Garfield and Friends is an American
animated television series based on the
comic stripA comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
GarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
by
Jim DavisJames Robert Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield, which he signs as Jim Davis. He has also worked on other strips: Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, U.S. Acres and a strip about Mr...
. The show was produced by
Film RomanFilm Roman is an animation studio founded by Phil Roman, best known for producing the animation for The Simpsons, King of the Hill for 20th Century Fox, as well as the Garfield and Peanuts animated TV specials....
, in association with
United Feature SyndicateUnited Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
and Paws, Inc., and ran on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Saturday morningA Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
s from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994, with reruns airing until October 7, 1995. The show's seven seasons make it one of the longest running Saturday morning cartoons in history, with most lasting no more than two or three seasons.
Regular segments featured both
GarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
and
U.S. AcresU.S. Acres is a comic strip that originally ran from 1986 to 1989 created by Jim Davis, author of the popular comic strip Garfield. When the strip was launched, Jim Davis expected it to become quickly popular, but it ended after 3 years in 1989...
, a lesser-known comic strip also created by Davis. The latter was retitled
Orson's Farm for foreign syndication, as that was the name of the comic strip outside of the United States.
The show produced 242
Garfield segments and 121
U.S. Acres segments. There were two "Garfield" segments on each show, two "quickie" shorts (often based on Sunday comic strips), and in between was a
U.S. Acres segment. A total of 121 half-hours were produced, and all have been released in the U.S. on five DVD sets by
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
. The first season aired in a half-hour format. In the second season, it switched to an hour-length format, showing two episodes each week. However, in the show's last season, the second half-hour of the show featured either an episode from the previous season or one of Garfield's TV specials.
Mark EvanierMark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
wrote or co-wrote every episode of the series and acted as voice director.
Regular characters
- Garfield
Garfield is a fictional character and the title protagonist from the comic strip Garfield created by Jim Davis.-Personality:Garfield is an anthropomorphic ginger cat. He loves eating , and sleeping. He is teased about being overweight. He is also selfish...
(Voiced by Lorenzo MusicLorenzo Music was an American actor, voice actor, writer, television producer and musician. His best-known roles include voicing the animated cartoon cat Garfield, and Carlton the doorman on the CBS sitcom Rhoda...
): A fat, lazy Orange tabby (once described in the comic strip by his owner Jon as "an orange meatball with stripes") who wants nothing more out of life than to eat and sleep. He has a penchant for consuming lasagna, enjoys tormenting Odie, and likes trying to mail Nermal to Abu DhabiAbu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
. He made a small handful of appearances on U.S. Acres (once wearing nothing but a black mask over his eyes as his "disguise"), but was more often seen in the form of various pieces of Garfield merchandise the characters appeared to own. Deep down, Garfield loves Jon and Odie. Garfield's mouth doesn't move; the audience hears his thoughts.
- Jon Arbuckle
Jonathan Q. Arbuckle is a character from the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis. He has also appeared in the animated television series Garfield and Friends, the computer-animated The Garfield Show, and two live-action feature films....
(Voiced by Thom Huge): Garfield's owner, a bachelorA bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
cartoonistA cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
who has poor luck with women and a somewhat nerdNerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
y demeanor. He is often annoyed by some of Garfield's antics, and also has an unrequited love for Dr. Liz. Whenever Garfield gets in trouble, Jon will punish him by taking him to the vet. Jon also has a mission set before him: get Garfield to do the right thing. Jon occasionally forces Garfield to hunt and catch mice, which is always unsuccessful due to Garfield not wanting to eat mice and his friendship with Floyd.
- Odie
Odie is a fictional character in the Jim Davis comic strip Garfield. He has also appeared in Garfield and Friends, The Garfield Show, two live-action feature films, and 3 CGI films....
(Voiced by Gregg BergerGreggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
): A beagleThe Beagle is a breed of small to medium-sized dog. A member of the Hound Group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound, but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game...
who used to belong to Jon's former roommate Lyman (who never appeared on the show, but was a character who appeared in the earliest comic strips). Is often kicked off the kitchen table by Garfield. Looks incredibly stupid and gullible, but is actually much more cunning and smart than he lets on. Odie is the only animal character who doesn't communicate with any form of dialogueDialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
, solely communicating with body languageBody language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously....
and his enthusiastic barking and other dog sound effects, although Garfield is able to understand what he says.
