Garfield is the titular main and primary protagonist of the long-running franchise of the same name, created by Jim Davis.
Biography
Early Life
Garfield was born June 19, 1978, in the kitchen of Mamma Leoni's Italian Restaurant to his mother and his unnamed father, weighing 5 lbs and 6 ounces at birth. He loved lasagna the day he was born, and it has always been his favorite food ever since then. However, unlike the majority of his family, even his parents, who were rodent preying "mousers", the restaurant owner of Mamma Leoni's Italian restaurant had to choose between keeping Garfield or closing down his restaurant due to a lack of pasta, so Garfield was sold to a pet shop. On August 19, 1978, when Jon came to the pet store, he had to choose between Garfield, an iguana, and a pet rock. In the November 14, 1978 comic strip Jon quoted, "I love cats. I wanted a cat... So what do I do? I go to the pet store and ask for a cat. What do they give me?... A lasagna with fur and fangs."
Personality
Garfield's designs throughout the years.
Garfield is an overweight anthropomorphic orange tabby cat noted for his sheer laziness, sarcasm, arrogance, selfishness, and intense passion for food, particularly lasagna. Often throughout the course of the strip Garfield's weight has been poked fun at as an object of ridicule, frequently by the electronic scale which he uses to weigh himself. Garfield usually does not handle insults or commands from the talking scale RX-2 (or anybody else) very well, and will normally respond to such remarks with a either saucy comment and/or comeback or some sort of threat of violence, in spite of the fact that the character solely communicates through thought bubbles. Garfield lives with his nerdy, socially awkward owner Jon Arbuckle and Jon's dimwitted pet dog Odie, and derives pleasure from satirically mocking the stupid actions performed by the two of them. Garfield intensely abhors Odie (as obviously expected from the assumed common hatred shared by cats and dogs) and derives joy from causing him physical harm or insulting him, seldom showing empathy for the beagle. Albeit Odie shows Garfield no belligerence of any kind and would never deliberately cause him harm (though Odie does occasionally prank Garfield and has made fun of his weight and more recently his age), Garfield despises him nonetheless and is apt to make rude and saucy comments based on the utter lack of intelligence displayed by Odie, though at times it is not entirely clear whether Odie actually is stupid or not. However, Odie is not the only target of Garfield's taunts; he frequently insults and pokes fun at Jon as well for his nerdy behaviors, and unpopularity with women, along with his unconventional, eccentric fashion sense. Despite his sometimes selfishness and sheer laziness, Garfield loves both Odie and Jon nonetheless, as well as his beloved teddy bear Pooky, which is frequently seen in his arms or close to its owner. If he were a human then he would be beyond despicable.
Physical Appearance
Over the years, Garfield's appearance has changed greatly. In the first couple of years of the strip, he looked more like a real cat and was fatter. Overtime, Garfield started to get smaller and less morbidly obese. He also started gaining more human tendencies such as walking on two feet (previously he walked on four), but has remained silent for the rest of the strip.
Talking
Throughout the franchise, Garfield is known for having internal monolouge that is converted into text via thought bubbles. In the Lorenzo Music era, his mouth was always closed, since it is established that he and the other animals cannot talk. However, they seem to communicate with each other through some sort of telepathic connection.
It is never clear if the humans can understand what Garfield is saying. Sometimes, it appears that the humans can hear his thoughts and Garfield can order things on the phone without worry, but Garfield always establishes his inability to talk.
Starting with the live action films, Garfield's mouth now moves when he has dialouge, making it a bit more hard to tell whether or not he can talk.
Further Reading
Mischievous Habits
Jon often gets calls from neighbors about his cat destroying their flowerbeds or harrassing them.
His hatred towards spiders almost always results with them being whacked with a rolled newspaper or stomped by his foot. He occasionally does the same to other insects such as flies (in some strips, he is shown to hate flies more than spiders).
Garfield in the third dimension.
He likes to eat ferns and other types of flowers. Liz once said that the reason Garfield eats Jon's houseplants is because he is so out of shape that plants are one of the few things that is easy for him to catch. Some strips feature common flowers talking to each other, only to be eaten by Garfield in the end.
Besides kicking Odie off the table, when outside, Garfield enjoys teasing other dogs; they are usually chained up or smaller in size than Garfield. However, he occasionally faces the misfortune of the chain/rope not being securely tied (resulting in Garfield being chased and/or injured by the dog), or the dogs are not as small/weak as they seem. He also likes to torment Herman Post, the mailman, but Herman occasionally gets the last laugh. Next to Odie, Jon is his favorite person to prank. When Jon is asleep, Garfield often goes to extreme measures to wake him up -- whether it be hopping on his stomach, waking him with different monster masks on his face, throwing his bed out of the window with him in it, frightening Jon, knocking him off the bed after playing the radio and talking like a drill sergeant with Odie playing the cymbals, or even attempting to throttle him (as he does in some early strips), Garfield always seems to have the upper hand on Jon's sleeping habits.
