As a longtime fan of Garfield and his antics, I must say that reading about this lost film, Garfield’s Judgment Day, has left me both intrigued and saddened. The idea of Garfield stepping out of his usual sarcastic self and delving into existential dread is an intriguing prospect, one that would have undoubtedly challenged the status quo of children’s entertainment.
Prior to the production of multiple live-action films that brought the Garfield, Jon, and Odie characters to life on the big screen, the Garfield franchise was mainly recognized as a television show and comic series. As the crown jewel in the United Feature Syndicate’s stable of comics, second only to Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts, the self-important tabby cat was making waves in the ’80s, expanding across various formats and becoming ubiquitous on newspaper funny pages, children’s hearts, and car windows throughout the English-speaking world. The only challenge left for his relentless expansion was to dethrone Snoopy and Charlie Brown from their prominence… movies.
In recent times, it’s challenging to imagine where the IP has been reimagined numerous times, with CGI transforming him throughout the decades as fresh celebrities stepped in to embody the character’s cynical demeanor. However, when Garfield proved too difficult to market for any studio, production came to a standstill around 1990. At the pinnacle of the character’s popularity, creator Jim Davis realized that comic book characters have their boundaries. For instance, pushing children to question destiny, consciousness, animal ownership ethics, and the very nature of God was one such boundary he encountered.
Over time, the indulgent cat character Garfield solidified his presence in popular culture through his own CBS Saturday morning show called “Garfield and Friends“. Unfortunately, one storyline that was never aired may be the most ingenious plot twist in cartoon history, and it’s arguably the deepest piece of Garfield content. Tracing who is responsible for its removal from screens and determining which specific scene or dialogue led to its disappearance has proven difficult. To this day, no one has managed to find even a single frame of the movie, let alone the workprint. Apart from a solitary statement by Davis verifying its existence, the concept of the “banned Garfield-movie trope” could have remained an urban legend.
Jim Davis Goes for Broke
In the ’80s, the era treated animator and writer Jim Davis particularly well. During a special commemorating the 10th anniversary of the orange cat’s successful syndication, I proudly shared the news about an upcoming feature-length film, which was already in production. Footage from behind the scenes showed singer Lou Rawls working on the score in the studio. The producers were leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to promote this ambitious transition from shorts to a full-length format.
Breaking away from the usual antics, Davis abandoned the pizza jokes and references to Mondays, instead delving deep into philosophical themes reminiscent of Albert Camus.
For the first time, a cat’s disdain for Monday mornings took a backseat in the Garfield narrative. This movie was more than just a casual filler for Saturday morning cartoons.
The Bell Tolls For Garfield
In a more intense adaptation, the Arbuckle family faces an unavoidable disaster that threatens their lives, as depicted in the show.
In the tale, it’s suggested that the town’s pets are part of an old, cross-species secret pact, where they hide their ability to comprehend and vocalize human speech. They use their endearing, vulnerable personas to secure food and shelter from us, their ‘owners.’ However, in a desperate attempt to save the town’s human residents from destruction, Garfield suggests they momentarily disregard this taboo by communicating openly with them, exposing themselves—a move that could put them at risk. In the universe of Garfield, we discover that animals can predict natural catastrophes using a sixth sense. This is quite advanced for a six-year-old’s story, whether it was written then or now.
In this latest escapade, Garfield unexpectedly put aside his characteristic sarcasm and self-centeredness. This time around, the story echoed Biblical motifs, offering more introspection than usual, as a relaxed cat grappled with his imagined demise, ultimately deviating from his typical persona. During a meeting concerning pet matters, the town’s animals not only contemplated the apocalypse but also concocted a plan to seek justice for kittens who had undergone declawing.
Arlene, who’s close to Garfield, is discovered to be a stray with no permanent home or owner, a truth she conceals to avoid being rejected by other animals. On the other hand, Odie, when given the opportunity to speak up, air his concerns, and discard his mask, chooses to continue barking, embodying the human-like idea of a dog or potentially losing sanity if he ever had any. Eventually, the animals accept that they must pretend to be pets once more, living in a deception. Indeed, Davis delves deeply into this situation.
Out of the Fire and into the Lost Media Files
The plot details we have about the nonexistent movie “Garfield’s Judgment Day” are mostly speculative, as we don’t have access to official scripts or production notes. This information comes from a 1990 comic booklet published by Ballantine Books, which seems to be left over from an abandoned television or theatrical project. All footage or material prepared for Garfield’s cinematic debut was ultimately discarded and never released.
Instead of it: However, why? The situation has been a topic for online detectives, yet with few findings. One might assume that Lorenzo Music would voice the title character, an overweight cat, again, and the animation team would have produced the cartoon; however, no traces of the movie can be found now. Records are scarce, and substantial proof is mainly Davis’s brief account from 1988.
Was it feasible? Indeed. It might have caused a significant number of viewers to have sleepless nights for quite some time, but it’s not significantly more frightening than Bambi or Old Yeller. Creating fear and making children contemplate their own mortality is a beloved aspect of children’s entertainment.
A flurry of Garfield films emerged, replacing the forgotten movie in obscurity. Billy Murray found himself involved in the 2004 film “Garfield: The Movie” under questionable circumstances, while Chris Pratt hopped on the merchandise train for “The Garfield Movie” in 2024, achieving some success. This indicates a strong appetite for Garfield-related content that stretches as far as the Grand Canyon. Davis’s overall work has not been highly praised, making it unfortunate that he invested his passion into an unconventional project, which was eventually shelved by executives. Consequently, the subsequent run of the comic strip and television show lacked excitement.
Davis saw no need to stir things up. In the meantime (or whenever) the canceled project resurfaces, both old and new fans will have a abundance of high-budget films and animated series to keep them entertained. However, it’s unlikely that Chris Pratt will star in this somber, reflective drama in the near future.
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2024-10-12 22:31