HE could be any other animal, but why is he a cat?
We all know Garfield as our beloved orange, chubby cat who loves his lasagna and hates Mondays.
But out of all animals, why does the creator decide to make him a cat?
“The Garfield Movie” creator Jim Davis has an explanation for this.
According to Davis, he stated that he created the character to stand in contrast with the many dogs that were ruling the comics page at the time.
“I saw a lot of dogs doing very well – Snoopy, Marmaduke, Fred Basset, you name it,” he told Columbia pictures.
During that time, he talked about how there were no cats during that time, and with Davis having to grow up in a farm with 25 cats–he concluded that he loves cats.
“I thought, ‘Well, if dogs are doing that well, maybe I could use a cat.’ Cats are kind of standoffish – you know where your dog stands, but cats are aloof.” he added.
Due to his love for cats, it prompted him to create Garfield as it is natural to attribute human thoughts and feelings to cats. This makes Garfield a human being in a catsuit.
Aside from his love for cats, Davis proceeds to note that he made Garfield as a character that mirrors the things that we’re all guilty of. While most of us perceive the orange cat as this one lazy character–-Garfield’s character is meant to be sarcastic.
“I hold a mirror to the reader and show them back with a humorous twist,” Davis said. “We’re made to feel guilty for overeating, not exercising, and oversleeping. Garfield relieves our guilt by enjoying all of those things.” he added.
Director Mark Dindal proceeds to note how Garfield’s frustrations are universal and something that most people could relate to.
Garfield first appeared as a comic strip in 1976 and later became loved by most people are it revolves around the humor of Garfield’s laziness.
“He reminds people of their childhoods. The visual humor will always play. You can find Garfield comics from 15, 20, 30 years ago, and they don’t feel dated because they’re never really rooted in something specific to that time period.”
