List of Garfield characters
This is a list of characters in the comic strip Garfield, as well as the animated cartoon series Garfield and Friends.
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Primary characters
Garfield
First Appearance: June 19, 1978
Garfield is the title and main central character in the the strip. He is a lazy, selfish, overweight, orange tabby cat who enjoys eating, sleeping, stealing Jon's dinner, and tormenting Odie by kicking him off the table. He loves lasagna and enjoys entertaining (or annoying) an unseen neighboring audience on top of a fence in the middle of the night (and gets bombarded by various objects by the agitated audience for it). He hates spiders, and often splats them with a rolled up newspaper or magazine.
Jon Arbuckle
First Appearance: June 19, 1978
Jon is the owner of Garfield and Odie, a total nerd, and a clumsy individual. He is the primary fodder and conversation partner to Garfield and is often the butt of his jokes. Though this has not been seen in the comic strip since its early days, he makes his living as a cartoonist, which is confirmed in the animated show Garfield and Friends featuring him several times on the job. His birthday is July 28, 1951 (the same month and day as that of Jim Davis), which had not been confirmed in the strips until 2001. His full name has been revealed as Jonathan Q. Arbuckle in a Christmas strip.
He is played by Breckin Meyer in the Garfield films. His first television appearance was on Here Comes Garfield, and his last was on The Ocean Blue.
Odie
First Appearance: August 8, 1978
He is a lovable but intellectually challenged yellow-furred, brown-eared beagle constantly panting with his very large tongue, and the only character without a "voice" as he was portrayed as a "normal" house dog. However, he was once shown to be thinking "I'm hungry". He sometimes says minor things in episodes of the television series, such as "Ta-da!", "Huh?", or more commonly, panting "Yeah, yeah, yeah!". In the live-action films based on the strip, Odie was a real-life dachshund. His first television appearance was on Here Comes Garfield. His last was on The Ocean Blue.
Secondary characters
Dr. Liz Wilson
First Appearance: June 26, 1979
Dr. Liz Wilson is Garfield's veterinarian and a long-time crush of Jon Arbuckle. Jon often attempts to ask her out on a date, but rarely succeeds; however, in a series of strips from summer 2006, Liz finally admitted she had feelings for him. The two have been portrayed as a couple since. [1]
On Garfield and Friends,she was voiced by Julie Payne,occasionally appearing in the first two seasons. In the live-action movies, she is played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her first television appearance was on Garfield Goes Hawaiian. Her last was on Arrivederci, Odie!. In a few of the July 2007 strips, Garfield became jealous of Liz[1], until they became friends July 24[2].
Arlene
First Appearance: December 17, 1980
Garfield's girlfriend. She is a pink-furred cat with a long neck and a hole between her two frontal teeth Garfield often makes fun of. She once wished their relationship would take a few steps, but Garfield does not seem to notice. Garfield once quipped in the early strips that he and Arlene have an apparent love-hate relationship: Garfield loves himself, and Arlene hates that.
Although she never appeared on the animated series (with the exception of a cameo appearance in the fourth season), she appeared in the film version as well, where she was voiced by Debra Messing.
In the book Garfield's Judgment Day, it was revealed that she was a stray cat, which wasn't known by Garfield until emergency situations brought it to light.[3]
Pooky
First Appearance: October 23, 1978
Pooky is Garfield's teddy bear and best friend that Garfield discovered stuffed in a drawer. Despite the fact that Pooky is a stuffed animal, Garfield acts as though he can communicate with him. At one point, Garfield pretended to teach Pooky how to jump through hoops then Garfield turned around to talk to Jon. When he turned back Pooky was on the other side of the hoop. Garfield is generally overprotective of Pooky. Once Garfield thought he lost Pooky so he turned into "The Caped Avenger", a repeating storyline, and tried to find Pooky. It turned out that Jon had just thrown him in the wash.
The strip shows Garfield searching through Jon Arbuckle's bottom drawer, finding Pooky, and adopting him as his own. In the Spanish translation of the strip, Pooky was initially named "Doggy" ("perrito"), but it was suddenly changed back to Pooky in further lines. In a few strips, he is referred to as "Pookie" but "Pooky" is clearly used more often. Jon can sometimes be seen fooled by his own thoughts and sometimes fooled by Garfield to think he's real.
Nermal
First Appearance: September 3, 1979
Nermal is a small gray kitten, self-proclaimed "The world's cutest kitten." She frequently makes unannounced visits into Garfield's home, where she flaunts her cuteness and becomes the focus of Jon's attention for the entire duration of his visit, much to Garfield's dismay. Nermal especially does this on Garfield's birthdays to remind him of how he is getting older. Her first appearance suggests she belongs to Jon's parents, but this has seemingly been dropped since she is never seen there.
She once mentioned that she is going to stay cute and small forever because she is a midget; "I think small," she once quipped, "and the coffee and cigarettes don't hurt." Garfield, who is regularly annoyed with Nermal's cuteness, often attempts to ship Nermal to Abu Dhabi.
