The Garfield Show (French: Garfield & Cie, lit. 'Garfield & Co.') is an animated television series produced by French animation production company 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.
The animated series premiered on 22 December 2008 in France as Garfield & Cie, in early 2009 in Japan as Gāfīrudo to shī, and on 2 November 2009 in the United States. It ran for five seasons, with its last episodes airing in the US on October 24, 2016; Evanier stated shortly afterward that it was on hiatus. On August 6, 2019, an untitled Nickelodeon series based on the Garfield comic strip was announced, seemingly ending any chances of The Garfield Show coming back.
Contents
Plot
The show features loose continuity and is set in Muncie, Indiana the same setting as the previous Garfield cartoon series Garfield and Friends but in a different neighborhood, which is occasionally referenced. Liz is a main character and is in a relationship with Jon, reflecting their status in the comic strip. Arlene is established as Garfield's potential love interest. Garfield talks with mouth movement, although usually only other animals are able to understand him.
Many new characters are part of the regular cast, including Vito, an Italian chef and restaurant owner, and Harry, a stray cat, both a friend and a nemesis to Garfield. Squeak, Garfield's mouse friend that lives in Jon's house, appears with many relatives.
Episodes
Cartoon Network aired new episodes from November 2, 2009 to October 5, 2012. It had its premiere screening at that time.
From October 6, 2012, Cartoon Network continued to broadcast exclusively through reruns. At that time, he was rerunting old episodes from the first 3 seasons.
Boomerang in the US began airing on February 4, 2013.
From February 4, 2013 to May 23, 2014, the series was broadcast on both channels at different times and exclusively through reruns.
Reruns ended on May 23, 2014, when Cartoon Network removed the series from its regular schedule.
On October 6, 2015, Boomerang began airing the fourth season making it the main American channel for new episodes and reruns.
On Monday, October 24, 2016, Season 5 and the last 2 episodes were broadcast, thus ending the first American broadcast of the series.
Cast and characters
Main characters
Garfield (voiced by Frank Welker) is a lazy and sarcastic but good-hearted lasagna-loving orange tabby cat and the protagonist of the show.
Odie (voiced by Gregg Berger) is a fun-loving dopey brown and yellow beagle dog and Garfield's best friend.
Jon Arbuckle (voiced by Wally Wingert) is Garfield and Odie's dorky owner who is employed as a cartoonist.
Nermal (voiced by Jason Marsden) is a mischievous and highly egotistical grey tabby cat with a cute appearance who is Garfield's frenemy and often visits the latter's house.
Arlene (voiced by Audrey Wasilewski) is a kind yet snarky pink tinted white short haired Turkish angora cat who serves as Garfield's love interest.
Dr. Liz Wilson (voiced by Julie Payne) is the local veterinarian and Jon's love interest.
Squeak (voiced by Gregg Berger) is a good-natured and loyal house mouse and one of Garfield's closest friends who regularly invades Jon's kitchen.
Recurring characters
Eddie Gourmand (voiced by Frank Welker) is a famous overweight but fun-loving food critic whose opinions on restaurants usually have a major impact on their success. He often crosses paths with Garfield, as they both enjoy Vito's cooking.
Harry (voiced by Gregg Berger) is the main antagonist/anti-hero of the series who is a stray cat who lives in Garfield's neighborhood and is a friend and occasional rival of Garfield.
Dr. Whipple (voiced by Stan Freberg) is the secondary antagonist of the series who, while helping others, is usually out for his own gain. He is a parody of Dr. Phil.
Professor Thaddeus Bonkers (voiced by Jason Marsden) is a mad scientist whose discoveries tend to lead to disaster.
Doc "Doc Boy" Arbuckle (voiced by David Lander) is Jon's workaholic younger brother who owns a farm. Jon always teases him by calling him "Doc Boy," much to his irritation.
Aunt Ivy (voiced by Laraine Newman) is Jon and Doc Boy's bossy aunt who often harasses Jon whenever she comes to visit.
Vito Cappelletti (voiced by Jason Marsden) is an Italian chef who owns Vito's Pizzeria, whom Garfield admires for his amazing cooking.
Drusilla and Minerva (voiced by Laura Summer) are two hyperactive and playful twins that like to dress up any animal they come across, often Garfield. They are hinted to be either Jon's cousins or nieces.
Herman Post (voiced by Gregg Berger) is the mailman that works in Garfield's neighborhood. Garfield often plays pranks on him for "delivering nothing but bills". much to his dismay. He regularly earns salary raises as other mailmen are too scared of Garfield to permanently replace him.
Al the Dog Catcher (voiced by Wally Wingert) is a clumsy dog catcher who is often fired for his incompetence only to be rehired for lack of a suitable replacement. His associate is Pete (voiced by Jason Marsden).
