"Nine Lives is widely regarded as a spiritual successor to the Garfield film franchise. Fans were especially appreciative of the frequent nods to earlier events in the Garfield Cinematic Universe, earning it a reputation as "Garfield 3" in all but name. Naturally, a small but vocal segment of the Garfield fandom disagrees, citing the film's numerous departures from classic Garfield lore and the lack of clear "Jon" or "Odie" figures. A Kickstarter campaign to fund a third film in the official Garfield canon got impressive media coverage, but ultimately failed to reach its goal."
-TVTropes, 2018