- Nermal (Voiced by Desiree Goyette
Desirée Goyette is a singer, composer, lyricist and voice-over artist. She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has voiced such characters as Betty Boop, Barbie, Nermal, Petunia Pig, Honey Bunny and numerous others for radio, television and toys...
): A cute grey androgynous kittenA kitten is a juvenile domesticated cat.The young of big cats are called cubs rather than kittens. Either term may be used for the young of smaller wild felids such as ocelots, caracals, and lynx, but "kitten" is usually more common for these species....
who's the self-proclaimed "World's Cutest Kitty Cat". Nermal seems kind and playful, but likes to annoy Garfield and brag about how much cuter he is. Garfield often attempts (usually unsuccessfully) to mail him to Abu DhabiAbu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
as a result. Though officially considered a male, Nermal's feminine preoccupation with being cute, and the fact that a woman provides a childlike voice of ambiguous gender for Nermal, allowed the character to be mistaken for a female cat.
- Pooky: Garfield's teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
and sleeping companion who Jon is jealous of. Found in a drawer, he is Garfield's only toy. Garfield adopted his alter ego "The Caped Avenger" after temporarily losing Pooky.
- Binky The Clown (Voiced by Thom Huge): A loud, obnoxious clown who appeared a few times in the strip before becoming a regular on the show. Within the series, Binky has his own TV show that Garfield and Odie try to avoid watching. Binky once had his own segment on the series called "Screaming With Binky" that was the length of a Quickie and ran at the midway point of an hour episode—Most of these segments were removed in syndication. Screaming with Binky segments were only aired in seasons 2 and 3 (1989–1991) of the show, and some were re-aired for a month after eight weeks of season 4 and 5 episodes (Nov.1991-Sep.1993). His catchphrase is, "Heeeeeey, kiiiiiiids!" , but to Garfield he yells "Heeeeeeeeeeeey, cat!" Binky the Clown was a reoccurring character for the first three seasons, but was removed beginning season four. He made a brief cameo appearance in a season 7 episode "The Feline Philosopher", where Binky then threw pies and discusses how he used to be part of an act to Odie.
- Herman Post: A mailman
A mail carrier, mailman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman , postman/postwoman , letter carrier or postie is an employee of the post office or postal service, who delivers mail and parcel post to residences and businesses...
who loves delivering the mail. He is constantly the victim of booby traps set by Garfield.
- Dr. Liz Wilson (Voiced by Julie Payne
Julie Payne may refer to:*Julie Payne , American actress whose career lasted from 1959 to 1967...
): Garfield's sarcastic veterinarianA veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
and Jon's main love interest. She occasionally dates him, but these outings always become disasters often due to Garfield's actions.
Minor characters
- Dr. Garbonzo Bean: A mad scientist who is responsible for creating robot versions of Odie. He appeared in the second season and again two years later, complete with a flashback.
- Floyd (Voiced by Gregg Berger
Greggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
): Garfield's best friend. A mouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
who shows up at least once every season. A common running gagA running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
with the character is how he continually complains about not appearing more often.
- Cactus Jake (Voiced by Pat Buttram
Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram was an American actor, known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the TV series Green Acres. He had a distinctive voice which, in his own words, "... never quite made it through puberty"...
): The foreman of the Polecat Flats dude ranch; behaves in the manner of an old-fashioned cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
, and often refuses to have anything to do with modern technology.
- Al G. Swindler (Voiced by Carl Ballantine
Carl Ballantine was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style comedy routine involved transparent or incompetent stage magic tricks, which tended to flop and go...
): As his name suggests, he is a businessman and con artistA confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
who constantly swindles the perennially gullible Jon, but is eventually outwitted by Garfield. In the episode Lemon Aid his name was given as Al J. Swindler. He also always says Jon's last name wrong; for example, "Mr. Arborday". He first appeared in the last week of season 2 episodes and last appeared in the first week of season 5 episodes.
