Garfield and Friends - still a fine cartoon [Archive]

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 06:39 AM

Hey,

I rented the UK DVD of this series "Garfield and Friends" (well, one of them) and have to say that I really enjoyed it as much as I did when I was a kid in the 80's/90's. These episodes were from 1988.
It's uneven (I found the Garfield segments to be the strongest) but those segments are often hilarious, due in no small part to Lorenzo Music's excellent voice work and sardonic wit and sarcasm. :D Surely children couldn't fully appreciate this? ;) His reaction to Binky The Clown's forced jollity ("Happy Birthday/Happy Birthday/Whoopee-doo/Whoopee-doo...") slamming the door in his face or tricking him had me in stitches :D :)

Also I need help identifying a segment, it was one where Garfield dreams he is trapped in the world of TV, and winds up on shows like He-Man, Care Bears etc (really quite well spoofed).

Also I noticed in the segments I watched that there are quite a few classical pieces scattered through the Garfield segments score, eg "Flight of the Bumblebee" (?) when Garfield is going after a fly, Beethoven (Moonlight Sanata) for sad scenes, and some others (I'm not an expert at that) ;) Did anyone else notice that? There was even The Cuckoo Song (Dance of the Cuckoos) from Laurel and Hardy in there.

Marty26

01-26-2007, 08:09 AM

The best episodes of Garfield and Friends were IMO the later episodes of Season 2, and pretty much every episode from Season 3 (ie. the season where they changed the theme song). Video Airlines, Skyway Robbery (Mr. Swindler's IMO one of the best supporting characters ever in a Saturday Morning cartoon), Flat Tired. All great cartoons.

Studio Toledo

01-26-2007, 08:12 AM

It was one of those I used to watch when it first came out, but slowly lost interest after the first couple seasons (mainly due to the writing I just couldn't stand to have another 4th wall moment stuck in, I don't want to knock Mark Evanier for that though, but it wasn't a particularly great cartoon in my eye).

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 08:25 AM

Marty26

01-26-2007, 09:38 AM

What do you mean by a 4th wall moment?

I'll have to pick up the R1 at some point, as the R2 DVD I had contained only the 1st 8 episodes of S1, not the whole season.
The other segments were billed as "Orson's Farm" not US Acres (though to me it's always been Orson's Farm), I always preferred the "Friends Are There" theme :D ;)

What was the title of the cartoon I highlighted when Garfield wanders from show to show? :confused: I may even have it on VHS somewhere.

I think there were actually several cartoons like that. Attack Of The Giant Robot Monsters was one. One of the great things about this show was the way Garfield never had any problem acknowledging the fact that he was in a cartoon. That made for some really classic episodes (such as the aforementioned Flat Tired).

As for US Acres, I'm going to come clean and say the later US Acres episodes were better than the earlier ones. The earlier ones (particularly from Season 1) were just way too preachy and moralistic. The later ones still had that lesson learned, but were considerably more subtle about it. Cock-A-Doodle Duel (and no, I'm not talking about that awful Larry Doyle directed Foghorn Leghorn cartoon) was probably the best one.

UncleJunior

01-26-2007, 10:01 AM

Garfield and Friends is perhaps my favorite kids cartoon of all-time (Looney Tunes not withstanding.) Lorenzo Music and the other principal VA's on the show are some of the best VA's I've ever heard.

The peak of Garfield and Friends, and US acres was Seasons 2-4. US Acres got better when they ditched those awful songs that distracted from the cartoons. I'm disappointed US Acres never gets its due. I thought at times it was actually funnier than Garfield. The 3 strong maincharacters really helped make each US Acres very funny. A lot of the cartoons released during that timeframe were classic.

The show suffered during Seasons 6-7, when they tinkered with the format a little (adding a girlfriend for Garfield.) and the writing got progressively weaker. Not to mention that God-awful rap intro which thankfully got excised from the DVD's.

I had no problem with the 4th wall references. They helped the show stand out from the other toons at this period, and I never got tired of them breaking it almost once a cartoon. And IMO, perhaps the best use of 4th wall references in any TV cartoon. How can you not like a show where "Carlton your Doorman" is referenced, because of Lorenzo Music's previous short-lived gig as Carlton.

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 10:36 AM

Now I think about it, Attack of the Giant Robot Monsters could well be that Garfield episode, referencing He-Man, Transformers etc :)
I'll probably pick up the season sets now at some point which are only $20-ish on R1.
I never knew Garfield got a girlfriend, but then I probably never saw the last seasons (1994-95), can't remember.

speedy fast

01-26-2007, 11:14 AM

I liked Garfield and Friends, and unlike most of you people, I really liked the songs that were sung on the show, especially the US Acres songs.

speedy fast

01-26-2007, 11:17 AM

I never knew Garfield got a girlfriend, but then I probably never saw the last seasons (1994-95), can't remember.

In the comic strip he had a girlfriend named Arlene, though it seems to me like she doens't appear in the comics very often. But on Garfield and Friends, he had a different girlfriend, named Penelope. I only remember seeing one episode with her.

A few years ago I e-mailed the shows writer, Mark Evanier (he has a website with an e-mail address included). I asked him why Garfield had a different girlfriend, and I was told that Jim Davis had some strict ideas on how he wanted Arlene to be portrayed, and he either told Mark Evaier to create a different girlfriend for Garfield or Mark decided to create a different one.

Marty26

01-26-2007, 11:34 AM

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 11:50 AM

Was Nermal a he or she? Nermal is voiced by a female VA but in one of the Season 1 episodes Jon is talking about Nermal, and he keeps saying "he".

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 11:55 AM

I didn't like the US Acres (Orson's Farm) songs at all. Cheesy and just pretty bad, not even very memorable.

UncleJunior

01-26-2007, 12:14 PM

Did the DVDs also axe the "We're Ready To Party" theme of Seasons 2-5? I remember seeing, a few months ago on Youtube, a Season 3 episode with the Friends Are There theme dubbed over the "We're Ready To Party" theme. Was that actually part of the DVD, or did the guy who posted the video manually do that?

No thankfully that theme hasn't been excised. Its been left intact.

As for Nermal, Nermal is a he, but is in fact voiced by a woman, Desiree Goyette.

And here's Mark Evanier's website:
http://newsfromme.com/

I highly recommend it as he has lots of great views on a variety of topics, as well as memories of various showbiz personalities.

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 12:19 PM

Thanks UncleJunior :) Yes, its the fact Nermal was voiced by a woman that made me think the kitten was supposed to be a female :D

Javeman

01-26-2007, 12:27 PM

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 12:49 PM

The Binky episode had me in stitches :D

One segment I wasn't fond of in S1 was "Ode To Odie", its just a bit dull, and sounds awfully dated now (obviously) but in that way quite funny, and you just know there will be a "That's a rap" line at the end.

nickramer

01-26-2007, 12:56 PM

I thought this show was great, too! Athougth I agree U. S. Acres got better as the show went along, there were some good ones during the first season, such as the "Grabity" episode.