Garfield's other favorite pranking victim is Mrs. Feeny. He loves to prank her, and abuse her little dog. This makes her hate him.
On January 8, 2009, he was elected into the bad habit hall of fame. Afterwards, he crumpled up the certificate and tossed it behind him.
New Olympic competition: bush diving.
Common Elements of a Garfield Comic
- Garfield sitting on the couch, watching TV.
- Garfield making fun of Jon and/or Odie.
- Garfield swatting (a) spider(s).
- Jon complaining about Garfield's refusal to chase mice.
- Garfield harrassing the neighbors, and Jon getting calls about it.
Garfield's second favourite activity.
- Garfield eating ferns, either Jon's or Mrs. Feeny's.
- Garfield performing on the fence.
- Jon asking a girl out on a date, and Garfield making a witty comment.
- Garfield insulting or making snarky, witty, sarcastic and sometimes downright mean comments about Jon's flaws.
- Garfield hating Mondays.
- Garfield kicking Odie off the table.
- Garfield with the cat Arlene.
- Nermal being a nuisance to Garfield.
- Or, just plain Garfism.
- Garfield Sleeping.
- Garfield and Odie doing "Ask a Dog"
- Birthday and age related nightmares on the days before Garfield's birthday.
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Garfield's anatomy (from German comics book issue)
- Diets
- Garfield trying to cheat on his diets
- Garfield trying to fool RX-2 the talking scale
- Exaggerated signs that Garfield needs to go on a diet, such as the house sinking in or the floors becoming wavy or bouncy in one comic
- Garfield throwing Nermal through the door
- Garfield and his coffee addiction
- Garfield shedding
- Garfield complaining about Mondays
- Jon or Garfield being on the news
- Garfield taunting the neighborhood dogs
- Garfield and/or Jon ordering pizza
- Garfield eating birds (or at least trying to)
Repeatedly Used Words
Garfield doesn´t really have a catchprase, but he has some certain words he says at several occasions:
- Nice touch: a word often said by Garfield in television.
- I hate Mondays: famously, Mondays seem to hate Garfield even more than he hates them!
- Rats: a word said when something goes wrong.
- Big fat hairy deal: not said as much as the others, but has a video game by the same name.
- Who ever [phrase] should be dragged out into the street and shot: said whenever he´s angry at someone—most notably in certain Gafield and Friends episodes and animated specials.
- I'm standing on him: whenever Garfield appears taller than usual
- We're bachelors, baby: A phrase Garfield started saying when Jon would be lazy about things like cleaning. First used after Liz became Jon's girlfriend.
- Feed me: said when he wants to be fed. (This is actually the second thing he said on his very first comic strip.)
- Rat Fink daisies
- This does not bode well
- Pizza
- Vito
- No anchovies!
- Lasagna
- Eat your heart out, [person]
- I'm not overweight. I'm undertall.
- Hey, you're not exactly Ms. (phrase) yourself lady!: Not said as much as others but it is commonly said when he feels like he's being insulted
- I hate ______. : used when something "disobeys" what Garfield wants it to do
- The plot thickens: said when something funny happens with Jon (such as showing a scar to a police officer when he thought he was showing it to a nurse) or Odie (such as being yelled at by Jon for supposedly trying to eat the last green jelly bean)
Friends
- Jon Arbuckle
- Pooky
- Odie (Unilaterally as frenemy)
- Nermal (rarely)
- Arlene
- Harry
- Squeak
- Liz Wilson
- Grandma Arbuckle
- Penelope Pussycat
- Mona
- Lola (the relationship is broken at the end of Beach Blanket Bonzo)
- Foo Foo's lookalike
- Orson Pig
- Roy Rooster
- Wade Duck
- Booker
- Sheldon
Enemies
- Nermal
- Odie (Unilaterally as frenemy)
- Harry (sometimes)
- Bruno
- Nathan
- Spiders
- Flies
- Mrs. Feeny
- Aunt Ivy
- Herman Post
- Drusilla and Minerva
- Dogs
- Plants
- Fish
- Birds (until The Garfield Show)
- RX-2
- Brick
- Bonzo
- Theodore Block (before finding Foo Foo's lookalike)
- Binky the Clown (depends on episode)
- Roy Rooster (Only in the Garfield and Friends episode, "Fast Food")
Likes and dislikes
Likes
- Lasagna
- Pizza
- Donuts
- Eating
- Sleeping
- Kicking Odie
- Odie
- Tormenting Jon
- Scratching curtains and furniture
- Diving in flowers
- Eating Jon and Mrs Feeny's flowers and plants
- Harassing mailmen
- Pooky
- Eating Jon's goldfish (or any other fish he brings home) and birds.