- The Buddy Bears: Their names are Billy, Bobby, and Bertie (though they introduced themselves as William, Robert, and Bertram in "The Garfield Opera"). They are three talking bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s who spew conformistConformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people.Conformity may also refer to:*Conformity: A Tale, a novel by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna...
propagandaPropaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
in the form of song and dance ("Oh, we're the Buddy Bears we always get along... if you ever disagree, it means that you are wrong,": etc.) Their television show once replaced Binky's, and Roy Rooster of U.S. Acres has twice been stuck as the fall guy of their routines. The Buddy Bears are a satireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
of The Get Along Gang and other '80s cartoons that placed the importance of group harmony over individualismIndividualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
. However, it is Garfield who always gets the last laugh sometimes causing arguments between the three bears. Later in the series there is a 4th female Buddy Bear, their sister Betty.
- Penelope (Voiced by Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson is an American comedian, actress, satirist and singer best known as a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992....
): Penelope is Garfield's girlfriend who takes the place of his love interest Arlene from the comics. Mark Evanier recently explained that the reason Arlene only appeared once in the series was that Jim Davis had a very specific idea of how the Arlene character should be and told the writers that if they couldn't be faithful to it, they shouldn't use her.
- Brick: Brick (or Bonzo from the second and third season) is the ex-boyfriend to most of Garfield's love interests. They usually dump him because of Garfield. He usually is sensetive about his girlfriends so he usually pounds Garfield, but still does not win their hearts. He was first seen in Beach Bum Bonzo as Gwendelin's boyfriend. He later appeared in The Idol of Id trying to convince Gwendelin to dump Garfield and go back to him. In The Perils of Penelope he appeared as Bonzo for the first time, as dating Penelope and after he chase Garfield to a truck he was last seen in the back of a truck to mexico. He made a cameo in The Garfield Rap playing the guitar in one scene.
- The Singing Ants: The Singing Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s, ants who sing while stealing food, appeared first as the stars of the musical episode "The Picnic Panic," where they steal all of Garfield's picnic lunch. They later made a cameo appearance in "A Vacation From His Senses," where they are seemingly delusions of Jon, who thinks that he has gone crazy. Their final appearance is in "Another Ant Episode," where they have another starring role, this time taking over Garfield's house.
- Ludlow: A crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
who only appeared twice. His father always beats up Garfield when he thinks he has eaten his son. The episodes in which he appeared are "Sweet Tweet Treat" and "Catch As Cats Can't."
- Rudy: A dog who beats on Garfield every time he hosts a television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
and says something bad about dogs. His name was finally revealed on Dogmother 2.
- Mice: The Mice
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
appeared in two episodes. The episodes were "Good Mousekeeping," and "Rodent Rampage." The mice don't include Floyd.
- Cat Burglar: The Cat Burglar
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
appeared in only three episodes: "Mistakes Will Happen," "Safe At Home," and "Top Ten." He had two attempts to steal from Jon's home.
- Madman Murray and Demented Dave: Similar to Mr. Swindler, both try to get Jon to buy some cheap junk. They appeared in three episodes.
- Gramps: An old man character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who doesn't appear in the comicsComics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
but does have various stores around town.
- J.D.: (a.k.a. Jim Davis
James Robert Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield, which he signs as Jim Davis. He has also worked on other strips: Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, U.S. Acres and a strip about Mr...
). The director of the cartoonA cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s who had five "appearances." He was in the episodes: "Mystic Manor" (as himself wearing a Garfield suit drawing a comic strip), "Flat Tired," "Star Struck," "Fill In Feline," and the U.S. AcresU.S. Acres is a comic strip that originally ran from 1986 to 1989 created by Jim Davis, author of the popular comic strip Garfield. When the strip was launched, Jim Davis expected it to become quickly popular, but it ended after 3 years in 1989...
(Orson's Farm) episode "What's It All About Wade?"
Regular characters
- Orson (Voiced by Gregg Berger
Greggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
): A friendly pigA pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
whose favorite pastime is reading books and imagining himself into many scenarios, à la Walter MittyWalter Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in the New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World and Welcome to It in 1942...
. Orson also has two missions set before him: get Roy to do the right thing and get Wade to be brave. A running gag is that Orson is a neat freak and constantly showers and keeps clean, one time making Wade comment, "Cleanest pig I've ever known." He's good friends with Wade, Roy, Bo, and Lanolin and a father figure to Booker and Sheldon. Orson's afraid of his brothers.