Alf

01-26-2007, 01:32 PM

Don´t forget that Care Bears parody, the Buddy Bears! These were really one of the most poignant satires on Saturday Morning clichés I´ve ever seen- even if, ironically, on a Saturday Morning cartoon.

Marty26

01-26-2007, 01:45 PM

"Garfield & Friends" was great. There were ocassional bad episodes (the preachy ones, or anything with Cactus Jake) but the show itself was awesome.

Anything with Binky is comedy gold, and "Mistakes Will Happen" was pure genius, one of the best cartoons EVER.

I thought there were a couple good Cactus Jake episodes. The best was probably S3's Urban Arbuckle (where Jon went to a rodeo he was hosting and fell for his rodeo queen daughter).

Agreed that Binky's a failproof comedy character, and Mistakes Will Happen was freaking hilarious.

In response to Alf, I think Garfield And Friends in general is supposed to be a parody of Saturday Morning cartoon cliches. So it's only appropriate that the show mocked annoying PC/preachy Saturday Morning cartoon characters with The Buddy Bears. Though, surprisingly, their best episode (IMO) was their US Acres appearance, where Roy Rooster became the show's antagonist (Big Bad Buddy Bird).

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 01:45 PM

Debbie

01-26-2007, 01:56 PM

"Garfield and Friends" is one of my favorite cartoon shows, and the majority of these episodes hold up fairly well. I like this version of Garfield better than the comic strip, which has gotten a bit stale lately. While I am really not as big a cartoon fan as I once was, popping a Garfield DVD into the player and watching a couple of episodes is usually good for a few chuckles. I especially like the mock-lecture episodes, like "How To Be Funny" or "Mini-Mall Matters". I also liked the episode where Jon is trying to find a record player, and no one even knows what a record is. And any episode featuring Nermal or Odie is cute! As for US Acres, some of those episodes have very lively animation, which was a little unusual for a Saturday morning show of it's time. My favorite episodes were usually the ones that focused on Wade Duck or Roy Rooster.

Mr. Semaj

01-26-2007, 02:20 PM

One of my most favorite Garfield episodes was the one where he wish upon a well to eliminate Mondays. :D

grim_tales

01-26-2007, 02:36 PM

Hey Debbie :)

Do I recognise your avitar as one of the Chipettes (Janette?) from Alvin and the Chipmunks? :)

UncleJunior

01-26-2007, 02:48 PM

"Mistakes will Happen" has to be a top favorite cartoon of mine of all-time. It was rather ironic though that they made fun of animation mistakes, where they had many in the past, and even after that episode was made. Though by Season 4, most of them had disappeared. Season 3 of US Acres has lots of "Scooby-Doo Movies" type animation blunders.

Debbie

01-26-2007, 03:50 PM

Hey Debbie :)

Do I recognise your avitar as one of the Chipettes (Janette?) from Alvin and the Chipmunks? :)

Yes, that's her, that pic was from a scene in "The Chipmunk Adventure". I was a big fan of Alvin and The Chipmunks and especially the Chipettes. I'd be disappointed when the Chippettes didn't appear in an episode when I saw the shows for the first time. Jeanette was my favorite of the girls; I could relate to her the most. I have been enjoying seeing them again on DVD, too, especially the Chipmunk Adventure and A Chipmunk Valentine, featuring the Chipettes. I'm happy to see that Badgasarian productions hasn't forgotten them in re-issuing the Chipmunk cartoons.

Javeman

01-26-2007, 03:59 PM

I forgot another great episode, "Jumping Jon", which featured the one-time segment "Great Moments of Stupidity". That was truly hilarious. ("If I pull this cord, either Jon's parachute will open, or his pants will fall down")

The best Orson episodes were the ones that composed the Alaguichus (however you spell that) trilogy. "Temp Trouble" was good, but "Discount of Monte Cristo" and "Kiddie Korner" were some of the funniest things ever. ("This has got to be the most violent episode we've ever done")

BloodyChamp

01-26-2007, 08:11 PM

I didn't read all of this thread but I tell ya what Garfield was one of the last truly great cartoons. The musical cartoon with the ants on the picnic was classic. I need to get these sets.

Studio Toledo

01-26-2007, 08:47 PM

I'll have to look out for those ones, they sound fun :)
Do you remember the episode "Galactic Gaming Garfield"?
Can't remember when that was made but I'm sure scare stories about video games ("Nintendo killed my Son" etc) were in the news in the 80's or so. Garfield gets addicted to a video game in the episode, and doesn't come for his dinner :D What really stood out were the blocky NES type graphics of the game universe :)
I think I saw that one. It ended with Jon having to get his appendix removed, thanks to the efforts of Odie while all Garfield did was be glued to the TV set on some game.

As someone earlier said about not having seen the final season, that's what my CBS affiliate decided as well, as they favored showing something else than Garfield & Friends during that final year or two in town, so I never saw it either, though by that point I was already in high school and watching Saturday morning animation wasn't my thing anymore.

Studio Toledo

01-26-2007, 08:52 PM

In response to Alf, I think Garfield And Friends in general is supposed to be a parody of Saturday Morning cartoon cliches. So it's only appropriate that the show mocked annoying PC/preachy Saturday Morning cartoon characters with The Buddy Bears. Though, surprisingly, their best episode (IMO) was their US Acres appearance, where Roy Rooster became the show's antagonist (Big Bad Buddy Bird).
I think that was the way I had viewed the show as well, but at the time, I didn't felt I needed to be reminded about it. There were a few cartoons around that time that similarly did that as well. "Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures" is one example I could think of, but at least it felt pretty raw and different in doing so.

Marty26

01-26-2007, 10:03 PM

BTW, for the record, there was one US Acres song I liked. Coincidentally, it was in what I described as the series' best cartoon (Cock-A-Doodle Duel). Namely Roy's Elvis Presley-like "King Of The Barnyard" song.

Tim Lones

01-26-2007, 11:12 PM

Studio Toledo

01-26-2007, 11:54 PM

I am sad to say, while I have seen an occasional Garfield and Friends episode, I never really got into it on a regular basis..I'll have to catch it on Boomerang (I believe they are still showing it?) or pick up one of the DVD sets soon..Sounds like I missed a lot.
Just get the DVDs (the Boomerang airings are based on a syndicated version that often removed the "Quickies" and such originally seen in the CBS airings, let alone only getting the first 73 of a total 121 episodes). Of course the DVD's are presented in an half-hour format that was essentially how the show was produced outside it's hour-long network broadcasts from 1989-94. Also the substitution of "Orson's Farm" for "U.S. Acres" due to it being an international master being used as well (since nobody outside the US would've ever seen the U.S. Acres comics strip anyway that was the reason for that change). Other than that, it's about as best as you can expect.

grim_tales

01-29-2007, 05:38 AM

I have the Curse of Klopman segement on VHS.

