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U.S. Acres

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U.S. Acres
(Orson's Farm outside the United States)
Author(s)Jim Davis
Current status/scheduleEnded
Launch dateMarch 3, 1986
End dateMay 7, 1989
Syndicate(s)United Features Syndicate
Genre(s)Humor
Preceded byGarfield
Followed byMr. Potato Head (comic strip)

U.S. Acres (known as Orson's Farm outside the United States) is a comic strip that ran from 1986 to 1989 created by Jim Davis, author of the popular comic strip Garfield. The comic was launched on March 3, 1986 in a then-unprecedented 505 newspapers by United Feature Syndicate. At the peak of the comic's popularity, there were children's books, plush animals (particularly of the characters Booker, Sheldon, and Orson), and posters of the main characters. Its animated adaptation was included in the TV show Garfield and Friends. U.S. Acres features various barnyard animals living on a farm.

The final daily strip was printed on April 15, 1989, while the final Sunday, and the strip itself, appeared on May 7, 1989. The strip's cancellation did not affect its animated counterpart, though, which remained a part of Garfield and Friends in its seven-year run until 1994.

On the Professor Garfield website, the characters from U.S. Acres appear in a Kindergarten phonics program [1].

Books

Comic strip collections

Despite its initially negative reception, US Acres/Orson's Farm still has a large fan following.

Five comic strip collections were published, by Topper Books of New York City.

  1. Davis, Jim (1987). U.S. Acres Goes Half Hog!. Topper Books. ISBN 0-345-34392-1. (1986-03-03 through 1986-10-04)
  2. Davis, Jim (1987). U.S. Acres Counts its Chickens. Topper Books. ISBN 0-345-34881-8. (1986-10-05 through (1987-05-09)
  3. Davis, Jim (1988). U.S. Acres Rules the Roost. Topper Books. ISBN 0-88687-341-X. (1987-05-10 through 1987-12-13)
  4. Davis, Jim (1989). U.S. Acres Runs Amuck. Topper Books. ISBN 0-88687-437-8. (1987-12-14 through 1988-07-17)
  5. Davis, Jim (1989). U.S. Acres Hams it Up. Topper Books. ISBN 0-88687-469-6. (1988-07-18 through 1989-02-18)

Also, at least six comic strip collections were published by Berkley Books of New York City. However, some of these books are missing months of the strip and / or have strips out of order.

  1. Davis, Jim (1989). U.S. Acres: I Wasn't Hatched Yesterday. Berkley Books.
  2. Davis, Jim (1989). U.S. Acres: It's a Pig's Life. Berkley Books. ISBN 0-425-11833-9. (1986-05-24 through 1987-08-16)
  3. Davis, Jim (1989). U.S. Acres: Hold that Duck!. Berkley Books. ISBN 0-425-11877-0. (1986-08-18 through 1986-11-03)
  4. Davis, Jim (1990). U.S. Acres: Rise and Shine!. Berkley Books.
  5. Davis, Jim (1990). U.S. Acres: Try Counting Sheep. Berkley Books.
  6. Davis, Jim (1990). U.S. Acres: Take This Rooster, Please!. Berkley Books. ISBN 0-425-12007-4. (1987-04-14 through 1987-05-09, 1987-12-14 through 1988-02-08)

It should be noted that the last two months of the strip's run are not available in book form in the United States. The only known reprints of these strips are in the United Kingdom book Orson's Farm Cuts the Corn (ISBN 1-85304-176-9).

