Garfield (character)

Last updated

Garfield
Garfield the Cat.svg
Publication information
Publisher Paws, Inc.
(Paramount Global)
First appearance January 8, 1976 in Jon
Created by Jim Davis
Voiced by Scott Beach (1980)
Lorenzo Music (1982–2001)
Tom Smothers (1991)
Bill Murray (2004–2006)
Jeff Bergman (2004)
Jon Barnard (2004–2016, 2021)
Frank Welker (2007–present)
Chris Pratt (2024)
In-story information
Species Cat
Partnerships Arlene (girlfriend)
Supporting character of Jon Arbuckle (owner)
Sonja (mother)
Vic (father)
Raoul (half-brother)
Odie (family pet dog)

Garfield is a fictional cat and the protagonist of the comic strip of the same name, created by Jim Davis. Garfield is portrayed as a lazy, fat, cynical and self-absorbed orange tabby Persian cat. He is noted for his love of lasagna and pizza, coffee, and sleeping, and his hatred of Mondays, Nermal, the vet, and exercise.

Contents

Character

Fictional biography

Garfield in his first appearance in 1976, on the strip Jon And this is my cat Garfield, first panel from Jon (1976-01-08).png
Garfield in his first appearance in 1976, on the strip Jon
Garfield in 1980, as portrayed on the back cover of Garfield at Large Garfield the Cat.jpg
Garfield in 1980, as portrayed on the back cover of Garfield at Large

Garfield is an orange cat belonging to Jon Arbuckle. [1] He was born on June 19, 1978 (the day the first Garfield strip was published), in the kitchen of Mamma Leoni's Italian Restaurant. [2] [3] [4] Jim Davis named Garfield after his grandfather, James Garfield Davis. [5] As a kitten, he develops a taste for lasagna, which would become his favorite food. [6] Because of his large appetite, the owner of Mamma Leoni's has to choose between giving away Garfield or closing down his restaurant; so Garfield is sold to a pet shop. Garfield is adopted from the store by Jon Arbuckle on August 19, 1978.

Garfield frequently gets into many adventures, such as getting stuck in roll-up shades, sparring with mice, and getting locked up in animal shelters.

It is also given that Garfield uses the "sandbox" on occasion, such as in one 1978 strip; he says he hates commercials because they are "too long to sit through and too short for a trip to the sandbox". [7] It was revealed on October 27, 1979, that he does not like raisins. [8]

On Garfield's 25th anniversary in 2003, several strips were featured in which he interacted with his 1978 version. In 2005, Garfield and Jon appeared in several comic strips of Blondie in honor of their 75th anniversary. [9] There was an earlier Blondie crossover on the Garfield strip published April 1, 1997, and vice versa, as part of the comic strip switcheroo. [10]

Character traits

Among Garfield's character traits are laziness, cynicism, and sarcasm. He hates Mondays, the cat Nermal, and he loves lasagna. [1] He also has a tendency to be annoyed by Jon's dog Odie. [11]

Garfield's physical appearance has evolved over time. Originally, Garfield had an obese physique with small facial features that required him to stand on all four legs, which caused difficulties when the character was adapted to television and made it more difficult to animate Garfield dancing; Davis credited Charles M. Schulz with redesigning Garfield so that he could stand on his hind legs. [12] Further transformations came in response to shrinkage on newspaper comics pages, as Davis increased the size of Garfield's features (especially his eyes) so that the strip could be printed at smaller sizes without gags becoming too small to see. [12]

Gender

In February 2017, a dispute arose on the talk page of the character's Wikipedia page as to the character's gender. Although other characters have persistently referred to Garfield with male pronouns, owing to comments that the character's creator, Jim Davis, made in 2014 to Mental Floss , in which he said, "Garfield is very universal. By virtue of being a cat, really, he's not really male or female or any particular race or nationality, young or old. It gives me a lot more latitude for the humor for the situations." Davis explained that although Garfield is neither male nor female, he does use male pronouns. [11] However, Davis later clarified that Garfield is, in fact, male. [13]

Voice-over timeline

Voiced by in unofficial material:

Other media

Garfield's computer animated design from the two live-action films, as seen in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties Garfield 2.jpg
Garfield's computer animated design from the two live-action films, as seen in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties

Related Research Articles

<i>Garfield</i> Comic strip created by Jim Davis

Garfield is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as Jon in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, Odie the dog, and their owner Jon Arbuckle. As of 2013, it was syndicated in roughly 2,580 newspapers and journals; the comic held the Guinness World Record for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Davis (cartoonist)</span> American cartoonist and creator of Garfield (born 1945)

James Robert Davis is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known as the creator of the comic strips Garfield and U.S. Acres. Published since 1978, Garfield is one of the world's most widely syndicated comic strips. Davis's other comics work includes Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, and Mr. Potato Head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Music</span> American actor, producer, and writer (1937–2001)

Gerald David "Lorenzo" Music was an American actor, composer, musician, performer, writer and producer. Music began his career in the 1960s with his wife, Henrietta, forming the comedy duo Gerald and His Hen. He then became a writer and a regular performer on the controversial CBS variety show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. In the 1970s, Music co-created the sitcom The Bob Newhart Show with David Davis and composed its theme music with his wife. He also wrote episodes for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, and got a major voiceover role for playing the unseen, but often heard, Carlton the Doorman in Rhoda. Music gained fame in the 1980s for voicing Jim Davis' comic strip character Garfield in twelve animated specials, and later an animated series, video games, and commercials. His distinctive voice of Garfield was also emulated by other actors following his death in 2001.