"Hello, this is Garfield, your doorman" :D

trevthetoonfan

01-29-2007, 06:10 PM

I like Garfield too. The best ones are from 1989 to 1994. I like the ones without the songs. Once the songs were out of the show, it was hilarious. That's what I liked about Garfield. Everyone can enjoy it no matter how old they are. If only CBS had aired more general audience cartoons back in the 80's and 90's. Besides, some of the humor was for older audiences anyway, not bad stuff, but I'm a history buff, and I know a lot of references in the cartoons. I could picture some kids asking their parents about some of the jokes. As far as favorite Garfield 'toons go, one of my favorites is DJ Jon. Jon's cousin George is a DJ. George thinks Jon has a great voice and offers him a job. George is voiced by the very talented Neil Ross. Neil is hilarious as George the DJ especially when they talk like this: George: Hey, Jon, you're beautiful, Jon: No you're beautiful. And it goes back and forth.

Leviathan

01-29-2007, 06:15 PM

My Favorite Garfield and Friends moment is the Screaming with Binky segment where Wade Duck substitutes for Binky (who's in vacation in Mexico). Wade does a hiliariously timid version of Binky's catchphrase ("HEEEYYYYYYYY KIDS!"), and is promptly corrected by a newly-returned Binky (replete with sombrero and fake moustache), who does the scream with much more passion, scaring the bejeebers out of Wade in the process.

Runner-ups Big Bad Buddy Bird, probably the greatest commentary on "pro-social values" EVER in a Saturday Morning cartoon, and "Attack of the Giant Robots"

Comicfan

01-30-2007, 06:21 AM

One of my favorite bits is Orson and Wade opening a restaurant on the farm, with the promise that "If we can't make it, you eat free." Roy naturally tries to take advantage of this, ordering complicated and seemingly impossible dishes. The highlight for me is Roy's order of "One moose stew with chocolate sauce>" Orson delivers it, with the comment "That's a strange order. Most people like their moose stwe with raspberry sauce."

grim_tales

01-30-2007, 06:57 AM

I liked the episode where John's Uncle Ed comes to stay - "The Thing That Stays Forever" and proceeds to eat Garfield and Jon out of house and home :D

Garfield (on making a horrible stew to make Ed go away): You're looking at something amazing - food that even I wouldn't eat!

Then at the end Jon tells Garfield "I'll do anything you want" and Garfield makes him order take out from every restaurant :D

I liked the Orson's Farm segment too - a James Bond spoof, where Orson's spy novel goes missing.

doctoon

01-31-2007, 05:50 PM

To me the humor on Garfield and Friends was a plus. I'd watch it, though, just to hear Lorenzo Music's voice for Garfield. I wish he'd done more voices for animation.

Matt the Y

01-31-2007, 06:05 PM

To me the humor on Garfield and Friends was a plus. I'd watch it, though, just to hear Lorenzo Music's voice for Garfield. I wish he'd done more voices for animation.

FWIW, Lorenzo was also the voice of Tummi Gummi on Disney's "The Gummi Bears" and was the voice of Peter Venkman on "The Real Ghostbusters" (hey, anyone remember the week THAT show was famous? :p :D ).

He also did the voice of one of the crash test dummies in those old safety ads from the early 90's.

I suppose I should just add my two cents; while I did enjoy Garfield & Friends immensely as a kid and while some episodes honestly were downright hilarious (my favorite include "Truckin' Odie" and Jumpin' Jon" among others), I always felt the Garfield TV specials were a slight notch better. Particularly the first two, "Here Comes Garfield" and "Garfield on the Town", are wonderful (almost up there with the many Peanuts TV specials) but my favorite of the Garfield specials is probably "Garfield: His 9 Lives", the hour-long special based off the 1984 book. My favorite "act" from that special wasn't even from the book but created for the animated version; "King Cat", Garfield's 2nd life taking place in ancient Egypt as the pet cat of an Aztec prince.

grim_tales

07-11-2007, 06:48 AM

I've just seen the "Here Comes Garfield" TV episode.
I enjoyed it :D
It sort of feels more like a Peanuts/Charlie Brown special (maybe as it was produced by Bill Melendez?) - even the end credits are like Charlie Brown (same style).
It still has the humor of later Garfield however, with Lorenzo Music's excellent voice work, and the scene where Garfield thinks he'll have to say goodbye to Odie at the city pound is surprisingly sad. "So long old friend..." :(

So long old friend
I wish that I could
see you once again
I never knew
The time would come
When I'd be losing you
*Sniff* :(

Interestingly, Desirée Goyette performed some songs for the special "So Long Old Friend" and "Together Again". Of course Desirée later voiced Nermal in Garfield and Friends.

grim_tales

07-11-2007, 10:04 AM

I noticed that by "Garfield on the Town" (1983) the more recognisable (to me) Tom Huge is the voice of Jon. Again, this was another touching episode, with Garfield meeting his mom. :)
"Garfield Goes Hollywood" is perhaps the closest in style to the TV series (it was made in 1987) - the animation looks exactly the same, as are the voices and Garfield even appears in a similar backdrop at the beginning doing a "comedian" act.
There was one TV show episode where Jon thought Garfield had the cat flu as he kept dancing the hula, so he tried to get him on a TV show for talented pets. In the Hollywood episode, Garfield and Odie appear on "Pet Search" - a TV show for talented pets.

Marty26

07-11-2007, 10:06 AM

grim_tales

07-11-2007, 01:49 PM

I quite liked the jazzy music used in the cartoons, like in "Here Comes Garfield". some of the more gentle songs like "So Long Old Friend" sounded familliar too.
I've just ordered Garfield and Friends: Volume 1 from DVD Pacific :D I think the reason why the Hollywood special reminded me most of G&F was because I felt the story was wackier, the humour seemed more sophisticated (if that makes sense) :)

bj_wanlund

07-11-2007, 07:59 PM

Speaking of Desiree Goyette, she was also responsible for...wait for it...FLASHBEAGLE! Quite possibly a big-time guilty pleasure Peanuts special for me.

BJ

grim_tales

07-12-2007, 05:18 AM

The "So long old friend" song reminded me of other music/goodbye songs - Pikachu's Goodbye from Pokémon, Once Upon A Long Time Ago from rubbish 80's animé Time Fighters In The Land of Fantasy, and the sequence in the Simpsons when a tired Homer almost falls asleep while driving and imagines himself entering "Slumberland".

Studio Toledo

07-12-2007, 01:39 PM

Speaking of Desiree Goyette, she was also responsible for...wait for it...FLASHBEAGLE! Quite possibly a big-time guilty pleasure Peanuts special for me.

BJ
Heh, I once had the LP to that one!

Studio Toledo

07-12-2007, 01:41 PM

The "So long old friend" song reminded me of other music/goodbye songs - Pikachu's Goodbye from Pokémon, Once Upon A Long Time Ago from rubbish 80's animé Time Fighters In The Land of Fantasy
It's not rubbish when you realized the show was from the 70's (Jim Terry dubs on their own are insipid for the use of "The Bullets" and their music stylings).

bj_wanlund

07-12-2007, 03:05 PM

Heh, I once had the LP to that one!
I just found that on http://wayoutjunk.blogspot.com! Coincidental, huh?

