Garfield
For alternate meanings, see Garfield (disambiguation)
Garfield is the popular comic strip created by Jim Davis featuring the people food eating feline character named Garfield, the less than brilliant pet dog Odie, and their socially inept owner Jon Arbuckle.
The character is named after Davis's grandfather, James Garfield Davis (who was probably named after former U.S. President James Garfield).
Overview
First appearing on June 19, 1978 (also considered Garfield's birthday), the syndicated comic strip has been entertaining millions with jokes that poke fun at pet owners and their relationship with their pets often portraying the pet as the true master of the home. Garfield also appeals because of the way he struggles with very human problems, such as diets, hated of Mondays, apathy, boredom, and so on.
Over the course of the strip, Garfield's behavior has became more 'human' and less 'cat-like.' A few years after the beginning of the strip, Garfield began walking on two feet, and the strip changed to more of an emphasis on sitcom situations (Garfield making fun of his owner's stupidity, Jon's inability to pick up girls) and less on the foibles of cats. A number of the strip's readers feel that the quality of the writing has lessened, even as the artwork has retained a consistently high level of quality.
The comic strip was turned into a cartoon special for television in 1982 called Here Comes Garfield. Actor Lorenzo Music, previously known as the voice of Carlton the Doorman on the show Rhoda, was hired to portray the voice of Garfield. Twelve television specials were made (through 1990) as well as a television series, Garfield and Friends, which ran for 7 years between 1988 and 1994.
A live-action movie version of the comic strip, Garfield: The Movie, (with a CGI Garfield and live-action Odie) debuted in the USA on June 11, 2004. Due to Music's death in 2001, Bill Murray provided the voice of Garfield the Cat.
Characters
Primary characters
- Garfield: fat orange cat with distinctive black stripes and an attitude. He hates Mondays, loves to eat and sleep (both to amazing amounts), watch TV, and play jokes on Jon and Odie. His favorite food is lasagna. Not known why but he also hates spiders.
- Odie: loveable but dopey yellow-furred, brown-eared dog constantly panting with his very large tongue, and the only character without a voice. Often kicked off the table by Garfield or the victim of some practical joke.
- Jon Arbuckle: their owner. A total nerd and clumsy individual who is extremely unlucky in the world of dating and coolness. Primary fodder and conversation partner to Garfield and is often the butt of his jokes. Was (possibly still is, due to it never being contradicted) a cartoonist, but this reference has not been seen since the early days of the comic strip.
- Arlene: Garfield's on-and-off girlfriend. A thin pink cat who seems to be the one living thing in the world who can successfully crack jokes at Garfield on a regular basis.
- Pooky: Garfield's huggable teddy bear.
- Nermal: cute kitten who flaunts his cuteness (the cutest kitten in the world, he says), which annoys Garfield immensely, usually resulting in him shipping Nermal to Abu Dhabi. Often comes in unannounced, much to Garfield's chargrin.
- Mom: Jon's mother who's always cooking up a meal.
- Dad: Jon's father who tends the family farm.
- Doc Boy: Jon's only brother who tends to the pigs on the farm, and as much a loser as Jon.
- Lyman: a friend of Jon's who lived with him for a while; original owner of Odie. Fans and regular readers of the comic strip cite a rumor that Lyman was removed from the strip because of the suggestion that he was actually engaging in a homosexual relationship with Jon Arbuckle. Jim Davis has dismissed this rumor as nonsense; he has stated that Lyman no longer appears in the strip because Davis didn't find the character to be very interesting.
- Irma: waitress and owner of "Irma's Diner," diner occasionally patronized by Jon and Garfield. The food, service, and mental stability of her place is questionable.
- Dr. Liz Wilson: Garfield's veterinarian and long-time crush of Jon Arbuckle. Occasionally dates him, but these always become disasters (often thanks to Garfield tagging along for the ride).
- The Mailman: one of Garfield's favorite chew-toys, and always finding a way to deliver mail safely to the Arbuckle house.
Secondary characters
- Binky the Clown is a television personality noted for his extremely loud and piercing greetings.
- Hubert and Reba is the couple as Jon's neighbour
Garfield marks its paws
- His album: Scott Adams in 1990).
- His books: introduces the "Garfield format" in publishing as its books are horizontally oriented to match comic strip dimensions
- His comic strips: published in over 2000 papers in the world, a world record
Television
Movie