- Roy (Voiced by Thom Huge): A self-centered rooster
A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...
who prides himself on his practical jokeA practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
s. He's constantly into a scheme which more often than not Orson or another character has to bail him out of. Despite his selfishness he can be a good person but not too often.
- Wade (Voiced by Howard Morris
Howard Morris was an American comic actor and director who was best known for his role as Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show.- Life and career :...
): A cowardly duckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
who wears a rubber flotation tube, and has a bunch of phobiaA phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
s no matter how trivial. As a gag, the head on his flotation tube copies nearly every movement and appearance change Wade's real head does. He is Orson's best friend, and when he gets scared (which is almost all the time), he'll blabber with no one understanding what he's saying. Though afraid of seemingly everything, Wade's greatest fear is the Weasel.
- Bo (Voiced by Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
): An affable sheep with a positive, laid-back attitude, whose mannerisms and vernacular are like a CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
beach bum. He's almost impossible to get mad and acts as a guide for Orson when dealing with his three older brothers.
- Lanolin (Voiced by Julie Payne
Julie Payne may refer to:*Julie Payne , American actress whose career lasted from 1959 to 1967...
): A loud-mouthed sheep who spends most of her time arguing with Bo. The arguments are often triggered by her being disagreeable seemingly for its own sake. A running gag throughout the series is Lanolin threatening to have the Farmer's wife turn Roy into a feather dusterA feather duster is an implement used for cleaning. It consists typically of a wooden-dowel handle and feathers from either the male or female ostrich bird that are wound onto the handle by a wrapped wire. Dusters vary in size by are most often between 14" and 32" in total length. Some dusters...
.
- Booker (Voiced by Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
): A small, cute, but very assertive chick who is constantly in pursuit of unnamed worms. Got his name from Orson's love of books.
- Sheldon (Voiced by Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
): Booker's brother, who, despite having hatched, still lives in his eggAn egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
with his feet popped out of the shell so he can walk. He seems to have "all kinds of things" in his shell, including a pinball machine and a stove. In one episode it was revealed that Sheldon actually did hatch but that under his shell was nothing more than another shell. Nobody knows what happened to Booker and Sheldon's parents.
Minor characters
- Wart (Voiced by Howard Morris
Howard Morris was an American comic actor and director who was best known for his role as Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show.- Life and career :...
), Gort (Voiced by Thom Huge), and Mort (Voiced by Frank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
): Orson's older brothers (unnamed until their third appearance) who act as bullies and are usually seen trying to steal the vegetables from the farm. They seldom refer to Orson by his name, calling him "the runt."
- Fred Duck: Wade's highly annoying cousin who wears a parachute when flying because he's secretly afraid of heights
Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort that share both similar etiology and options for treatment.Most people experience a degree of natural fear when exposed to heights, especially if there is little...
. Fred disappeared after the fourth season.
- The Weasel: Unnamed, the weasel is constantly seen sneaking around trying to kidnap the chickens. Usually Roy (or on rare occasions Wade or Sheldon) is the one to thwart him.
- The Fox: He is also an unnamed character who tries to kidnap the chickens, though he has more of a goofy persona. He was first seen trying to kidnap Sheldon, despite saying he "doesn't look ripe."
- Chloe: Roy's niece and a bookish chick. Roy likes her more than he'll admit. She was first introduced in "Uncle Roy to the Rescue", and then was seen again in "Snow Wade and the 77 Dwarfs, pts. 1-2".
- Edward R. Furrow: The farm's local psychiatrist badger whose named after Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
. His appearances include "A Mildley Mental Mix-Up" and "Daydream Doctor". He made a cameo in "Newsworthy Wade".
- Aloysius: A pig who appears in the seventh season of U.S. Acres. He works not only as a studio accountant but also as a television executive . He gave problems to Orson and his friends about their show (such as the "unwholesomeness" of nursery rhymes in "Kiddie Korner" and budget of the animators of the cartoon in "The Discount of Monte Cristo"). He has a dart board, which he uses to plan each season of TV. However, Orson and his gang find a way to pay him back near the end of each episode.
- Plato: A sophisticated rooster who came to the farm to do Roy's job. Roy got really jealous of him, although when Plato proved too cowardly to save the chickens from the weasel he was thrown out of the farm. Plato first appeared in the third season and had another appearance in Season 4.
Additional actors
Additional voices were also provided by
Gary OwensGary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
and
Neil RossTheodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...