BJ

grim_tales

07-12-2007, 06:34 PM

[/i]
It's not rubbish when you realized the show was from the 70's (Jim Terry dubs on their own are insipid for the use of "The Bullets" and their music stylings).

Is it? According to IMDB it's from 1984.
I don't know who Jim Terry is.

Studio Toledo

07-12-2007, 07:22 PM

I just found that on http://wayoutjunk.blogspot.com! Coincidental, huh?

BJ
That's it I'm sueing! :cool:

Really, it was about time someone bothered to rip that one and stick it up there. Prevents me from ever having to comb eBay for that stuff! Having to listen to it now, brings me back to those simple days of ruining this record on my Fisher-Price phonograph! Also used to have the Mickey Mouse Splashdance LP as well!
http://www.startedbyamouse.com/graphics/steve/splashdance.jpg

Oh why did the 80's have to go so fast? :(

Studio Toledo

07-12-2007, 07:31 PM

Is it? According to IMDB it's from 1984.
I don't know who Jim Terry is.
There's a lot about anime fandom you STILL have to know!

Time Bokan (Wikipedia) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Bokan)
Time Bokan (Anime News Network entry) (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1472)

Jim Terry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=8341), whom I brought up earlier, was an importer of a number of these anime programs of the 70's who headed a company at one point in time called "Kidpix" that dubbed "Time Fighters" in the mid 80's, and a number of other obscure properties like "Robby the Rascal" and such.

grim_tales

07-13-2007, 05:54 AM

I didnt realise it was a series, possibly the feature film I saw was dubbed in the 80's :)

Studio Toledo

07-13-2007, 08:30 PM

I didnt realise it was a series, possibly the feature film I saw was dubbed in the 80's :)
No, it was just an re-edit of the TV series to make that feature-length compilation, a lot of Japanese cartoons that came out on VHS in the 80's went through similar practices.

Matthew Hunter

07-13-2007, 11:35 PM

grim_tales

07-15-2007, 10:04 AM

Re: Time Fighters - I'm thinking of this one:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295659/ :)

Studio Toledo

07-15-2007, 03:05 PM

Re: Time Fighters - I'm thinking of this one:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295659/ :)
No, (because imdb.com often is user-submitted anyway, I can't always trust it the way it is), this is essentially volume/part two of the Time Bokan dub that Jim Terry did, and probably based on episodes near the end of the original 1975 series.

By the way, here's the Japanese opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR4yKee7OBw) anyway just for reference.

Javeman

07-15-2007, 03:58 PM

"Garfield and Friends" was a great show. I haven't seen too many of the later episodes, all I've seen on TV are from the first couple seasons...but THIS later one on YouTube is brilliant. Singing ants!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=G_PLARjA5QQThat's a good one, but as I said earlier, "Mistakes Will Happen" is just pure brilliance:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ov8_UhDPHqM

"Garfield's been a very bad dog lately, I'll teach him a lesson she'll never forget."

Leviathan

07-15-2007, 04:34 PM

"this will scare the pants of those three or my name isn't June Arburkle"

That makes me laugh every time.

Marty26

07-15-2007, 05:19 PM

Can't forget this one: YouTube - Garfield and Friends-"Video Airlines" (http://youtube.com/watch?v=4Wl1NcnN7ZA&mode=related&search=)

My personal pick for Greatest Garfield Cartoon ever.

grim_tales

07-15-2007, 06:05 PM

No, (because imdb.com often is user-submitted anyway, I can't always trust it the way it is), this is essentially volume/part two of the Time Bokan dub that Jim Terry did, and probably based on episodes near the end of the original 1975 series.

By the way, here's the Japanese opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR4yKee7OBw) anyway just for reference.

Thanks for that, interesting :) In the Time Bokan dub I saw they all went to storybook lands and met Snow White/Jack and the Beanstalk and fairytale characters like that.

bouncin_froggie

07-17-2007, 06:38 PM

I echo great sentiments on this show. We actually have all the volumes & the Garfield specials. Picking a favorite would be way too hard (and I also never got to see the later ones until Volumes 4 & 5) but I appreciate the adult references like the episode "It Must be True" i.e. because someone said something on television, it must be true, the annoying magazine salesman, etc., etc. I think I prefer the early to middle episodes but U.S. Acres did improve with lack of singing.

grim_tales

07-18-2007, 12:20 PM

Really enjoyed the "Singing ants" one :D

grim_tales

07-24-2007, 09:08 AM

Marty26

07-24-2007, 09:56 AM

I got GARFIELD AND FRIENDS: VOLUME 1 today. It's not made clear which ones are S1 episodes and which are S2 though, the box just says it contains 24 episodes.
It's got the Binky Gets Cancelled episode on there though, and I'm sure there are other ones with him, Binky is comedy gold :)

You can tell just by the musical jingles opening with each episode's title card which are from Season 1 and which are from Season 2.

grim_tales

07-24-2007, 10:08 AM

Ah yes, the "Friends Are There" theme only lasted 1 season right? :)

Marty26

07-24-2007, 12:36 PM

Ah yes, the "Friends Are There" theme only lasted 1 season right? :)

No, it lasted the first two seasons. I'm not talking about the theme song (which is the same for both seasons). I'm talking about the title music for the individual episodes (ie. when each episode's title card is shown). All of the title music for the individual episodes in Season 2 use the first few notes of the Friends Are There theme (there are actually two slightly different variations of that one title card theme). In Season 1, however, about half the episodes use that music for their title cards. And the other half use generic episode-specific title card music. Watch Season 1's "Weighty Problem/Good Cat, Bad Cat" and then watch Season 2's "Rip Van Kittie/The Big Catnap" to see what I'm talking about.

grim_tales

07-24-2007, 02:05 PM

OK, thanks :) Will do!

Marty26

07-28-2007, 10:06 AM

I'm amazed that nobody mentioned For Cats Only. That has to be one of the most brilliant episodes ever. Despite that odd (and somewhat creepy) snide blonde-haired Jon lookalike somehow replacing the real Jon in the cartoon.

I must say, just watching Season 1 and Season 2 side-by-side, I can't help marveling at the vast improvement in the series over the course of just those two seasons. Season 1's plots were more simple-minded Heathcliff-style plots (Garfield participating in a cat show, Garfield having to chase a bunch of mice away, Garfield temporarily getting a new owner - you know, pretty basic cat/master plots). Season 2, however, showed the series getting quite creative and witty with both its plots and its satire. I believe starting with The Lasagna Zone episode.

Then the series really took off in Season 3.

grim_tales

08-02-2007, 05:24 AM

Jon Cooke

08-02-2007, 06:08 AM

It looks like a new animated Garfield movie is in the works: Garfield Gets Real. It sounds interesting to say the least: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_Gets_Real

Sogturtle

08-02-2007, 08:32 AM

It looks like a new animated Garfield movie is in the works: Garfield Gets Real. It sounds interesting to say the least: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_Gets_Real

Jon~

Interesting!!! I finally got around to watching the first Garfield movie (saw the second in the theater), I actually LIKE the CGI Garfield (which I didn't think was possible:p ) but both films seem so schizophrenic with their using a live-action dog for Odie and real cats for Nermal etc. Having Odie back in SOME form of animation will be a big plus.
I wonder who's voicing Garfield in this feature???:confused:

bj_wanlund

08-02-2007, 10:45 AM

My guess? Frank Welker. He did great on Baby Kermit on "Muppet Babies"...