Children's books

  • Davis, Jim. Story written by Jim Kraft, illustrated by Paws, Inc. (1988). U.S. Acres: The Great Christmas Contest. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-05807-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Kraft, Jim. Illustrated by Paws, Inc. (1989). U.S. Acres: Let's Play Ball. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-34627-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Kraft, Jim. Designed and Illustrated by Brett Koth, Betsy Brackett, Thomas Howard, Dwight Ferris, and Dan Hasket (1989). U.S. Acres: Sir Orson to the Rescue. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-34765-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Kraft, Jim. Designed and Illustrated by Brett Koth, Betsy Brackett, Thomas Howard, Dwight Ferris, and Dan Hasket (1989). U.S. Acres: Beware! Rooster at Work. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-34766-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Kraft, Jim. Designed by Brett Koth. Illustrated by Brett Koth, Dwight Ferris, and Thomas Howard. (1990). U.S. Acres: Booker Meets the Easter Bunny. ISBN 0-553-34831-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Kraft, Jim, designed and illustrated by Betsy Brackett, Larry Fentz, Dwight Ferris, Dan Haskett and Brett Koth. (1989). U.S. Acres: The Big Camp-Out. Bantam Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Wade Dives In
  • Kraft, Jim, illustrated by Paws, Inc. (1989). A Most Special Easter Egg. Bantam Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Wade's Haunted Halloween
  • Orsons farm counts its chickens

Characters

The primary traits of the cartoon's main characters were established during the run of the comic strip, even down to such visual gags as the head on Wade's inner tube having the same facial expression as Wade.

  • Orson Pig (Gregg Berger): A kindhearted but often naïve bibliophile whose work ethic makes him the functional leader. His good humor being tested is one of the common gags in the cartoons. He tends to avoid conflicts. He sometimes becomes a costumed superhero named Power Pig, which more often than not causes his friends or adversaries to fall down laughing at him. His imagination, especially when reading, is a double-edged sword: it can lead to him being the target or conduit for Roy's tricks, or he might unwittingly solve a real-life problem while imagining himself to be a book's character. It is known to cause mass hallucinations (indeed, one can often deduce that Orson is reading by the change of scenery) or even warp reality. (Oddly enough, this does not happen when he reads bedtime stories to Booker and Sheldon.) In the first two years of the strip's run, Orson had eyelashes like Nermal. First appeared: "Wanted Wade". Last appeared: "The monster who couldn´t scare anybody".
  • Roy Rooster (Thom Huge): A loud, greedy rooster who endlessly enjoys practical jokes. Except for a few instances, he is tolerated because his job (waking up everyone and 'tending' to chickens) is important, although he does his best to avoid labor whenever possible. He has a special delight in tormenting the easy target of Wade. First appeared: "Wanted Wade". Last appeared: "The monster who couldn´t scare anybody".
  • Wade Duck (Howard Morris): Wade is the "cowardly craven duck" of the farm. His good nature is sometimes shadowed by his overwhelming hypochondria and phobia of everything from chocolate doughnuts to finding out that it's Tuesday, and especially flying and rain. Wade is so scared of drowning that he constantly wears a kiddie pool inner tube (which, as a recurring joke, has a head like his on the front that always imitates his facial expression and what direction he's looking to match his own). He can be easily driven into an incoherent raving of fear. Unlike the other characters, Wade's eyebrows float above his head. He also has a tendency of pronouncing silent letters in many words (i.e. 'ansWer', 'LincoLn'). First appeared: "Wanted Wade". Last appeared: "The monster who couldn´t scare anybody".
  • Booker (Frank Welker): A chick named by Orson for the pig's love of books. (Booker's comment to Orson about his name: "I'm just glad you don't love kumquats!" (May 23 1986) Booker and Sheldon were still eggs when Orson found them abandoned and decided to hatch them. Booker is extremely adventurous and (over) confident despite his size. He often chases worms, but can never seem to catch them. In the comic, he often called Orson "Mom", but in the cartoon, when it's discovered how Booker and his brother were hatched, he calls him "Daddy". First appeared: "Wanted Wade" in a cameo. Last appeared: "The monster who couldn´t scare anybody".
  • Sheldon (Frank Welker): Booker's brother, who refused to hatch completely and appears as a walking egg with chicken feet sticking out of him. A recurring gag is to portray his shell as the perfect living space within (which is known to have a microwave oven, pinball machine, stove, table tennis table and an air conditioner), without ever showing it. In one episode, the shell finally hatched, only to reveal another shell underneath. First appeared: "Wanted Wade". Last appeared: "The monster who couldn´t scare anybody".
  • Bo Sheep (Frank Welker): Lanolin's brother. In the comics, he was depicted as being unintelligent, but in the TV series, his personality was closer to that of a stereotypical "surfer dude"[2] with a pleasant, "surfer" drone in his voice. In the television show he is not particularly bright sometimes, but always cool, collected, and dependable. First appeared: "Wanted Wade". Last appeared: "The Farmyard Feline Philosopher"
  • Lanolin Sheep (Julie Payne): Usually shown as a hard worker but with a personality the polar opposite of her brother: loud and disagreeable (although she actually agrees with everything he says and is often in denial). Also, a lot of times when the rest of the crew was oblivious to Roy's antics, Lanolin was able to figure it out. Was often seen doing laundry despite the fact none of the animals wore clothes. First appeared: "Wanted Wade". Last appeared: "The thing in the box". (Her name is that of the grease produced by wool-bearing animals, particularly sheep.)