The Spanish language dub of the television series changed Nermal's name to Telma during some seasons. Also, Nermal/Telma was referred to as gatita ("female kitten").
Her first television appearance was on School Daze,and her last was on Change of Mind. Desirée Goyette provided her voice , leading to some fan confusion over whether he was a boy or girl kitten. In Garfield: The Movie, Nermal is portrayed as an adult Siamese cat rather than a small gray kitten, and is voiced by David Eigenberg. In the film Garfield Gets Real, she plots to be the star of the Garfield comic strip after she escapes the Cartoon World (but is not the main villain),and,is voiced by Jason Marsden.
Mom
First Appearance: February 13, 1980
Jon’s mother lives on a farm and is known to be a great cook, offering a wide variety of food for Jon to eat when he visits.. Based on Jim Davis' mother Betty Davis, Jon's mother is also known for sending him and Garfield cooked meals in packages. In the Garfield and Friends episode Feeling Feline, she appears in a speaking line along with Jon's dad (no speaking parts) in Jon's dream. In A Garfield Christmas Special, she was voiced by Julie Payne.
The family is rarely seen in today's comics.
Dad
First Appearance: February 13, 1980
Jon's father tends the family farm. In his sole animated appearance, A Garfield Christmas Special, he was voiced by Pat Harrington Jr. and as proved in one strip, has only very rarely been off the farm. Based on Jim Davis' father, James William Davis.
Doc Boy
First Appearance: May 17, 1983
Jon's brother who lives on a farm with his mother and father, and often fights with Jon, calling him a "city slicker". Hates being called "Doc Boy" and Jim Davis addresses in a strip once that he did not like the name since he started wearing pants. Based on Jim Davis' brother David "Doc" Davis, who's not nearly as goofy as his cartoon counterpart.[citation needed]
In A Garfield Christmas Special, he was voiced by David Lander.
Lyman
First Appearance: August 7, 1978
Last Appearance: April 24, 1983
A friend of Jon's who lived with him for a while, Lyman was also the original owner of Odie. Lyman first appeared on August 7, 1978. However, he has since disappeared from the comic strip after April 24, 1983, with no explanation given. He made a cameo appearance in the strip on Garfield's 10th Birthday June 19, 1988, in both the splash panel and a reprinted panel appearing in the strip itself. According to Davis, Lyman's original purpose was to be someone who Jon could actually talk to and express other ideas—a role more and more taken over by Garfield himself.
Tertiary characters
Grandma
First Appearance: January 25, 1982
Jon and Doc Boy's grandmother. She loves Jon, Garfield, and Odie, and occasionally makes appearances throughout the series. The most is revealed about her in Garfield's Christmas special, where it is revealed that her husband has died and she talks about her life with him. In the strip, Grandma was originally depicted as an elderly woman, wearing a plain dark dress and her hair in a tight bun; her animated appearances outfit her as an energetic elderly lady in a sweater and jeans; sometimes, she is also seen riding a motorcycle. In A Garfield Christmas Special and Garfield's Thanksgiving, she was voiced by Pat Carroll.
Irma
First Appearance: June 9, 1979 (though not by name until October 19, 1979)
Waitress and owner of "Irma's Diner", a diner occasionally patronized by Jon and Garfield. Her first appearance was on October 19, 1979. Irma is often shown to be behaving oddly.
Herman Post
First Appearance: July 19, 1978
Jon Arbuckle's mailman. Garfield constantly torments him by ripping off his pants and leaving him shredded and scratched, and he perpetually tries to find a way to deliver the mail safely, but rarely succeeding. In Garfield and Friends, the mailman was voiced by Gregg Berger. His first appearance on television was on Fair Exchange. His last was on Cash And Carry. In some of the comics, his hair is white instead of brown.
Binky the Clown
First Appearance: September 15, 1986
A television personality noted for his extremely loud and piercing greetings, most notably "HEEEEEEEY, KIDS!" He was first mentioned on March, 13, 1985 in the comic strips.[2]In Garfield's Halloween Adventure, the character made his first animated appearance and was given a voice. Binky was first seen in the comics on September 15, 1986. On Garfield and Friends, Binky became more of a regular, and would modify his greeting to suit who it was he was greeting, such as "HEEEEEEEY, CAT!" He also had his own segment on the show during the second and third seasons, called Screaming With Binky, in which he showed up in the midst of a certain activity and performed his trademark greeting, ruining said activity. Most of these segments were cut in syndication, but have been restored for the DVD releases. Like Jon, Binky was voiced by Thom Huge. His first television appearance was on Peace & Quiet. His last was on The Feline Philosopher.
Minor characters
Pests
- Spiders often appear in the comic strip. Garfield, who despises spiders, often kills them by hitting them with a rolled-up newspaper or magazine.
- Mice: Jon's house is also inhabited by mice, many of whom make cameo appearances in the strip. They are often portrayed as living their own social lives in their mouse holes. Although Jon wants Garfield to get rid of the mice, this never happens.