BJ

Marty26

08-02-2007, 11:42 AM

I've just seen the first couple of episodes of S1, and I know what you mean. The Garfield plots are simple, (though Binky is great comedy and the Box O' Fun episode seems like a Peanuts short), Orsons Farm seems too preachy at this point, for example in the Banana Nose episode - Roy is never confronted with the fact he is a bully - who can dish out pranks/jokes on others but cant take them! I mean, the gang step back and say "Maybe we shouldnt have been mean to Roy", fine, why doesnt Roy even consider why he got a taste of his own medicine?
The songs aren't very good either.

Banana Nose was the worst in terms of preachiness. That song Orson sings towards the end makes me shudder even after not hearing it for almost nine years. Still, I thought the Orson's Farm/US Acres cartoons had a couple decent musical numbers. I liked Roy's "King Of The Barnyard" song in the Cock-A-Doodle Duel episode. And "Cartoons Are Terrific" from "The Secrets Of The Animated Cartoon" was okay.

As I said before, during the first season, Garfield was basically a Heathcliff clone. It even borrowed some of its plots from Heathcliff (such as in the "Good Cat, Bad Cat" episode). Granted, there were a couple original episodes (The Binky Show, All About Odie and Monday Misery come to mind). But for the most part, it was a straight up "Crazy Housecat" cartoon in the vein of Heathcliff.

Season 2 was where the series really took off, becoming much more original and also fully developing its knack for Fourth Wall humor with episodes like "Attack Of The Giant Robot Monsters." Season 3 (where they replaced the Friends Are There theme with the We're Ready To Party theme) took what made Season 2 successful and actually improved upon it, and is thus the series' best season IMO.

Javeman

08-02-2007, 05:52 PM

Banana Nose was the worst in terms of preachiness. That song Orson sings towards the end makes me shudder even after not hearing it for almost nine years. Still, I thought the Orson's Farm/US Acres cartoons had a couple decent musical numbers. I liked Roy's "King Of The Barnyard" song in the Cock-A-Doodle Duel episode. And "Cartoons Are Terrific" from "The Secrets Of The Animated Cartoon" was okay."Banana Nose" was pretty bad, but I thought "Mud Sweet Mud" was even worse. It felt like one of those ultra-preachy episodes of Tiny Toons. The OOCness of almost the whole cast (even Orson, who at the end gets away with his mainly because of a pity vote) certainly didn't help.

The best S1 Orson episode was "Wanted: Wade". The only one that had a good plot, funny gags, AND a catchy song.

grim_tales

08-03-2007, 07:24 AM

I thought "Wanted: Wade" was quite funny. "What harm can it do? What harm can it do?!" :D

"Mud Sweet Mud" was stupid, the gang spend almost the entire episode wanting to drain the mudhole and all it takes is some reverse psychology guff and a song from Orson and they turn on a dime?! Didn't like it.
As for "Banana Nose" although Roy played jokes on the gang, he didn't insult them personally. Maybe that was what it was getting at, a sort of "Two wrongs don't make a right" thing?
Though I'd agree with Bo, it's time Roy felt what it was like to have mean stuff done to him!
Still didnt like it though.
I liked the song in "Shell Shocked Sheldon" though, and it is funny when "Power Pig" first appears, Roy and Wade do double takes and fall about laughing :)
Wasn't Greg Berger (voice of Orson) also an occasional VA in TMNT (Donatello?)

Marty26

08-03-2007, 10:30 AM

Okay, I think it's now time to ask this: Why was so much cut out of the syndicated version of this show anyway? The only opening they show is the Season 3 opening. The only closing they show is I believe the Season 4-6 closing (with the credits horribly mangled). They cut out all the US Acre Quickies and Screaming With Binky segments (except for one). And, worst of all, they cut out more than half the episodes in Seasons 4 and 5, and show absolutely nothing from the final two seasons. So why was the syndicated version of Garfield And Friends so badly mangled?

Marty26

08-03-2007, 10:33 AM

As for "Banana Nose" although Roy played jokes on the gang, he didn't insult them personally. Maybe that was what it was getting at, a sort of "Two wrongs don't make a right" thing?
Though I'd agree with Bo, it's time Roy felt what it was like to have mean stuff done to him!
Still didnt like it though.

There was a cartoon in Season 2 with a similar plot called Rooster Revenge. It was a MUCH better cartoon, and unlike Banana Nose, Roy really is a mean/nasty character. And thus the rest of the gang's revenge on him is well-deserved.

grim_tales

08-06-2007, 05:54 AM

I thought the "Good Cat, Bad cat" cartoon was poor, I liked the one where John and Garfield swapped bodies though, amusing :)
Interesting that the music of the show "uses" other pieces - mostly classical (eg Flight of the Bumblebee) though there are adaptions of Three Blind Mice and something that sounds like the Laurel and Hardy theme as well, in some episodes I saw.

Marty26

08-06-2007, 03:11 PM

As for the cartoons after Season 3, they were basically more of the same. The writers had a successful formula. And they basically stuck with it throughout the series' run. Season 5, however, was interesting in that the series took on a more intellectual approach. Musical cartoons were becoming more prominent. As were movie and book parodies.

grim_tales

08-21-2007, 12:24 PM

Having just made it through Disc 2, there are some funny cartoons in here, eg you mentioned "The Binky Show" and "Monday Misery", they were good :D But there are some naff ones - "Hansel and Garfield", "I Like Having You Around", "Grabbity", "National Tapioca Puudding Day" etc.
At least "Scrambled Eggs" isn't so preachy!

grim_tales

09-27-2007, 11:12 AM

I did like "Rooster Revenge" - it was actually funny, and a much better cartoon than say "Banana Nose". I also liked the ending of "Attack of the Mutant Guppies" - "Hey, lets see if we can get a spot on The Muppet Babies" :D

Who did the voice of Roscoe's dad in "Brain Boy"? He sounds familliar.
Also interestingly there were some 4th wall gags, eg in Orson's Farm/US acres, sometimes characters hum the "Friends Are There" theme, and in "Pros and Cons" Garfield is seen watching Garfield and Friends on TV to tell him how the money went missing.
I liked the sature in The Lasagna Zone episode :)

Studio Toledo

09-27-2007, 02:35 PM

I did like "Rooster Revenge" - it was actually funny, and a much better cartoon than say "Banana Nose". I also liked the ending of "Attack of the Mutant Guppies" - "Hey, lets see if we can get a spot on The Muppet Babies" :D
Seemed like the joke worked well if you remember both G&F and MB were on the same network, though Muppet Babies usually came on an hour or so before Garfield & Friends.

Who did the voice of Roscoe's dad in "Brain Boy"? He sounds familliar.
Wish I knew, I was only impressed at noticing Dick Beals played the kid there.

