Fancy that: Cats land starring roles

Suddenly, this summer, cat fanciers are feline groovy at the movies. Dogs for the moment are taking a back seat to the preferred movie pet. And it’s a long time coming.

Frequently typecast as bad, cats have long been clawing their way back to the movie stardom they enjoyed in the 1950s and ‘60s in “Rhubarb,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “That Darn Cat!”

There’s Puss in Boots, the swashbuckling CGI-animation orange tabby of “Shrek 2,” who is not above indulging in a little catnip or coughing up hairballs. In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” Hermione’s fluffy, mischievous Crookshanks has a central role.

And pouncing into theaters Friday is the live action/animated family comedy “Garfield: The Movie.” Jim Davis’ comic strip fat cat has starred in many popular TV specials, but “Garfield” marks the lasagna-loving orange tabby’s feature film debut. Although he was traditionally animated for television, for the big screen Garfield has gone high-tech CGI.

Bill Murray seems a perfect choice to voice the self-centered feline who believes the world revolves around “me-ow.”

Murray replaces the late Lorenzo Music, who originated the voice for TV.

In this adventure, Garfield finds his cushy life with owner Jon Arbuckle (Breckin Meyer) disrupted with the arrival of Odie, a lovable little dog. Jennifer Love Hewitt is Garfield’s vet, and Debra Messing supplies the voice of Arlene, Garfield’s gal pal.

And bigger cats are on the horizon: Jean-Jacques Annaud’s tiger tale, “Two Brothers,” opens June 25.

-- Susan King