Secondary characters

NOTE: Most of the following characters only ever appeared in the animated cartoon version of U.S. Acres, or appeared differently in the original comic strip. Orson's brothers, for example, only appeared in the first few weeks of the comic strip, and only received names in the later cartoon adaptation.

  • The main characters continually mention the farmer, although he is never seen. For example: "The farmer's not gonna be happy when he sees this mess." His only appearance in the strip was when his daughter, also an unseen character, introduced him to Orson.
  • Booker continually chases worms (unnamed), without success.
  • The farm's resident chickens (generally unnamed, though Frieda, Louise, Charlotte, Mabel, Valerie, Olivia, Vanna, and Natalie) are often romanced by Roy, as he is usually rescuing them from the Weasel. In one episode, they went on strike because they were sick of working for chicken feed, which is Shell Shocked Sheldon. They remind the Weasel of lunch and dinner.
  • Orson's Mom was seen in the first week of the strip, telling Orson that he was special because he was a runt. She also makes an off-screen cameo in a flashback in the cartoon episode "Hog Noon".
  • Max the Skateboarding Bird (Tara Jayne) was an overweight bird with a skateboard. He first appeared as an unseen character hiding behind a wall, whom Wade spoke with on October 13, 1986. The last panel of that strip was a call for reader submissions: "Kids: Who's Wade afraid of? You name it and tell me what it is." His physical appearance was revealed on March 3, 1987, using the winning contest entry. Max never appeared again after the week of strips featuring him, although a similar-looking turkey character makes a brief cameo in the cartoon episode "Badtime Story".
  • Cody is a dog who only appears in the strip. He likes to attack the other farmyard animals and tries to maul them.
  • Blue is a cat who only appears in the strip. She keeps Cody out of trouble.
  • Brutus is the farm's local bull. Always angry, he usually charges around if he gets loose. He first appeared in Wade: You're Afraid.
  • Mort, Gort, & Wart (Frank Welker, Thom Huge, and Howard Morris, respectively) are Orson's three ugly, mean older brothers, and the only things Orson fears. Originally featured as nameless bullies in the first three weeks of the strip, they usually show up in the cartoon to abuse Orson or steal the gang's crops. Their appearances were almost universally accompanied by a stylized, electric guitar version of "In the Hall of the Mountain King." Their names were revealed in the show's second season: Gort is the ringleader and has yellow eyes, Wart is the tallest with buck teeth, and Mort is the shortest who grunts in his dialogue. First appeared: Keeping Cool. Last appeared: The Monster who couldn't scare anybody.
  • Fred Duck (Frank Welker), is Wade's geeky cousin, who isn't afraid of flying. (However, he has been known to pack a parachute in case he has a problem while flying.) First appeared: Shy Fly Guy. Last appeared: The Ugly Duckling.
  • Weasel (Gregg Berger), often tries to kidnap the chickens so that he can eat them, but is usually stopped by Roy. The only other regularly recurring antagonist (even though he never appeared in the strip), he occasionally attempts to catch and eat Sheldon as well. Apparently, he's not the only weasel around, as one episode also had two completely different weasels, named Waylon and Spence, going after the chickens. The chickens have also been hunted by a Fox early on, and later a Wolf, neither of whom appeared as frequently. First appeared: Flop Goes the Weasel.