Also interestingly there were some 4th wall gags, eg in Orson's Farm/US acres, sometimes characters hum the "Friends Are There" theme, and in "Pros and Cons" Garfield is seen watching Garfield and Friends on TV to tell him how the money went missing.
I liked the sature in The Lasagna Zone episode :)
Usually it was the 4th wall stuff I wasn't too nutty about, and probably why I stopped watching it after 4 or so seasons in.

grim_tales

09-28-2007, 09:00 AM

Ahh.. I didn't know they were on the same US network (being from the UK). Garfield was always on ITV UK and Muppet Babies was on Channel 4 UK (I think) for me and then Channel 5.
I liked the 4th wall stuff, it helped cover up thin plots (especially in Orson's Farm). I liked the one where the alien's came down and tried to steal all the humor on Earth :D Quite original.

nickramer

09-28-2007, 10:45 AM

Marty26

09-28-2007, 02:51 PM

One of the unique things about Garfield is the way it turned fourth wall humor into an art. There were episodes like Attack Of The Giant Robot Monsters (where Garfield wakes up, finds himself in the wrong cartoon - a GI Joe-like action cartoon, and spends the whole episode trying to escape the cartoon's villains and heroes without ever setting foot in his normal environment or interacting with his normal cast of characters). Mistakes Will Happen (a hilarious play on the animation mistakes in most cartoons). Learning Lessons (The Buddy Bears are temporarily forced by the director to be permanent stars on Garfield and Friends due to parents complaining that his show isn't educational enough). And the US Acres cartoon The Secrets Of The Animated Cartoon (self-explanatory).

grim_tales

09-02-2009, 07:59 AM

I watched the first couple episodes of Season 2 last night on R1 DVD :D
I liked "Video Victim".
'Garfield, there are a lot of good shows on me right now' :)

Lorenzo's voice is just perfect, with sardonic, sarcastic wit and humour.

"Hello, this is Garfield, your doorman" :D

Marty26

09-02-2009, 09:31 AM

I did like "Rooster Revenge" - it was actually funny, and a much better cartoon than say "Banana Nose".

Banana Nose is horrible. That song at the end, in particular, is cringe inducing.

Studio Toledo

09-02-2009, 01:57 PM

Funny, it's been nearly 2 years since this thread has been laying dormant, now someone had to go and wake it up. Good going. :ysam:

quack-up

09-02-2009, 05:09 PM

Banana Nose is horrible. That song at the end, in particular, is cringe inducing.

All of the U.S Acres songs make me sick.

Marty26

09-02-2009, 05:24 PM

All of the U.S Acres songs make me sick.

I dunno. Some of the later episodes had pretty funny songs (who could forget Wade's song in The Bunny Rabbits Is Coming and Roy's song in Cock-A-Doodle-Duel?). But the songs in the earlier episodes, ESPECIALLY Banana Nose, were wretched beyond belief.

CueBallCat79

09-02-2009, 10:54 PM

The songs in those US Acres cartoons were so bad they feel like they belonged in episodes of the Care Bears. Whose bright idea were those?

quack-up

09-03-2009, 10:07 AM

The songs in those US Acres cartoons were so bad they feel like they belonged in episodes of the Care Bears. Whose bright idea were those?

Was it writer Mark Evanier?

Marty26

09-03-2009, 10:25 AM

YO, BANANA NOSE!!! Now you know how my sailboat goes.
LOOK, IT'S MONTANA EARS!!!

............

You will always be the same... nice person.

http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/ISP/ISP012/ispi064165.jpg

nickramer

09-03-2009, 12:02 PM

Sheesh, I didn't think they were that bad. At least the series got better as it progressed.

grim_tales

09-03-2009, 03:33 PM

I rather liked the 'Mud Sweet Mud' song *sniff* :o I agree I'm not really a fan of the US Acres songs though.
The "Old Barn" cartoon is just silly.
"Binky Goes Bad" was pretty original and funny :D

Mark Evanier

09-03-2009, 04:11 PM

Was it writer Mark Evanier?

ME: Nope.

quack-up

09-03-2009, 05:23 PM

Does anybody notice that similarities between some "Garfield and Friends" titles and some episodes of the "Simpsons."

"Binky Gets Cancelled" and "Krusty Gets Kancelled"
"Binky Goes Bad" and "Krusty Gets Busted' (maybe not same title, but relatively same story line: someone dresses up at Krusty/Binky and frames him)

Matt the Y

09-03-2009, 05:39 PM

ME: Nope.

Since you yourself in person are sharing with us, whose bright idea were they? Someone in charge of CBS programming?

David Gerstein

09-03-2009, 08:37 PM

There were episodes like Attack Of The Giant Robot Monsters (where Garfield wakes up, finds himself in the wrong cartoon - a GI Joe-like action cartoon [...]Why isn't anyone getting the title right? It's Invasion of the Big Robots—one of my favorites, too.

Even if CGI isn't my cup of tea, I'm looking forward to the new CGI Garfield Show, another Evanier endeavor, whenever it gets here. In this YouTube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP01ZMJIFy0), I was pleased to see reference to Jon being a cartoonist—somebody remembers.

Matthew Hunter

09-03-2009, 11:43 PM

Wow, welcome to Golden Age Cartoons, Mark Evanier!

And in response to David...I really hope that Youtube clip isn't the final product. That animation is worse than the CGI "Garfield Gets Real" movie, if that's humanly possible!

Also, a couple of other nitpicks:

1. That Jon Arbuckle voice is GRATING! They need to call the guy who did Jon for the original series and TV specials pronto. I think his name was Tom Huge.

2. Garfield is looking a little too skinny these days!

3. "Squeak"? I thought the mouse's name was Floyd...or at least in the comics, nameless!

David Gerstein

09-04-2009, 12:38 AM

In the 1980s comics, the mouse was Squeak. I don't think he's been named for a long time since then, but he has continued to appear with this same design from time to time.

The name Floyd came from "Garfield and Friends," but the character design was a little different there, too, so it wasn't precisely the same character.
As a teen, I presumed—perhaps incorrectly—that "Garfield and Friends" avoided including a mouse named Squeak because at the time, the adult comic album Squeak the Mouse (http://www.amazon.com/Squeak-Mouse-Massimo-Mattioli/dp/0874160707) was in a lot of bookstores.

I could well be wrong. Mark would surely know better.

Studio Toledo

09-04-2009, 12:43 AM

Wow, welcome to Golden Age Cartoons, Mark Evanier!
We hope to read your proses whenever you get the chance to be here!

And in response to David...I really hope that Youtube clip isn't the final product. That animation is worse than the CGI "Garfield Gets Real" movie, if that's humanly possible!

Also, a couple of other nitpicks:

1. That Jon Arbuckle voice is GRATING! They need to call the guy who did Jon for the original series and TV specials pronto. I think his name was Tom Huge.
I miss that voice personally, he was Jon Arbuckle to me.

2. Garfield is looking a little too skinny these days!
No doubt a product of our current time!

3. "Squeak"? I thought the mouse's name was Floyd...or at least in the comics, nameless!
Can't answer that!