<i>Garfield: The Movie</i> 2004 film by Peter Hewitt

Garfield: The Movie is a 2004 American comedy film based on Jim Davis' comic strip Garfield. Directed by Peter Hewitt and written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, it stars Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Dr. Liz Wilson and features Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield, who was created with computer-generated imagery.

<i>Garfield and Friends</i> American animated television series

Garfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994.

<i>U.S. Acres</i> Comic strip

U.S. Acres is an American comic strip that ran in newspapers from 1986 to 1989, created by Jim Davis, author of the comic strip Garfield.

<i>Gnorm Gnat</i> American comic strip

Gnorm Gnat is an American gag-a-day comic strip by Jim Davis based on fictional insects, with the primary focus on a gnat named Gnorm. The strip appeared weekly in The Pendleton Times in Pendleton, Indiana, the only newspaper to publish the strip, from 1973 to 1975, but failure to take the character to mainstream success led Davis to instead create the comic strip Garfield. Mike Peters, creator of Mother Goose and Grimm, has said that Gnorm Gnat is now a part of "cartoon folklore" as a failure that paved the way for major success.

Here Comes Garfield is a 1982 animated television special based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. It was the first half-hour Garfield TV special. It is directed by Phil Roman and features Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield the house cat, as well as the voices of Sandy Kenyon, Henry Corden and Gregg Berger.

A Garfield Christmas Special is a 1987 American animated television special based on the Garfield comic strip, created by Jim Davis. It is directed by Phil Roman and stars Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield the house cat, as well as Thom Huge, Gregg Berger, Julie Payne, Pat Harrington Jr., David L. Lander and Pat Carroll. The special is about Garfield spending Christmas with the Arbuckle family on their farm, and discovering the true meaning of Christmas.

<i>Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties</i> 2006 film directed by Tim Hill

Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties is a 2006 adventure comedy film directed by Tim Hill and written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. It is the sequel to Garfield: The Movie (2004), and stars Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bill Murray reprising their respective roles as Jon Arbuckle, Dr. Liz Wilson, and the voice of Garfield. New cast members include Billy Connolly, Ian Abercrombie, Roger Rees, Lucy Davis and Oliver Muirhead in live-action roles and Tim Curry, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Vinnie Jones, Joe Pasquale, Richard E. Grant, and Jane Leeves as the voices of the film's new animal characters. In the film, Garfield, Odie, Liz and Jon travel to the United Kingdom, where Prince, another cat that looks exactly like Garfield, is ruling over a castle after the death of his owner. His reign is soon jeopardized by an evil aristocrat, who plans to remodel the castle into condominiums, destroy the estate, and get rid of Prince. The story is loosely inspired by Mark Twain's novel The Prince and the Pauper, while its title is a parody of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paws, Inc.</span> American comic book studio and production company

Paws, Inc., doing business as Paws, Incorporated, is an American comic studio and production company founded by American cartoonist Jim Davis in 1981 to support the Garfield comic strips and its licensing. The company is located inside Paramount Global's headquarters building in New York City. It was originally located in Muncie, Indiana, relocated in 1989 from Davis' own farm when he was a boy.

<i>Garfields Nightmare</i> 2007 video game

Garfield's Nightmare is a platform game released for the Nintendo DS, based on the popular cartoon strip Garfield. The game follows Garfield traveling through 16 levels trying to escape a nightmare.

<i>Garfield: Winters Tail</i> 1989 video game

Garfield: Winter's Tail is a game based on the Jim Davis comic strip, Garfield. It was released in 1989 for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. It is the fourth video game to be based on Jim Davis' Garfield Comics.

Garfield merchadise is the merchandise based on the "Garfield" comic strip by Jim Davis. Garfield is one of the world's most prominent and widely syndicated comic strips, and was specifically designed to be marketable. Before the sale of Paws, Inc. in August 2019, all the profits from merchandise went to Paws, Inc., of which Jim Davis is the CEO and founder. The following is a compiled list of selected merchandise based on the franchise.

Garfield Minus Garfield is a webcomic by Dan Walsh. Each strip of Garfield Minus Garfield is an edit of a comic strip from the comic Garfield, removing all instances of Garfield. Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield, approved of the project, and an official Garfield book was published by his company. It was mainly edited comics by Walsh, with some comics contributed by Davis.

