Garfield
Garfield is an American comic strip and entertainment franchise centered on a sarcastic, lasagna-loving orange cat.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Garfield is an American comic strip and media franchise created by cartoonist Jim Davis. The property follows Garfield, an obese orange tabby characterized by laziness, gluttony, sarcasm, and an intense dislike of Mondays, together with his owner Jon Arbuckle and Jon's dog Odie. Its humor generally comes from domestic situations, food, sleep, pets, dating, and the contrast between Garfield's self-satisfied inner commentary and Jon's often unsuccessful attempts to manage his household. The strip originated as Jon, which began appearing in the Pendleton Times in Indiana in January 1976. Davis developed the concept after studying successful newspaper comics and concluding that cats were underrepresented compared with dogs. Garfield was named after Davis's grandfather, James A. Garfield Davis, while Jon Arbuckle took his name from a coffee-commercial reference. The strip was renamed Garfield in 1977 and accepted for national distribution by United Feature Syndicate in 1978. Its first nationwide appearance was published in 41 newspapers on June 19, 1978. Garfield became a major licensing and publishing success within a few years. Davis established Paws, Inc. to administer merchandising and related rights, and the character expanded into books, clothing, toys, games, greeting products, DVDs, promotional partnerships, and other consumer merchandise. The first compilation, Garfield at Large, appeared in 1980 and helped establish the tall, horizontally oriented compilation format later adopted by other newspaper-comic publishers. Paws subsequently acquired the rights to the strips published from 1978 through 1993 from United Feature Syndicate. The franchise also developed a substantial screen presence. Television specials aired on CBS from 1982 through 1991, followed by the animated series Garfield and Friends from 1988 to 1994. Lorenzo Music provided Garfield's voice for these productions. Later adaptations included the CGI series The Garfield Show, which premiered in France in 2008 and reached U.S. audiences through Cartoon Network in 2009. The character appeared in the theatrical films Garfield: The Movie in 2004 and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties in 2006, both using computer animation for Garfield within live-action settings. Paws also produced direct-to-video animated films, while a new theatrical computer-animated film, The Garfield Movie, was released in 2024 by Alcon Entertainment and Sony Pictures. In August 2019, Viacom announced its acquisition of Paws, Inc. and most Garfield rights, including the comic strip, merchandise, and animated productions. The transaction did not include the earlier live-action Garfield films, which remained associated with Disney's 20th Century Studios, or The Garfield Movie. Garfield remains an active international licensing and entertainment property, with the comic strip continuing in newspaper syndication and the character appearing in new screen, publishing, promotional, and retail initiatives.
History
Jim Davis created Garfield after an earlier strip, Gnorm Gnat, failed to secure broad syndication. Davis believed that newspaper comics contained many memorable dogs but lacked a leading cat character, and he designed Garfield around traits that could support repeatable jokes: appetite, laziness, irritation, vanity, and resistance to routine. The character drew on cats Davis had known while growing up in Indiana. Jon Arbuckle was created as Garfield's human owner, while Odie provided a contrasting dog character and a recurring target for Garfield's mockery. The strip first appeared under the title Jon in the Pendleton Times on January 8, 1976. It was renamed Garfield in 1977, and United Feature Syndicate accepted it for national distribution in March 1978. The first nationally syndicated strip appeared on June 19, 1978, in 41 newspapers. An early setback came when the Chicago Sun-Times dropped the strip after its test run, but reader complaints led the paper to restore it. Garfield then expanded rapidly, reaching hundreds of newspapers within its first few years and more than 1,000 newspapers by 1982. Davis treated licensing and merchandising as central elements of the property rather than as secondary activities. He founded Paws, Inc. to manage commercial rights, and the Garfield name spread across books, clothing, toys, games, home-video products, and promotional goods. Garfield at Large, published in 1980, was particularly influential because its wide, compact page design preserved the horizontal rhythm of newspaper strips. This became known as the Garfield format and influenced later comic-strip collections. In 1994, Paws acquired the rights to the strips published between 1978 and 1993 from United Feature Syndicate. The artwork changed over time. Garfield became more rounded and cartoon-like, eventually standing and moving on two legs more often than in the earliest strips. Davis associated the changes with the needs of animation and visual staging, including clearer poses and broader physical comedy. Although Davis remained the credited creator and retained creative supervision, assistants increasingly handled routine production, lettering, inking, coloring, and portions of the drawing process. Davis continued to oversee the strip's direction and licensing activity. Television was a major second stage in the franchise's development. Garfield appeared in CBS specials beginning with Here Comes Garfield in 1982. A sequence of prime-time specials continued through 1991, generally featuring Lorenzo Music as Garfield. Garfield and Friends ran on Saturday mornings from 1988 to 1994 and also adapted Davis's U.S. Acres material. The CGI series The Garfield Show entered development around the strip's thirtieth anniversary, premiered in France in 2008, and subsequently aired in the United States. Feature-film adaptations followed. Garfield: The Movie arrived in 2004, followed by Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties in 2006. Both combined live-action environments with a computer-animated Garfield voiced by Bill Murray. Paws also released three direct-to-video computer-animated films between 2007 and 2009. A separate new CG-animated theatrical project was announced in 2016, developed by Alcon Entertainment and later released in 2024 as The Garfield Movie by Sony Pictures. The earlier films and the 2024 film were not all controlled by the same rights holder. The franchise's ownership structure changed in 2019, when Viacom announced its acquisition of Paws, Inc. Most Garfield rights moved into Viacom's portfolio, including the strip, merchandise, and animated cartoons. Rights to the earlier live-action films and the 2024 theatrical production remained separate. Garfield therefore operates as a distributed intellectual-property brand whose value comes from the continuing strip, character recognition, licensing, publishing, and repeated adaptation across television, film, digital media, and consumer products.
