"You! You're not Sylvia! You're one of the Kung Fu creatures on the rampage! Two!"
August 4, 2007 12:52 PM Subscribe
"HEEEEEEEY, KIDS!" When you want to know about the history of TV's Garfield and Friends, sometimes you have to go directly to the source. Or to a devoted fan. Marvel at the majestic Klopman Diamond, recoil in fear from the Kung Fu creatures on the rampage, and join up with ants who ruin your dinner.
Is it just me or is Jon Arbuckle the saddest man in America?
posted by k8t at 2:39 PM on August 4, 2007
posted by k8t at 2:39 PM on August 4, 2007
Zach, this was the voice talent, and an illustrious group of voices it was, with Music, Freberg, June Foray, Gary Owens, Howie Morris... and considering it's Standard Operating Procedure for cartoon voice people to work in the nude (and dang, almost 90 and June still looks pretty good), I think the opportunity to dress up was very much a party for them!
posted by wendell at 2:43 PM on August 4, 2007
posted by wendell at 2:43 PM on August 4, 2007
k8t, I thought so too until last year when he began his relationship with Liz the Vet (self link). But even sadder was Lyman, the Garfield comic character who disappeared, obviously.
posted by wendell at 2:53 PM on August 4, 2007
posted by wendell at 2:53 PM on August 4, 2007
But even sadder was Lyman, the Garfield comic character who disappeared, obviously.
By disappeared, of course, I assume that you mean "killed during off-camera BDSM and mixed into Garfield and Odie's dishes."
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:32 PM on August 4, 2007
By disappeared, of course, I assume that you mean "killed during off-camera BDSM and mixed into Garfield and Odie's dishes."
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:32 PM on August 4, 2007
I just realized the curious circularity of Lorenzo Music voicing Bill Murray's famous character in the Ghost Busters cartoon, and Bill Murray voicing Lorenzo Music's famous character in the Garfield movies.
Thanks for these links!
posted by chudmonkey at 4:02 PM on August 4, 2007 [2 favorites]
Thanks for these links!
posted by chudmonkey at 4:02 PM on August 4, 2007 [2 favorites]
Holy Christ, thank you. This is one of the greatest posts ever on this site, ever. God I loved that fucking show, even as I was growing to hate the comic strip more and more.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 5:37 PM on August 4, 2007
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 5:37 PM on August 4, 2007
I loved the original batch of Garfield specials, but could never quite get into the series.
posted by evilcolonel at 5:54 PM on August 4, 2007
posted by evilcolonel at 5:54 PM on August 4, 2007
Don't forget the freaky Garfield is Dead series.
posted by Deathalicious at 6:03 PM on August 4, 2007
posted by Deathalicious at 6:03 PM on August 4, 2007
As a kid, I loved Garfield, as did many of my friends. I remember reading through one of the collected comic books with my best friend with the both of us in hysterics on the floor at something that fat cat had just done.
Mind you, we were probably around 12 years old then, so we could probably be forgiven.
As I matured, and my interest in art and cartooning grew, I lost interest in Garfield as a series. I found it increasingly bland and unfunny. By the time I was in my early 20s and was considering cartooning as a serious career path, I loathed Garfield. Remembering those days spent laughing at his antics, I saw Garfield as a series which had lost its way, and more so I saw Jim Davis as a sell out who cared more about making cash then making art or anything vaguely resembling it.
I held onto that distaste of Garfield for years, until in my late 20s I came across the curious dilemma of meeting a woman (who would go on to become my fiancee) who was in her mid 20s and still loved Garfield. She had several of the Garfield and Friends DVDs, as well as some of the one-off compilations. She had heaps of the collected comics, Garfield pajamas and plush toys. I tried to hide my hate of the series from her, trying to steer her towards some of my Calvin & Hobbes and Far Side books, hoping against hope she would see sense and 'convert' before my dark secret became known.
But she had her own agenda. She wanted to 'snuggle' on the couch with me while watching Garfield and Friends. Being a man I have not only a weakness for physical contact with attractive women but also an incredible tolerance for pain, so I submitted, enjoying the feeling of a woman up close and next to me all the while dying on the inside with every lame joke that the series would present.
But eventually I could no longer hide my disdain for the series and I had to come clean. In a sure sign that this was the woman I had to marry, she told me that she understood and that after reading through some of my Calvin & Hobbes books she was beginning to love a different cartoon striped cat more than Garfield, a fact that actually saddened her somewhat. I held her close. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked. We were closer than ever before. She then got up and just as Garfield was about to deliver a swift kick up the backside of an unsuspecting Odie, she pressed 'Stop' on the DVD remote. It was over.
And so it came to pass that I would no longer need to watch this series with my girlfriend. But in the ashes of that moment came the knowledge that not only had true artistry triumphed over crass corporate commercialism, but so too had the love that my girlfriend and I share for one another.
Garfield had played an important part in my life. It had inspired a love for cartooning in my youth (and to a degree inspired my own style). And those early days gave me yet another common thread that my girlfriend and I could share. But the series is well past its prime and I suspect that the only way it will ever see its end will be if Jim Davis suddenly loses his love of the almighty dollar.
Either that, or all those twelve year old laughing in hysterics on the floor at something that that fat cat had just done or said would just stop buying the books and all the related Garfield paraphernalia.
But despite my dislike of the series and my wishes for its quick demise, I still think that in some small way, it would be a sad thing indeed for the world to lose Garfield. For if it could inspire my love of cartooning and art at such a young age, maybe it can do the same for a whole new generation of kids and their kids after that. And that probably wouldn't be a bad thing.
Thanks for the links servo. Although she no longer loves Garfield as much as she once did, I think that my fiancee will be ecstatic once I show her this thread.
posted by Effigy2000 at 6:15 PM on August 4, 2007 [4 favorites]
Mind you, we were probably around 12 years old then, so we could probably be forgiven.