  • Plato (Frank Welker), is a brown rooster who applied to be the farm's resident rooster once, and he could easily charm the chickens, much to Roy's chagrin. However, he is also afraid of weasels. After his experience there, he went on to raise a herd of giant bunnies. Cartoons: The Bunny Wabbits is Coming and Cockadoodle Duel.
  • Bernie (Gregg Berger), is Roy's agent, who is also an anthropomorphic pig. Sometimes, Roy, upset over how things are going with him, complains to Bernie, demanding him to put him on a different show. Cartoons: Big Bad Buddy Bird and Roy gets Sacked.
  • The Incredibly Stupid Swamp Monster(Frank Welker), called Swampy for short, is a robot who ran into the swamp after he was created by Dr. Karloffis Boar (a pun on Boris Karloff) and later became friends with Orson and the gang. The stuff from the swamp stayed on him for him to appear as a swamp monster. As his name suggests, he is incredibly stupid, and according to Wade, he has good billing because his name is in the title of both of the episodes he appears in.
  • Chloe, Roy's niece, came to visit her uncle and his co-stars in the sixth season. After her uncle rescued her from the weasel, she took part with the gang in a fantasy based on Snow White. First appeared: Uncle Roy to the Rescue. Last appeared: Snow Wade and the 77 Dwarfs, part 2.
  • Aloysius Pig (Kevin Meaney), Orson's pushy cousin, took charge in a few episodes of the seventh season. He bean-counted every scene, looking for anything that might be the least bit objectionable or cutting out anything that would be slightly considered over the show's budget, to the annoyance of the rest of the cast. His catchphrase is "That's not right!!" (Similar to Meaney's from his stand-up days)
  • Garfield (Lorenzo Music) occasionally turns up in the animated version to make a special guest cameo. One particular episode even focused on his appearance as a thinly disguised "mystery guest". On U.S. Acres, Garfield retained his method of "thinking aloud" without moving his mouth despite the fact that the U.S. Acres characters move their mouths when speaking.
  • Jon Arbuckle (Thom Huge) calls in on the aforementioned "mystery guest" episode, but is unable to identify Garfield. Note that Roy Rooster, who takes his call, is voiced by the same actor.
  • Odie (Gregg Berger) has 4 cameos: he appears in Flop Goes the Weasel in Booker's worm trap, The Ugly Duckling in the chase scene, and Kiddie Korner, playing the dog in Old Mother Hubbard. In Shy Fly Guy, Booker make a snow Odie, which Wade bumped into.
  • Edward R. Furrow, a badger psychiatrist. He is a parody on Edward R. Murrow.
  • Newton, Wade's cousin. He has a horrible memory and once forgot who he was and why he was at the farm. He also forgets Orson's name within seconds of learning (or re-learning) it.

History

Orson the pig:

Orson's mom, unnamed:

Orson's three brothers, Wart, Gort, and Mort:

Roy the rooster:

Booker and Sheldon:

  • Booker and Sheldon first appeared as eggs on May 6, 1986 and continued as eggs through May 1986. Booker hatched on May 22, 1986. Sheldon partially hatched (legs only) on May 27, 1986. Booker and Sheldon's last appearance was on May 7, 1989.

Wade the duck:

The worm

  • While worms had appeared in the strip throughout most of 1986, the first time that one was given a "voice" was on December 1, 1986. The worms' last appearance was on April 10, 1989. A few of the worm characters occasionally had names, such as "Willy," a young worm, with "Mom" and "Dad" (and who called each other "Estelle" and "Filbert" respectively).