LooneyFan

09-04-2009, 01:23 AM

Not only is Jon's voice grating, but his personality is off. The guy worries too much! When Jon is being woken up by Garfield in bed, I expect Jon to answer a "Why?" sort of question. Not a "Yes, sir! Im so very sorry Garfield!"

But, to be fair, I think this Garfield (the character) will be enjoyable. I also think they will go far by hitting Odie on the spot.

quack-up

09-04-2009, 10:33 AM

I remember a few years ago, wikipedia had an article on Thom Huge (searched for it and it redirects to "Garfield and Friends") and it listed him as a "possibly living person."

Studio Toledo

09-04-2009, 01:16 PM

I remember a few years ago, wikipedia had an article on Thom Huge (searched for it and it redirects to "Garfield and Friends") and it listed him as a "possibly living person."
Hahahahaha.

Jon Cooke

09-04-2009, 04:52 PM

I remember a few years ago, wikipedia had an article on Thom Huge (searched for it and it redirects to "Garfield and Friends") and it listed him as a "possibly living person."

This thread over on Toon Zone (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=231072) has links to podcast interviews from 2005 and 2006 with Thom Huge. As of 2006, he was alive and well living in Wyoming. The first parts of the interview are very interesting. Huge reveals that US Acres was originally developed as its own stand-alone Saturday morning cartoon series (to help promote the newspaper strip), but no network would pick it up. They all wanted a Garfield show.

Leviathan

09-04-2009, 10:22 PM

It was me who linked to the podcast, BTW.

The most most interesting fact (for me) is the fact that Huge actually had a hand in developing the US Acres comic. Such is the facotry mentality of Paws.

mojokingbee1

09-05-2009, 07:52 AM

Here is a full episode of the new Garfield show. (dubbed in Spanish)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJz4pL5j-DY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXzudqvq9FI

grim_tales

09-05-2009, 09:10 AM

I think the new Garfield show is kinda funny. It has the spirit of the old show.
BTW, yesterday I did enjoy some Garfield and Friends episodes from S2 like TV of Tomorrow, with the satire about always being made to buy new stuff. Attack of the Big Robots, where Garfield is trapped in a He-Man/Transformers (?) cartoon was hilarious :) :D

Mark Evanier

09-05-2009, 02:49 PM

Thom Huge is alive and well and unfortunately unavailable to play Jon these days. I thought he was terrific. But then I also think Wally Wingert, the fellow Jim Davis selected as the new Jon, is terrific. It took me a little while to get used to Jon's new voice but I did and maybe you will, too.

U.S. ACRES was originally intended as a separate show for a pre-school audience. The songs were part of the original format as developed by Jim and his crew. When the decision was made to include it as a feature in a show with Garfield, it was necessary to skew the show a little older, which was my assignment. It took a season or two before it became apparent that the songs weren't fitting into the new dynamic of the series, which is why we dropped 'em.

I'm not entirely sure what happened with the mouse variously known as Floyd and Squeak, even though they have the same voice (Gregg Berger) and pretty much the same design. I think what happened was that Jim had all these different mice in the strip and I just named one of them Floyd (in honor of Floyd Norman) for one episode. But one-shot characters have a way of coming back when you least expect it...and when we needed a mouse in another episode, Floyd came back again. And again. For the new show, the producers in France noticed Squeak in some old newspaper strips and decided to include him...and then without giving the matter much thought, I just assigned Gregg to the role and told him to do the same voice. Sometimes, decisions get made by accident.

There should be an announcement any day now as to when THE GARFIELD SHOW will begin airing in the United States. In the meantime, we just recorded the first three episodes of the second season. It was a crowded recording session. We had our regulars (Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, Wally Wingert and Jason Marsden) and our semi-regulars (Julie Payne, Laura Summer, Audrey Wasilewski and David L. Lander) and some guest stars (Jack Riley, Laraine Newman and Stan Freberg). If the shows are half as much fun as the recording sessions, we'll be doing fine.

CueBallCat79

09-05-2009, 05:07 PM

I'm looking forward to this show, honestly. I'm glad Garfield's mouth doesn't move when he talks, thank goodness. I do wish it was done in 2D was opposed to computers. But I've gotten used to it in shows like The Penguins of Madagascar, so hopefully I'll get used to this too.

Mark, what are the odds that US Acres characters might make cameos?

Mark Evanier

09-05-2009, 05:17 PM

Actually, on this new show, Garfield's mouth does move when he talks to other animals or to the camera. It doesn't move when he's around humans.

I doubt we'll see the U.S. Acres characters in this show. We may see them elsewhere, however.

Studio Toledo

09-05-2009, 06:09 PM

It was me who linked to the podcast, BTW.

The most most interesting fact (for me) is the fact that Huge actually had a hand in developing the US Acres comic. Such is the facotry mentality of Paws.
At least now I know how to pronounce his last name, learn something new each day!

Mark Evanier

09-05-2009, 06:19 PM

The most most interesting fact (for me) is the fact that Huge actually had a hand in developing the US Acres comic. Such is the facotry mentality of Paws.

ME: Not entirely sure what you mean by this...but as someone who's actually worked with the Paws folks for twenty years, I think you have the wrong idea about how they operate.

Studio Toledo

09-05-2009, 06:22 PM

Thom Huge is alive and well and unfortunately unavailable to play Jon these days. I thought he was terrific. But then I also think Wally Wingert, the fellow Jim Davis selected as the new Jon, is terrific. It took me a little while to get used to Jon's new voice but I did and maybe you will, too.
If or when I see this anyway (hopefully nothing like Sandy Kenyon's performance in that first special).

U.S. ACRES was originally intended as a separate show for a pre-school audience. The songs were part of the original format as developed by Jim and his crew.
Would that put it more towards the E/I stuff we see today? (not that it matters, but that's the thought I get in my head now reading this)

When the decision was made to include it as a feature in a show with Garfield, it was necessary to skew the show a little older, which was my assignment. It took a season or two before it became apparent that the songs weren't fitting into the new dynamic of the series, which is why we dropped 'em.
Probably why some here have stated not liking those tunes, though I hate to admit I thought some were catchy!

I'm not entirely sure what happened with the mouse variously known as Floyd and Squeak, even though they have the same voice (Gregg Berger) and pretty much the same design. I think what happened was that Jim had all these different mice in the strip and I just named one of them Floyd (in honor of Floyd Norman) for one episode. But one-shot characters have a way of coming back when you least expect it...and when we needed a mouse in another episode, Floyd came back again. And again. For the new show, the producers in France noticed Squeak in some old newspaper strips and decided to include him...and then without giving the matter much thought, I just assigned Gregg to the role and told him to do the same voice. Sometimes, decisions get made by accident.
As I suspect it! At least they were staying close to the comics.