As I matured, and my interest in art and cartooning grew, I lost interest in Garfield as a series. I found it increasingly bland and unfunny. By the time I was in my early 20s and was considering cartooning as a serious career path, I loathed Garfield. Remembering those days spent laughing at his antics, I saw Garfield as a series which had lost its way, and more so I saw Jim Davis as a sell out who cared more about making cash then making art or anything vaguely resembling it.
I held onto that distaste of Garfield for years, until in my late 20s I came across the curious dilemma of meeting a woman (who would go on to become my fiancee) who was in her mid 20s and still loved Garfield. She had several of the Garfield and Friends DVDs, as well as some of the one-off compilations. She had heaps of the collected comics, Garfield pajamas and plush toys. I tried to hide my hate of the series from her, trying to steer her towards some of my Calvin & Hobbes and Far Side books, hoping against hope she would see sense and 'convert' before my dark secret became known.
But she had her own agenda. She wanted to 'snuggle' on the couch with me while watching Garfield and Friends. Being a man I have not only a weakness for physical contact with attractive women but also an incredible tolerance for pain, so I submitted, enjoying the feeling of a woman up close and next to me all the while dying on the inside with every lame joke that the series would present.
But eventually I could no longer hide my disdain for the series and I had to come clean. In a sure sign that this was the woman I had to marry, she told me that she understood and that after reading through some of my Calvin & Hobbes books she was beginning to love a different cartoon striped cat more than Garfield, a fact that actually saddened her somewhat. I held her close. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked. We were closer than ever before. She then got up and just as Garfield was about to deliver a swift kick up the backside of an unsuspecting Odie, she pressed 'Stop' on the DVD remote. It was over.
And so it came to pass that I would no longer need to watch this series with my girlfriend. But in the ashes of that moment came the knowledge that not only had true artistry triumphed over crass corporate commercialism, but so too had the love that my girlfriend and I share for one another.
Garfield had played an important part in my life. It had inspired a love for cartooning in my youth (and to a degree inspired my own style). And those early days gave me yet another common thread that my girlfriend and I could share. But the series is well past its prime and I suspect that the only way it will ever see its end will be if Jim Davis suddenly loses his love of the almighty dollar.
Either that, or all those twelve year old laughing in hysterics on the floor at something that that fat cat had just done or said would just stop buying the books and all the related Garfield paraphernalia.
But despite my dislike of the series and my wishes for its quick demise, I still think that in some small way, it would be a sad thing indeed for the world to lose Garfield. For if it could inspire my love of cartooning and art at such a young age, maybe it can do the same for a whole new generation of kids and their kids after that. And that probably wouldn't be a bad thing.
Thanks for the links servo. Although she no longer loves Garfield as much as she once did, I think that my fiancee will be ecstatic once I show her this thread.
posted by Effigy2000 at 6:15 PM on August 4, 2007 [4 favorites]
*Effigy2000 notices a strange chill in the air, and looks up to find himself all alone*
"What an eerie sensation... This doesn't feel like my home..."
posted by hermitosis at 6:34 PM on August 4, 2007
"What an eerie sensation... This doesn't feel like my home..."
posted by hermitosis at 6:34 PM on August 4, 2007
Effigy2000: "She wanted to 'snuggle' on the couch with me while watching Garfield and Friends. Being a man I have not only a weakness for physical contact with attractive women but also an incredible tolerance for pain, so I submitted, enjoying the feeling of a woman up close and next to me all the while dying on the inside with every lame joke that the series would present."
I had a similar experience once with a lady who worshipped at the feet of The Residents. Cuddling to their atonal cacophany was almost unbearable. It's amazing what a man will tolerate when given the *ahem* proper contrasting stimulation. I've since learned an appreciation and even respect for what The Residents have accomplished.
I didn't marry her though. She called Danny Elfman a hack. It all went downhill from there....
[/derail]
...Oh. oh yeah. uhm...
Hobbes roolz. Garfield droolz. And we're back on topic.
posted by ZachsMind at 7:15 PM on August 4, 2007
I had a similar experience once with a lady who worshipped at the feet of The Residents. Cuddling to their atonal cacophany was almost unbearable. It's amazing what a man will tolerate when given the *ahem* proper contrasting stimulation. I've since learned an appreciation and even respect for what The Residents have accomplished.
I didn't marry her though. She called Danny Elfman a hack. It all went downhill from there....
[/derail]
...Oh. oh yeah. uhm...
Hobbes roolz. Garfield droolz. And we're back on topic.
posted by ZachsMind at 7:15 PM on August 4, 2007
There's a webcomic critic site I very occasionally read, Websnark. He has a series of posts dubbed "You Had Me And You Lost Me," about webcomics he used to love but can't bring himself to read anymore.
As an April Fool's joke, he did one about Garfield.
posted by brett at 6:08 AM on August 5, 2007
As an April Fool's joke, he did one about Garfield.
posted by brett at 6:08 AM on August 5, 2007
ZachsMind, do you still have that girl's number?
posted by buriednexttoyou at 5:24 PM on August 5, 2007
posted by buriednexttoyou at 5:24 PM on August 5, 2007
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Which political party was that? A party with that many suits and ties creeps me out. Somebody needs to loosen up a bit. Who forgot to order the keg? Just off camera they've got a singing telegram dressed up like Mary Poppins. That oughtta get things brewing.
Ooh! But look out! Stan Freeberg's on the right there and he's pulled out the bunny ears! How zany! All we need is a lampshade on Lorenzo Music's head and we'd have us a real party. Not. Maybe this was the party when they found out they were cancelled.
posted by ZachsMind at 1:20 PM on August 4, 2007