Lanolin the sheep

Bo the sheep

Max, the skateboarding bird - character was sketched/designed by a child reader in a contest, to give Wade someone else to be afraid of.

Cody, the dog

Blue, the cat

While Cody and Blue were drawn on the back cover of the first U.S. Acres collected comic strip book, published in early 1987, they did not appear in the comic strip itself until late in 1987 (and thus don't appear until the third book).

Cross-appearances with other Jim Davis cartoons

After the characters became part of the "Garfield and Friends" series, the characters also began making cross-appearances. For example, in the Garfield cartoon episode "Fat & Furry", Garfield is handed $1 in change by the grocery clerk after buying groceries. The dollar, instead of having George Washington's face on it, had Bo Sheep's face. For other examples, see the list below.

U.S. Acres characters in Garfield cartoons

  • In the episode Mystic Manor, Garfield slides down a pole in the manor he is in. In the background, Orson and the gang is shown waving when he goes down the pole. This scene was used in the latrer Garfield and Friends intro.
  • In the episode The Lasagna Zone when Odie breaks the remote, Garfield is seen running through various versions of TV shows, including a scene from a U.S. Acres cartoon with Booker and Sheldon.
  • Wade has a cameo in the episode The Bear Facts.
  • A Roy look-alike rooster appears in the episode Polecat Flats.
  • Orson and Roy are seen running in the episode The Garfield Opera.
  • Orson, Roy, Wade and Sheldon are seen watching TV in the episode Happy Garfield Day.
  • The uncut version of Attack of the Mutant Guppies concludes with a U.S. Acres Quickie which is really the true ending of the cartoon. The Quickie shows Orson & Wade hanging around a well in which the mutant guppies emerge from.
  • In the episode Mistakes Will Happen, an episode mistake is Orson, Wade, Roy and the barn in the background staring at Jon.
  • In the episode Truckin' Odie, trucker Bruce is seen reading a Power Pig comic book.
  • In the episode The Mail Animal, the cartoon suddenly "ends" and cuts to a U.S. Acres cartoon called Much Ado About Orson, where Orson and Wade are seen walking on the farm, and Orson mentions something about Lanolin’s garden to Wade. Then Garfield interrupts the cartoon and says that his cartoon is not over yet, and the Garfield cartoon continues.
  • In the end of the episode Moo Cow Mutt, an apparent U.S. Acres Quickie begins, but Garfield suddenly appears and tries to argue with Orson and Wade about how he wasn't fooled by the prank pulled on him at the end of the short, but they leave. Garfield gives up and walks away. As he passes by a nearby cow, he mutters, "C'mon, Odie," and the cow promptly starts acting like Odie.

Garfield characters in U.S. Acres cartoons

  • In the episode Badtime Story, Garfield has a cameo in the story of Chicken licken, and is called "Catty fatty".
  • Odie makes a cameo, being caught in Booker's trap, in the episode Flop Goes the Weasel. This scene was used in the later Garfield and Friends intro.
  • Both Garfield and Odie appear briefly in their own house, in the episode Quack to the future.
  • Garfield comes to the farm to destroy Roy's restaurant in the episode Fast food.
  • In the episode Mystery Guest, Roy has a mystery guest appearance game show, and whoever that guesses the answer, which is Garfield, gets the farm's tractor, but not even Jon Arbuckle can identify him. Garfield's role as the mystery guest is his biggest role in a U.S. Acres cartoon.
  • In the episode The Thing in the Box, everyone tries to figure out what's in Bo's package. When he opens it, he finds out that it was Nermal, who was sent to the farm by Garfield.
  • In the episode The Bo Show, Bo eventually ends up immitating Garfield during his attempt to play the roles of everyone else.
  • In many of the episodes, the characters have Garfield toys and accessories.

Fan sites

References

  1. ^ Orson's Farm on Professor Garfield
  2. ^ U.S. Acres page at platypuscomix.net
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