.
As well, there have been several celebrity guest stars who did voice acting on
Garfield & Friends for both
GarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
& US Acres portions, including
Imogene CocaImogene Fernandez de Coca was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows....
,
Stan FrebergStanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
,
George ForemanGeorge Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
,
Chick HearnFrancis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster. Known primarily as the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, the legendary Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, inventing colorful phrases such...
,
James Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
,
Marvin KaplanMarvin Kaplan is an American character actor and voice artist. Kaplan is probably best known for his recurring role on the sitcom Alice where he portrayed a phone company employee named Henry Beesmeyer who frequented Mel's diner. He was a part of the cast from 1977 to the series end in 1985...
,
Robin LeachRobin Douglas Leach is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, in the mid-1980s and into the mid-1990s, which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars and other materialistic endeavors...
,
John Moschitta, Jr.John Moschitta Jr. is a spokesperson and performer best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The Micro Machines Man" as well as an award winning 1981 ad for FedEx....
, Jack Riley,
Rod RoddyRobert Ray "Rod" Roddy was an American radio and television announcer. He is primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that he announced are the CBS game shows Whew!, Press Your Luck and The Price Is Right. On the latter two, Roddy appeared on camera on...
,
Will RyanWill Ryan is an American voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US...
,
Paul WinchellPaul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
and
Don KnottsJesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...
.
Production
When the show was originally broadcast on CBS, the episodes usually had three Quickies (30- to 45-second gags which were based on original
Garfield and
U.S. Acres strips, rather than original made-for-TV stories), usually two "Garfield Quickies" (the first one being played before the intro theme) and one "U.S. Acres Quickie," the latter of which was never shown in syndication. Midway through the second season, "Screaming with Binky" quickie-style segments were added. These "Screaming with Binky" segments were typically used at the halfway point of hour long blocks of
Garfield and Friends (as Garfield ended each one with "We'll be right back.") to let the viewers know that unlike most Saturday morning cartoons at the time, it was not over in the usual half-hour. The DVD sets and Boomerang reruns restore the original rotation. After the third season, only one "Garfield Quickie" is shown per episode.
During the first season, most U.S. Acres segments were made to teach a social lesson, which is ironically the type of thing the show was against in its later seasons.
In syndication,
Garfield and Friends aired in a thirty-minute format. Each episode consisted of a Garfield cartoon, a U.S. Acres cartoon, another Garfield cartoon, and a Garfield Quickie in that order. The theme for the rerun package was the same one that was in use on the regular television series at the time (having been introduced in season three), but none of the music from the earlier episodes was edited for syndication.
Episode segments and where they appeared
Each episode featured the following segments:
- Garfield Quickie: This was a segment of the show that featured Garfield Sunday strips from the mid to late 1980s. Very rarely would a weekday strip be shown.
- Theme Song: This usually started with a formal styled Garfield on the fence turning on a record player and an announcer introducing the show. See the theme song section below for more information.
- First Garfield Cartoon: This is a general Garfield episode taking on a more domestic nature mostly involving Jon and Odie.
- U.S. Acres/Orson's Farm Quickie: This Quickie usually aired before the main story and featured strips from the newspaper run for that series.
- U.S. Acres Cartoon: This episode featured the U.S. Acres/Orson's Farm gang in various situations. From Season 1 to Season Three there was a song segment that was built on the episode's theme.
- Screaming With Binky: Segment that was the length of a Quickie and ran at the midway point of an hour episode. These segments featured narration by Garfield where we would usually find ourselves in someplace where quiet is a must or a person is in a delicate situation such as a golfer making a crucial putt. This would be followed by a Binky appearing and yelling, for example, "Heeeeeeeeeeeey Golfer!," most often causing a mistake of some sort. Most of these segments were removed in syndication. On the DVDs, Screaming With Binky usually follows the U.S. Acres episode.
- Second Garfield Quickie: Just like the first quickie except it would be followed by another Garfield episode.
- Second Garfield Cartoon: Another cartoon starring Garfield. Though stories may have a domestic nature, the viewers might see a parody teaching segment that featured a Garfield lecture of some sort or learning situation.
