wait for the adventure. But I have to say that Hannah Waddingham was a breath of fresh air in this film. It was so clear that she had a lot of fun creating this character and bringing her to life with her voice. And we would love to see it happen again.