Additional characters
News Anchorwoman, Winona, Angelica, Bella Bellissima, Tyham, Aunt Esther, Queen Tania, and Abigail, voiced by Laraine Newman
Celeste, Chester, Lester, Mary Margaret Reporter, and Squirrel #2, voiced by Candi Milo
Buckley, General Gorgonzola, and Jim Davis, voiced by Gregg Berger.
Fluffykins, Hippo, Mole, and Spencer Spendington voiced by Stan Freberg
Mr. Arbuckle, Nimbus, Ricotta, and Spumoni, voiced by Frank Welker
Charley, Irv, and The Lasagna King, voiced by Wally Wingert
Humphrey, Gnarley, and Mr. Wilson, voiced by Jason Marsden
Brandon Scoop, King Glorm, and Tyler Edge, voiced by Neil Ross
Biff and Dirk Dinkum, voiced by Fred Tatasciore
Gloria and Newscaster, voiced by Audrey Wasilewski
Mrs. Arbuckle and Mrs. Wilson, voiced by Julie Payne
Jack Allwork and Sandra, voiced by Grey DeLisle
Farley and The Sandman, voiced by Joe Alaskey
Angie and Scheherazade, voiced by Misty Lee
Hostess and Squirrel #1, voiced by Tress MacNeille
Heather Wilson and Lucerita and Tabitha and Spring, Summer, and Autumm voiced by Laura Summer
Development
Development for The Garfield Show began in 2007 to coincide with the strip's 30th anniversary, when Dargaud Marina the French animation unit of French publishing house that released Garfield in France, Dargaud, had announced a CGI-animated series based on the comic strip series entitled The Garfield Show with Dargaud Media's CEO & managing director and founder of Dargaud Media's fellow studio Ellipsanime Productions, Robert Réa, would serve as executive producer for the upcoming series while Mediatoon would handle distribution. Many crew members from the previous animated series based on Garfield that debuted in 1988 returned to work on The Garfield Show.
Animation
The animation for the series was handled by Dargaud Media's in-house animation development studio and later Ellipse Films in France and at Dargaud Media's fellow Belgian animation production studio DreamWall for season 1. When the series was renewed for seasons 2 and 3, animation production was transferred to Singaporan animation entertainment company Infinite Frameworks (who had co-handled animation services on Contraptus and Chicken Town produced by Dargaud Media's fellow production studio Ellipsanime Productions in which DreamWall had involvement), whilst Tunisia VFX & animation studio CGS Real Dream Studio co-handled animation services for the series' third season.
Broadcast
The series premiered in France on France 3 on 22 December 2008 and in Japan on NHK in early 2009.
The series also airing on Gulli since 25 October 2021 in France
English-language episodes started airing on Boomerang in the UK on 5 May 2009, and in the Middle East, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe on 7 November 2009.
It aired on YTV in Canada from 13 September 2009 to 30 December 2011.
In the United States, it aired on Cartoon Network from November 2, 2009 to May 23, 2014. It also aired on Boomerang from February 4, 2013 to December 30, 2016.
In Bangladesh, the series aired on Duronto TV from 12 January 2020.
In Sri Lanka, the show has been showed multiple times over the years by Sirasa TV, dubbed in Sinhalese under the name "ද ගාර්ෆීල්ඩ් ෂෝ", lit. 'The Garfield Show'. The same show has been shown by the English-language sister channel of Sirasa TV, TV1 in English with Sinhalese subtitles. The Sinhalese-dubbed 'The Garfield Show' has gained wide momentum over the years, and is widely regarded as a popular cartoon across Sri Lankan households.
Reception
Common Sense Media gave the show 3 stars out of 5, saying "Infamous cat's antics are fun, if not exactly message laden."
Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures gave the show 2 stars out of 5 stating that the animation felt unpolished compared to the direct-to-video movies and that the show was full of "throwaway stories" because it "aims for a more kid-friendly presentation of the fat feline." He concluded his review stating he preferred "old-school cell animation as the week-to-week series CGI looks too much like cheap video game emulations, but I'm not the target market of these things".
Justin Felix of DVD Talk gave the show 2.5 out of 5 stating that "The Garfield Show isn't some great work of art, but it efficiently delivers cartoon animal fun that little kids would probably enjoy. The animation is a tad rudimentary and clunky at times, but it's good enough to pass muster for cartoon fare of this type."
Mike Gencarelli of Media Mikes gave the show 3.5 out of 5 stating "it doesn't compare to the classic Jim Davis cartoon but it is all we have right now."
Video game
The Garfield Show: Threat of the Space Lasagna, a party video game, was released in July 2010 for the Wii. A PC port was released in 2011 exclusively in Russia (under title Шоу кота Гарфилда: Вторжение инопланетных лазаньяков). It includes over 12 minigames and supports the Wii Balance Board and Wii Motion Plus. The game was critically panned for its short length, lack of interactivity and monotonous gameplay.