- 2024
The Garfield Movie released
[1]A new computer-animated theatrical film is released by Sony Pictures.
- 2019
Viacom acquires Paws, Inc.
[1]Viacom announces the acquisition of most Garfield franchise rights.
- 2009
The Garfield Show reaches U.S. television
[1]The CGI series makes its U.S. debut on Cartoon Network.
- 2004
First theatrical feature released
[1]Garfield: The Movie reaches theaters.
- 1994
Paws acquires earlier strip rights
[1]Paws, Inc. purchases rights to Garfield strips published from 1978 through 1993.
- 1988
Garfield and Friends premieres
[1]The animated Saturday-morning series begins its seven-season run.
- 1982
Television specials begin
[1]Here Comes Garfield begins a run of CBS animated specials.
- 1980
First compilation book published
[1]Garfield at Large introduces the influential horizontal compilation format associated with the property.
- 1978
National syndication begins
[1]United Feature Syndicate launches Garfield nationally in 41 newspapers on June 19.
- 1977
The strip is renamed Garfield
[1]The locally published strip adopts the Garfield title.
Products and positioning
A globally recognizable, humor-led character franchise built around an ordinary domestic setting, broad family entertainment, publishing, and extensive licensing. Garfield's commercial identity combines newspaper familiarity with a highly adaptable image suitable for merchandise, animation, film, games, hospitality, and promotional partnerships.
Newspaper comic · 1976
Garfield comic strip
The core Garfield product is the syndicated newspaper strip created by Jim Davis. Its recurring cast includes Garfield, Jon Arbuckle, and Odie, with stories built around food, sleep, domestic conflict, sarcasm, and everyday routines. The strip's simple premise and repeatable character behavior have supported long-term international syndication and adaptation.
Publishing · 1980
Garfield compilation books
Garfield collections reprint newspaper strips in book form. Garfield at Large, published in 1980, established a distinctive wide format that preserved the original strip's horizontal panel arrangement. Subsequent collections became an important route for readers to access the character outside newspapers and helped make Garfield a durable publishing property.
Animated television series · 1988
Garfield and Friends
Garfield and Friends was a Saturday-morning animated series broadcast from 1988 to 1994. It adapted the Garfield strip and also included segments based on Jim Davis's U.S. Acres characters. Lorenzo Music voiced Garfield, helping connect the television version with the earlier CBS specials.
CGI television series · 2008
The Garfield Show
The Garfield Show is a computer-generated animated series developed for the franchise's international television market. It premiered in France in 2008 and debuted in the United States on Cartoon Network in 2009. The program extended the established domestic-comedy formula into longer television stories.
Theatrical film · 2004
Garfield: The Movie
Released in 2004, Garfield: The Movie combined live-action settings with a computer-animated title character voiced by Bill Murray. The film brought the newspaper character into a feature-length story and was followed by a sequel despite unfavorable critical reception.
Computer-animated theatrical film · 2024
The Garfield Movie
The Garfield Movie is a separate computer-animated theatrical production developed by Alcon Entertainment and released in 2024 by Sony Pictures through Columbia Pictures. Its rights were not part of Viacom's 2019 acquisition of Paws, Inc.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Motel 6 Garfield partnership
United States
Motel 6 used Garfield in a promotional partnership tied to The Garfield Movie, naming the character its first Chief Pet Officer and promoting Garfield-themed rooms.
Brand decisions
2019
Viacom acquires Paws, Inc.M&ABackground
Paws, Inc. administered much of the Garfield intellectual property, including the comic strip, merchandise, and animated productions.
Action taken
Viacom announced the acquisition of Paws, Inc. and most rights to the Garfield franchise.
Aftermath
Rights to the earlier live-action films and the 2024 theatrical film remained outside the transaction, creating a divided rights structure.
Sources1 sources
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