Over the years, we have met quite a few characters in the Garfield universe. From his girlfriend to his mother, there are a lot of side characters that we may not see very often, but that pop up once in a while.
But one character we didn't know anything about before was Garfield's father. And thanks to The Garfield Movie (2024), we have finally met his dad, Vic, and learned more about the character and his past.
**Spoilers for The Garfield Movie below**
Voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, Vic was a very interesting addition to Garfield's story. Not only do we see both Garfield and Vic's memories of how Garfield ended up with Jon, but we also saw other aspects of his life and how he has survived as a street cat. In a lot of ways, his street cat ways are a big reason why he, Garfield, and Odie end up in trouble and on such a grand adventure in The Garfield Movie.
The thing that we learn about Vic is that even with him not being present in Garfield's life, he has never forgotten him. In fact, we learn that he chose to let Garfield go with Jon and stayed away so that his son would have a better life. We also learned that every week, he would sit in the tree across the street from Garfield's house and watch as his son got to enjoy family dinners with Jon and Odie.
When Garfield goes to see whether or not Vic really did check in on him, he realizes that his dad got to see everything about his life with Jon. He saw his cozy bed, with Pookie at his side. He saw the recliner where Garfield relaxed next to Jon. And of course, he saw the kitchen, where Garfield was spoiled with all of his favorites.
Vic may not have been a part of Garfield's life after he went home with Jon, but he was always there making sure that his son was happy and cared for. And that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Maybe it is just me, but Vic was perhaps the most sympathetic character because all he wanted was for his son to have it all.
Meeting Vic in The Garfield Movie was a beautiful thing, even as we can tell that this is a character that can be a lot of trouble. Honestly, we just hope that moving forward we get to see more of Vic in the future. And if that means a sequel movie, we would not be mad at that.