In Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, Garfield is alarmed when his owner Jon Arbuckle makes an uncharacteristic move to drop everything and follow Liz Wilson to England. Jon wants to surprize Liz, who is in London to take Jane Goodall's place at a conference, with a marriage proposal.

Garfield (voiced by Bill Murray) believes his owner, played by Breckin Meyer, is in crisis and has hit rock bottom. The feline decides he must travel overseas to keep tabs on Jon. But Jon has other ideas and has made arrangements for Garfield to spend time in a kennel while he's gone. Although  apprehensive about leaving Garfield, who has never been in a kennel, Jon is assured the animal will receive quality care. Garfield bellows that the kennel will never take him alive, but he soon finds himself caged and left wishing he could see his attorney. However, after escaping from a poorly reinforced cage, Garfield stows away in one of Jon's travel bags.

On the other side of the pond, the will of Lady Carlyle is about to be read, and her nephew Lord Dargis (Billy Connolly) expects he will inherit everything. As the next in line, Lord Dargis's future should be bright and secured. Unfortunately for Dargis, Lady Carlyle's cat Prince (voiced by Tim Curry) is named the woman's heir. Prince not only becomes a royal but has inherited a huge estate consisting of a castle, gardens, a barn, his own private kitchen, servants, a silver litter-box, massages, a large room with a bed and devoted butler Smithee (Ian Abercrombie) at his beck and call.

Naturally, Lord Dargis feels deprived of what should be his and aims to make the situation better for himself. He plans to do away with Prince and dump the royal feline into the frigid river. The castle will be his, and he intends to turn it into a multi-million dollar resort complete with condominiums, a meditation centre, and loads of amenities for the rich and elite.

Back home in America, Garfield was the self-proclaimed king of the cul-de-sac. Despite a pampered existence, all the lasagna he could eat and the ability to lie around watching television all day, he never tasted the ultimate good life until now. How did this happen? A window was inadvertently left open in Jon's hotel room, and Garfield took to the streets where butler Smithee scooped him up into his car, thinking he was Prince. 

Although Garfield and Prince resemble each other they have vastly different personalities. Prince is regarded in high esteem by the castle’s animals who live in the barn. They are elated at his return because that means they are safe from Lord Dargis. But Prince seems indifferent, rude and arrogant. The animals soon realize this Prince is an imposter who only looks like their friend. While Garfield is irritating, they decide they have no choice but to treat him as if he were Prince in order to protect themselves and Garfield  from Dargis.

Meanwhile, Prince crawls out of a sewer, and although his fur is black with sludge, Jon still recognizes him and takes the animal back to the hotel. Living Garfield's life, Prince is bored beyond belief while watching television and being lazy. Jon, finding it odd that the cat will not eat his favorite meal of lasagna, believes Garfield does not seem like his old self. 

Will Prince and Garfield find a way back to their real owners? Can Dargis be foiled and his plans exposed? Will Jon propose to Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and marry her?

Where performances are concerned here, Connolly and Murray are the standouts. I also enjoyed the film's light-hearted script, which steals pages from Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper and is executed well by director Tim Hill. Happily, screenwriters Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow have moved past their dreadful and mean-spirited screenplay for Garfield: The Movie (2004). With this sequel, they've delivered a story that Garfield's diehard fans and young children can sink their teeth into. However, adults -- who are not the intended audience -- may groan a bit while watching it.

(Released by 20th Century Fox and rated "PG" for some off-color elements.) 

Review also posted on www.movie-critiques.com.