- Herman is a recurring mouse character. Although no name is given, a strip features a mouse's birthday on the 9th of September.
Neighbors
- Hubert and Reba are an elderly couple who live near Jon. Hubert is often portrayed as an older, grumpy man, while Reba is often either unseen or tending to household chores. The couple made an appearance in Here Comes Garfield.
- Mrs. Feeny is an unseen character in the comic strip, tormented by Garfield. She is regularly calling Jon to tell him what Garfield has done.
Inanimate characters
- RX-2, the talking bathroom scale, often makes fun of Garfield's weight. Garfield threatens it regularly of removing its batteries.
- Similarly to RX-2, Garfield's alarm clock often "speaks" by means of thought bubbles; Garfield usually destroys his alarm clock because it rings too loud. The clock is known to hate mornings more than Garfield himself, because of his behavior against it.
- The Spluts are flying pies which strike Garfield in the face on random occasions, making the sound "SPLUT!" on impact. Typically the Spluts are used for shock humor or as a running gag (their first appearance included Garfield checking the calendar to discover that it was "Splut Week"). Spluts tend to occur on Mondays, and are very frequent on the fence.
Other characters
- Ellen (first mentioned November 9, 1990) is a local woman whom Jon often tried to go out with. Originally, she was also an unseen character in the strip as well; most Ellen gags originally centered around Jon speaking to Ellen on the telephone, attempting to ask her out on a date. In a 2006 story, Ellen appeared in the strip after Jon convinced her to go on a date because she had amnesia and couldn't remember how much she despised him. [3] She was persuaded to go on a date with him, and on July 20th, 2006, the strip finally showed her as a blond woman with a striped dress. [4]
- Sonja is Garfield's mother. She has made appearances in the animated specials Garfield on the Town and Garfield: His 9 Lives, as well as a few cameos in the comic strip (including a December 1984 story which was a loose adaptation of Garfield on the Town). Sandi Huge provided her voice in the specials. She also appeared once on Garfield and Friends.
- The Fence Hecklers are usually known to be unseen characters who throw objects at Garfield while he sings or dances on the fence. The hecklers are often implied to be dogs.
Movies Only
- Happy Chapman a television host who features house pets on his show, he kidnaps Odie.
- Luca is a very sensitive dog who guards a house next door. But Garfield always tricks him. Garfield attempts to steal a pie at his house and tangles Luca up in garden gnomes. He is voiced by Brad Garrett.
- Persnikitty is a cat that releases the pets from the animal shelter. He was originally on Happy Chapman's show. He was voiced by Alan Cumming.
- Louis is a friendly mouse voiced by Nick Cannon. He often helps Garfield and is rewarded with Macadamia Nut cookies.
- Dargis
- Prince XII is a cat owned by a member of the British royal family. He looks exactly like Garfield except that he has a British accent. He received all of his owner's inheritance after she passed.(Also has the same voice of Professor Calamitous on Jimmy Neutron on Nickelodeon.
Television series only
Cactus Jake
Cactus Jake is the foreman of the Polecat Flats ranch, and a friend of Jon. He was seen only in the TV series and had a habit of saying Garfield's name wrong. Whenever Garfield wore a cowboy outfit, Jake always believed that he really was a cowboy named "Shorty" (Jon would always recognize "Shorty" as Garfield, however). Jake's voice was provided by Pat Buttram. First appeared: Polecat Flats. Last appeared: The Multiple Choice Cartoon. Last appearance (mentioned): Stairway to Stardom.
The Buddy Bears
The Buddy Bears are a trio of singing bear cubs who encourage viewers to "always agree with the group" (similar to The Get Along Gang). Their names are Bobby (tallest), Billy, and Bertie (shortest).
Mr. Burnside
Mr. Burnside is Jon's next-door neighbor, who is constantly annoyed by Garfield stealing his food. Early on in the sixth season, he was pushed so far as to rent his house out. Shortly after moving, Burnside found out that without Garfield stealing his food, he and his wife were getting overweight, so they agreed to move back. He is voiced by Gregg Berger.
Penelope Pussycat
Penelope Pussycat served as another love interest for Garfield, appearing only in the show's last three seasons, quickly becoming a regular even with only three episodes being labelled by their titles as "Penelope episodes". She lives in an Italian restaurant, which is no doubt the main reason that Garfield goes out with her. The fact that Garfield enjoys eating more than being with her annoys Penelope, but she willingly goes out with him anyway, because as she says, "It doesn't matter what we do so long as we do it together." She is voiced by Victoria Jackson. Penelope was not a character creation by Jim Davis or 'Garfield & Friends' writer, Mark Evanier. Penelope was a conception of Dallas, TX resident and Garfield fanatic by the name of Chris Miller. Penelope was included as part of a spoof newspaper submission to Paws Inc in 1989. The character Penelope was supposedly used in place of Arlene in the animated series due to Jim Davis wanting greater control over the Arlene character, and Evanier found himself unable to incorporate Davis's view of Arlene into the series, thus substituting Miller's Penelope character instead.