<i>The Garfield Show</i> Animated television series

The Garfield Show is an animated television series produced by Dargaud Media and Paws, Inc. It is based on the American Garfield comic strip created by Jim Davis. The animated series focuses on a new series of adventures for the characters of Garfield, Odie, and their owner Jon Arbuckle, alongside staple characters from the strip and a number of unique additions for the program. Both Davis and producer Mark Evanier, who previously wrote episodes for the 1988 original cartoon animated series Garfield and Friends, co-wrote stories for the program, with the cast including Frank Welker, Wally Wingert, Julie Payne, Jason Marsden and Gregg Berger. Welker and Berger had previously voiced various characters in Garfield and Friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Arbuckle</span> Character from the Garfield comic strip

Jonathan Q. "Jon" Arbuckle is a fictional character from the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis. He also appears in the animated television series Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show, two live-action/animated feature films, and four fully animated films.

<i>Lasagna Cat</i> Parody web series

Lasagna Cat is a web series created by production company Fatal Farm as a parody of the Garfield comic strips created by American cartoonist Jim Davis. The series was uploaded in bulk to YouTube in 2008 and 2017, and consists mainly of humorous live-action recreations of classic Garfield comics.

<i>The Garfield Movie</i> 2024 film by Mark Dindal

The Garfield Movie is a 2024 American animated comedy film based on the comic strip Garfield created by Jim Davis. Directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay by Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, and David Reynolds, the film stars Chris Pratt as the voice of the titular character, alongside the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Snoop Dogg. In the film, Garfield is reunited with his long-lost father, a street cat named Vic, before being forced into joining him on a high-stakes adventure. It is the sixth Garfield film adaptation and the first since Garfield's Pet Force, which was released fifteen years prior.

References

  1. 1 2 Oguri, Austin (August 11, 2022). "The Simplistic Charm of Garfield: An In-Depth Analysis of this Cool Cat's Success Story". Hollywood Insider. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  2. ↑ Davis, Jim (19 June 2006). "Garfield by Jim Davis for June 19, 2006". GoComics. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Davis, Jim (19 June 2005). "Garfield by Jim Davis for June 19, 2005". GoComics. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ↑ Davis, Jim (19 June 1978). "Garfield by Jim Davis for June 19, 1978". GoComics. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Jim Davis: The Man Behind the Cat". garfield.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Davis, Jim (1984). Garfield: His 9 Lives . Ballantine Books. ISBN   978-0345320612.
  7. ↑ Davis, Jim (4 August 1987). "Garfield by Jim Davis for August 04, 1978". GoComics. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Davis, Jim (27 October 1979). "Garfield by Jim Davis for October 27, 1979". GoComics. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Blondie". Newsfromme.com. 2005-08-21. Archived from the original on 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  10. ↑ Davis, Jim (1 April 1997). "Garfield by Jim Davis for April 01, 1997". GoComics. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  11. 1 2 Feldman, Brian (March 1, 2017). "Congress Has Entered the War Over Garfield's Gender". New York . Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  12. 1 2 Wood, Robert (2024-12-17). "Peanuts' Charles Schulz Redesigned Garfield For a Touching Reason". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  13. ↑ "Garfield's a boy … right? How a cartoon cat's gender identity launched a Wikipedia war". The Washington Post . 1 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 'Garfield is male,' Davis told The Washington Post on Tuesday. 'He has a girlfriend, Arlene.'
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Voice(s) of Garfield". Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  15. ↑ "Today's Video Link". News From ME. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Voice(s) of Garfield in Alpo". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  17. ↑ "Brief Boomerang UK Continuity and Adverts (September 2004)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Garfield's Nightmare". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  19. ↑ "Garfield". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  20. ↑ "Garfield: Saving Arlene". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  21. ↑ "Garfield: Lasagna Tour". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  22. ↑ "The Garfield Show: Threat of the Space Lasagna". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  23. ↑ "Garfield Cat Litter". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Garfield Cat Litter". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  25. 1 2 "Voice(s) of Garfield in Mad". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  26. ↑ "Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl on Twitter". Twitter . June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  27. ↑ Frishberg, Hannah (November 1, 2021). "Garfield set to have same voice as Mario: Chris Pratt". New York Post . Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  28. 1 2 "Voice(s) of Garfield in Robot Chicken". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  29. ↑ ""The Simpsons" the Cad and the Hat (TV Episode 2017) - IMDb". IMDb . Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2020-09-27.[ unreliable source? ]
  30. ↑ "Max Caenen in: Why Would He Know if His Mother's a Size Queen". IMDb . 28 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2020.[ unreliable source? ]
  31. ↑ Waltz, Amanda. "Defunctland traces weird, horny history of Kennywood ride". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
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