- Befriending mice
- Coffee
- Pretending to chase mice to trick Jon
- Food
- Stalking and hunting birds out in the backyard, especially in the comics
- Talking
- Squashing spiders and insects and other arthropods
- Burping loudly
- Insulting dogs
- Tormenting his neighbors, particularly Mrs. Feeny
- Tormenting Mrs. Feeny, particularly her little chihuahua in cruel and sometimes just downright dangerous ways
- Stealing food from his neighbors, especially in Garfield and Friends, which resulted in Jon being threatened with being beaten and sent to the hospital if Garfield tried to steal anymore food.
- Seeing Jon and his neighbor's misery, and being the one to have caused it
- Sending Nermal to Abu Dhabi (Both in Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show)
Dislikes
- Mondays (Especially on the 13ths)
- Raisins in any form, especially in cookies, muffins, and cupcakes
- Spinach
- Irma's disgusting subpar quality food
- Dogs (Except Odie)
- Spiders
- Flies
- Mice (as food)
- Liz (until Jon fell in love with her)
- Getting vaccination shots from the vet
- Rain
- Garden sprinklers and accidentally encountering sprinkler heads
- Birthdays ("It's really the aging that curdles my cheese")
- Birthday and age related nightmares
- Diets
- Baths (This was only shown happening for the first couple of years)
- Leashes
- Birthday Nightmares
- Some vegetables
- People who know that he hates Mondays
- February (sporadically in the 80's)
- March's weather
- Healthy foods
- Exercise
- Nermal
- Nermal insulting or taunting Garfield and bragging about how he is "the world's cutest kitty-cat" and how Garfield is not
- Fleas
- RX-2, the talking scale taunting or insulting him
- Jon's fashion sense and Christmas gift choices
- Anybody calling him overweight, or taunting/insulting him for related reasons
- Buttermilk
Voice Actors
| English | Television or Movie |
|---|---|
| Scott Beach | The Fantastic Funnies |
| Lorenzo Music | TV Specials Garfield and Friends |
| Tom Smothers | Alpo Cat Food Commercial |
| Bill Murray | Garfield: The Movie Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties |
| Frank Welker | Garfield Gets Real Garfield's Fun Fest Garfield's Pet Force The Garfield Show |
| Jon Barnard | Video Games |
| Español | Television or Movie |
| Sandro Larenas | Garfield and Friends (Latin American & Castilian dub) The Garfield Show (Latin American dub) |
| Adrián Uribe | Garfield: The Movie (Latin American dub) Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Latin American dub) |
| Bernardo Rodríguez | Garfield Gets Real (Latin American dub) |
| Gerardo Reyero | Garfield's Fun Fest (Latin American dub) |
| Marcelo Armand | Garfield's Pet Force (Latin American dub) |
| Juan Perucho | Garfield Gets Real (Castilian dub) |
| Carlos Latre | Garfield: The Movie (Castilian dub) Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Castilian dub) |
| Raúl Llorens | Garfield and Friends (Castilian dub) |
| Juan Martín de Goirizelaia | The Garfield Show (Castilian dub) |
| Polski | Television or Movie |
| Grzegorz Wasowski | Garfield and Friends |
| Marek Kondrat | Garfield: The Movie |
| Zbigniew Zamachowski | Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties |
| Sławomir Pacek | Garfield Gets Real |
| Cezary Żak | Garfield's Fun Fest Garfield's Pet Force |
| Jarosław Boberek | The Garfield Show |
| Jacek Kawalec | TV Specials (read) |
| Français | Television or Movie |
| Claude Nicot | Garfield and Friends (French Dub) |
| Sébastien Cauet | Garfield: The Movie (French Dub) Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (French Dub) |
| Michel Dodane | Garfield Gets Real (French Dub) |
| Gérard Surugue | Garfield's Fun Fest (French Dub) Garfield's Pet Force (French Dub) The Garfield Show (French Dub) |
| Luc Durand | Garfield and Friends (Quebec Dub) |
| Patrick Huard | Garfield: The Movie (Quebec Dub) Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Quebec Dub) |
| Português | Television or Movie |
| António Feio | Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Portuguese Dub) |
| Luís Barros | The Garfield Show (Portuguese Dub) |
| Carlos Marques | Garfield and Friends (Brazilian Dub) The Garfield Show (Brazilian Dub) |
| Armando Tiraboschi | Garfield and Friends (Brazilian Dub) |
| Antônio Calloni | Garfield: The Movie (Brazilian Dub) Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Brazilian Dub) |
| Claudio Galvan | The Garfield Show (Brazilian Dub) |
| Suomi | Television or Movie |
| Pauli Virta | Garfield and Friends |
| Martti Suosalo | Garfield: The Movie |
| Jarmo Koski | The Garfield Show |
| Puntti Valtonen | Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties |
Appearances
Garfield and Friends
- Garfield is one of two characters who appear in all episodes.
The Garfield Show
- Garfield is the only character to appear in all episodes.
Gallery
The gallery for Garfield can be viewed here.