- End Credits
Cancellation
The seventh season (1994–1995) was the last one because
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
wanted to cut the budget (and in fact, CBS's Saturday morning cartoon lineup would be mostly replaced by
CBS News Saturday Morning two years later, which eventually evolved into the Saturday edition of
The Early ShowThe Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
). The production company nixed this proposal, so they mutually agreed to cease production, even though
Garfield and Friends had still been doing well in the ratings.
Awards
Garfield and Friends won the
Young Artist AwardThe Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
in 1989 for "Best Animation Series".
Theme song
The first theme song was a song-and-dance style number about
friendshipFriendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
("Friends are there to help you get started / To give you a push on your way") and was used during the first two seasons (and was also occasionally hummed or sung by the characters within the show).
The second theme song first appeared in the third season and was used for almost the rest of the show's run. This theme was up-tempo and featured clips from episodes of the show. The second song supplants the first and third songs in syndicated reruns of the first, second, and seventh seasons.
In the seventh (and final) season, an upbeat rap-based theme song was used, sung by J.R. Johnston. This theme is not included on the DVDs because the show was already in reruns by the time the rap theme song came out, and the song was not well received by viewers.
The close of each version of the theme included a recurring joke made by Garfield (e.g., "Welcome to my world... Did you bring food?" and "It doesn't start till the fat lady screams.").
Region 1
Fox EntertainmentThe Fox Entertainment Group is an American entertainment industry company that owns film studios and terrestrial, cable, and direct broadcast satellite television properties...
and Jim Davis released all seven seasons of
Garfield and Friends to
Region 1DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD in five volume box sets, with each set having 24-25 episodes on three discs. Each set features an image of
GarfieldGarfield is a fictional character and the title protagonist from the comic strip Garfield created by Jim Davis.-Personality:Garfield is an anthropomorphic ginger cat. He loves eating , and sleeping. He is teased about being overweight. He is also selfish...
with a character from
U.S. AcresU.S. Acres is a comic strip that originally ran from 1986 to 1989 created by Jim Davis, author of the popular comic strip Garfield. When the strip was launched, Jim Davis expected it to become quickly popular, but it ended after 3 years in 1989...
. These DVD sets show the original telecast versions, rather than the edited versions once seen in
syndicationIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
and on cable networks.
| Release Name |
Release Date |
# Eps |
Year Aired |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume One |
July 27, 2004 |
24 |
1988–1989 |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume Two |
December 7, 2004 |
24 |
1989–1990 |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume Three |
April 19, 2005 |
24 |
1990–1991 |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume Four |
August 30, 2005 |
24 |
1991–1993 |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume Five |
December 6, 2005 |
25 |
1993–1995 |
Region 2
Fox EntertainmentThe Fox Entertainment Group is an American entertainment industry company that owns film studios and terrestrial, cable, and direct broadcast satellite television properties...
and Jim Davis released one volume of Garfield and Friends on DVD in the UK on 21 Nov 2005. It was called Box of Fun and it was the same cover as the Vol. 1 box set. Unlike the USA sets, this is just a single disc with 8 episodes.
Region 4
Fox Entertainment also released the Volume One set to
Region 4DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD on December 13, 2004. The contents of this set are exactly the same as that of the Region 1 release with only minor changes to the set cover. The set was also made available as individual volumes. The complete "Volume 1" set is now discontinued. The remaining four volumes were never released.
| Release Name |
Release Date |
# Eps |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume One |
December 13, 2008 |
24 |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume One, Disc 1 |
November 4, 2007 |
8 |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume One, Disc 2 |
November 19, 2007 |
8 |
| Garfield and Friends, Volume One, Disc 3 |
November 23, 2007 |
8 |
Also released was
Garfield and Friends: Behind the ScenesGarfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes is a Garfield and Friends-themed DVD. It was released on December 5, 2006, and contained 15 episodes of Garfield only...
in 2006.
Syndication history
Garfield and Friends has been syndicated on television around the world, beginning in the late 1980s and remaining on air in present day. In
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, it played on
Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
from 1992 to 2005, on
BoomerangBoomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
from 2005 to the present, and on
Warner ChannelWarner Channel is a Latin American and Asian cable television channel owned by Time Warner's HBO Asia/HBO Latin America Group Warner Channel (commonly shortened to WBTV, but not to be confused with the WB Television Network or Charlotte, North Carolina station WBTV, and currently referred to in...
from 1998 to the present. Currently, all three of these networks have lost the rights to the show, however, though it still runs on Boomerang. Televisa's
Canal 5XHGC-TV is a TV station owned by Televisa, broadcasting from Mexico City, and is the flagship of the Canal 5 network.-History:XHGC signed on May 10, 1952, broadcasting a Mother's Day event organized by the Excélsior newspaper; but the regular programming began at August 18, 1952.The station was...
also played the show for many years, from the mid 90s to early 2000s.