There should be an announcement any day now as to when THE GARFIELD SHOW will begin airing in the United States. In the meantime, we just recorded the first three episodes of the second season. It was a crowded recording session. We had our regulars (Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, Wally Wingert and Jason Marsden) and our semi-regulars (Julie Payne, Laura Summer, Audrey Wasilewski and David L. Lander) and some guest stars (Jack Riley, Laraine Newman and Stan Freberg). If the shows are half as much fun as the recording sessions, we'll be doing fine.
We'll see how the English version pans out for us once the floodgates are open on the forums (can you just imagine what opinions could've been expressed 21 years ago when Garfield & Friends began airing on CBS (Too bad the best you had was BBS and only a few guys knew and/or used it)?

Studio Toledo

09-05-2009, 06:23 PM

I'm looking forward to this show, honestly. I'm glad Garfield's mouth doesn't move when he talks, thank goodness.
Funny, I thought I saw Garfield's mouth move in one of those clips. I'd rather he was a 'thinking' character as in the strips, but I guess some people can't perceive that at all.

Studio Toledo

09-05-2009, 06:38 PM

Actually, on this new show, Garfield's mouth does move when he talks to other animals or to the camera. It doesn't move when he's around humans.
I guess it's nice they preserved that, though it's an overused concept in animation we've seen for decades, where the animals can talk to each other but obviously not to humans.

I doubt we'll see the U.S. Acres characters in this show. We may see them elsewhere, however.
Maybe if they bother reprinting those books again for a new generation to gaze into!

Studio Toledo

09-05-2009, 06:39 PM

ME: Not entirely sure what you mean by this...but as someone who's actually worked with the Paws folks for twenty years, I think you have the wrong idea about how they operate.
I really don't know what they do, nor do I feel I need to know more than there is. :D

grim_tales

09-06-2009, 11:32 AM

I'm pretty sure THE GARFIELD SHOW airs in the UK on the BOOMERANG channel.

quack-up

09-06-2009, 12:30 PM

I'm sure a lot of people here already know about this, but for those who don't, this site has all of the U.S Acres comic stips found in the books- http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople2/usacres1.html

David Gerstein

09-06-2009, 11:21 PM

They're not all there. But lots of them are.

The domestic US Acres books didn't quite complete the full run of the strip. To my great pleasure, I found that the British softbacks did, so I managed to direct Platypus Comix site owner Peter Paltridge to the final two months (http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople2/cutsthecorn1.html) of strips.

http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople2/cutsthecorn53.JPG

Really good stuff. I never thought I'd ever get to see what happened when Booker finally caught one of the worms. Or Binky in a US Acres strip, period.

cbrubaker

09-06-2009, 11:25 PM

I really love the drawings in the later strips. So much stretch-and-squash. Shame this wasn't reflected in the animated version.

Notice that Roy's design in the final strips are also not reflected in the cartoon. I guess it's true when they said that the animated character's model sheets are set to stone.

Studio Toledo

09-07-2009, 04:19 AM

grim_tales

09-16-2009, 04:52 AM

I did like the 'Video Airlines' episode where the boys keep trying to watch a movie, but all thats on TV (every channel) is Kung Fu Creature on the Rampage 2 or something like that :D
"Wait! You're not Sylvia! You're the Kung Fu Creature on the Rampage... 2!" :D
So they go out to rent a movie, but all they have is.....
So they go out to a theatre, and they're showing.....
Kung Fu Creatures on the Rampage 3 :D :p

Marty26

09-16-2009, 08:53 AM

That was a classic, and also among the series' most popular episodes.

grim_tales

09-17-2009, 05:58 AM

There was some nice fourth wall humour in "Mail Animal" as well, when Garfield has to get the mailman his job back. About halfway into the Garfield segment, the Orson's Farm screen comes in and Garfield wanders in. "Wait! My cartoon isn't over yet!" :D

Also "Invasion of the Big Robots" is absolutely hilarious and a great cartoon, with satire of other shows (eg Transformers) :D

Marty26

09-17-2009, 09:21 AM

There was some nice fourth wall humour in "Mail Animal" as well, when Garfield has to get the mailman his job back. About halfway into the Garfield segment, the Orson's Farm screen comes in and Garfield wanders in. "Wait! My cartoon isn't over yet!" :D

I thought that scene was a little forced, actually. The series did better fourth wall humor in cartoons like Invasion Of The Big Robots.

grim_tales

09-17-2009, 02:23 PM

Fair enough :) Invasion of the Big Robots was great as you say :D
There were many times when Garfield would break the 4th wall and speak to the audience.

Marty26

09-17-2009, 03:47 PM

I actually thought the constant fourth wall jokes were a little overdone, particularly during Seasons 3 through 5. They didn't need to put a fourth wall moment in EVERY SINGLE CARTOON. Once, twice, or even a few times is plenty. This is what Studio Toledo was complaining about in his first reply to this thread.

grim_tales

09-18-2009, 04:52 AM

Maybe so, but if done well, it was very funny indeed and turned into an art :)
BTW, I liked "Cock-A-Doodle-Duel", you feel sorry for Roy :( That cartoon reminded me of the Looney Tunes cartoon "Swooner Crooner" in a way, with the new suave rooster who charms the ladies.

grim_tales

09-23-2009, 04:48 AM

I really liked "Secrets of the Animated Cartoon" - a very funny cartoon, reminded me a bit of Duck Amuck :)

grim_tales

09-23-2009, 09:29 AM

Just noticed Marty's earlier post - I'm a fan of Roy's "King of the Barnyard" song (like Elvis) in "Cock a Doodle Duel" - great song :D

Marty26

09-23-2009, 11:30 AM

Just noticed Marty's earlier post - I'm a fan of Roy's "King of the Barnyard" song (like Elvis) in "Cock a Doodle Duel" - great song :D

Believe it or not, I actually prefer the pitch-altered version in the syndicated version of the cartoon to the "normal-pitched" version. :)

grim_tales

09-23-2009, 11:59 AM

Really? I wasnt aware there was another version, is it just the "normal" pitched one thats on the DVD?
The song in "Secrets of the Animated Cartoon" is quite a good one :D

Its funny in Cock-A-Doodle-Duel" when Orson says something like "Plato would wake us up every day" or something like that, and he just comes out and says "cock-a-doodle-doo" but in his normal suave voice, instead of actually crowing, then goes back inside :D

Also The Buddy Bears are hilarious - spot on Care Bears spoof :)

grim_tales

09-25-2009, 03:23 PM

I really enjoyed "Flat Tired", "Secrets of the Animated Cartoon" and the Buddy Bears episodes - all very funny :D

Marty26

09-25-2009, 03:46 PM

Really? I wasnt aware there was another version, is it just the "normal" pitched one thats on the DVD?

It's the same cartoon. It's just that the syndicated version ran at a slightly slower speed (I have no idea why), so the music and voices are a half-step lower.

Its funny in Cock-A-Doodle-Duel" when Orson says something like "Plato would wake us up every day" or something like that, and he just comes out and says "cock-a-doodle-doo" but in his normal suave voice, instead of actually crowing, then goes back inside :D

Yeah, that was great.

Also The Buddy Bears are hilarious - spot on Care Bears spoof :)

The Buddy Bears did more than spoof the Care Bears. They spoofed media censorship and what the people running the networks considered to be "wholesome children's programming."