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
,
Garfield and Friends began syndication on
Network TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
from 1989 to 1999. Most recently it played on
FOX8Fox8 is an Australian cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television's subscription platforms...
and
ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
from 2004 to 2006.
The show was also syndicated in
ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
from 1989 to 2003 on
Canal 13Canal 13 , is the second oldest television station in Chile. It is owned by Luksic Group associated with the Papal Catholic University of Chile. Its inaugural transmission took place on August 21, 1959...
and from 1998 to present on
Warner ChannelWarner Channel is a Latin American and Asian cable television channel owned by Time Warner's HBO Asia/HBO Latin America Group Warner Channel (commonly shortened to WBTV, but not to be confused with the WB Television Network or Charlotte, North Carolina station WBTV, and currently referred to in...
. In
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, the show appeared on
TV 3TV3 is a commercial television channel targeted at an Estonian language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded in 1996 after two recent television stations, EVTV and RTV joined....
from 2000 to 2002, and in
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
on
YLE TV2YLE TV2 is a Finnish television channel owned and operated by YLE.TV2 launched in 1964, and broadcasts public service programming, children's, youth, sport and music programmes.-Own Productions:* Ajankohtainen kakkonen* Akuutti* Jopet Show* Kummeli...
between the years 1992-1994 and 1998-1999.
The
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
remain the highest syndicators of the show. In the UK, it appeared on
CITVCITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
from 1989 through 2002, on Sky1 from 1998 to 2002, and on Boomerang from 2003 to 2006 with Season 1 and 2 only. It also appeared on
The Children's ChannelThe Children's Channel, also known as TCC, was a television station in the United Kingdom, Benelux and Scandinavia, which was owned by Flextech . It began broadcasting on 1 September 1984, and was closed on 3 April 1998...
for an unknown period of time.
In the United States, the series appeared in syndication from 1993 to 2006, on
TBSTBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
, TNT, and
Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
from 1995 to 1996, and
NickelodeonNickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
from 1997 to 2000. In 2001, it appeared on Fox Family Channel.
BoomerangBoomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
carried it from 2006 to 2007.
Garfield and Friends aired in Canada on the cable TV channel YTV from 1989 to 1996. As of September 5, 2011, Teletoon's 24-hour classic-animation network,
Teletoon RetroTeletoon Retro is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
(which launched in 2007) will rerun all episodes of the show.
Only 73 episodes out of the 121 episodes were syndicated by
The Program ExchangeThe Program Exchange is a syndicator of television programs. It was originally founded as Program Syndication Services Inc. in 1973 and later launched the DFS Program Exchange in 1979, which became the DFS-Dorland Program Exchange from 1986 to 1987...
between 1993 and 2007. This is due to the producers selling syndication rights when the show was still on air and CBS wanting to keep the rights for certain episodes. The show was removed from the Boomerang lineup on December 3, 2006, but returned in May 2007 only to be removed again.
The Garfield Show
A new CGI series of Garfield came out in 2009. Many people who worked on
Garfield and Friends also work on this series such as executive producer and creator
Jim DavisJames Robert Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield, which he signs as Jim Davis. He has also worked on other strips: Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, U.S. Acres and a strip about Mr...
, and co-writer and voice director
Mark EvanierMark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
.
Frank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
replaces the late
Lorenzo MusicLorenzo Music was an American actor, voice actor, writer, television producer and musician. His best-known roles include voicing the animated cartoon cat Garfield, and Carlton the doorman on the CBS sitcom Rhoda...
as the voice of
GarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
, along with
Gregg BergerGreggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
and other familiar voice actors.
The series does not include the
US Acres series and characters, as well as other main characters from
Garfield and Friends. However, in one episode,
Binky the Clown is mentioned, to which Garfield then replies
"My contract says he's not allowed to be in this series".
External links