Heathcliff

Garfield is an all time hit, with a movie series (animated movies or IRL movies), comic series, and even a few shows. But as it turns out, Garfield fell victim to the Shameless But Famous fandom in it’s rather unraveled history by the main creators of Garfield.

Heathcliff is an American comic strip created by George Gately in 1973, featuring the title character, an orange cat. Now written and drawn by Gately's nephew, Peter Gallagher, it is distributed to over 1,000 newspapers by Creators Syndicate, which took over the comic from McNaught Syndicate in 1988. The strip is usually presented in single-panel gag frames on weekdays. On Sundays, though, the strip is expanded to multiple panels and titled *Sunday with Heathcliff*. A regular feature in the Sunday strips is *Kitty Korner*, where unusual cats in the real world are described. Heathcliff daily comics can be currently read online on GoComics.

A few years later, in 1976, Jim Davis. Originally published locally as Jon. then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as Garfield, it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human owner Jon Arbuckle, and Odie the dog.

## *Heathcliff* (1980 TV series)

Heathcliff is a half-hour Saturday morning animated series based on the Heathcliff comic strip created by George Gately and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. It premiered on ABC on October 4, 1980, with a total of 26 episodes produced under the titles Heathcliff and Dingbat and Heathcliff and Marmaduke. This was created mainly due to the fact that the main creators of Heathcliff wanted to beat Garfield from creating their own show. Which was smart when you think about it. This show was meant to be a success, mainly being created by George Gately. (The creator of the Heathcliff comic strips)

The series began production on November 10, 1979, The first season, called *Heathcliff and Dingbat*, ran for 13 episodes and included backup segments with *Dingbat and the Creeps*, who were created for the show. Dingbat and the Creeps revolved around the adventures of three monstrous characters who were self-employed as "Odd Jobs, Inc." which consisted of Dingbat, a vampire dog who used a bat-shaped novelty straw to eat most foods; Sparerib, a strangely rotund skeleton with the ability to change himself into useful items (such as a floor lamp, which he did in the opening credits); and Nobody, a gravelly-voiced jack-o-lantern who led the team and often found them various work.

The second season, called Heathcliff and Marmaduke, ran for 13 episodes and featured backup segments with fellow comic strip character Marmaduke (although the Marmaduke segments are actually the first to be seen in each half-hour show). Reruns of the second season (Heathcliff and Marmaduke) were seen occasionally on Boomerang. In 1983, NBC reran the show as a segment on Thundarr the Barbarian reruns. Two years after this show ended, another one based on Heathcliff was produced by DiC Entertainment, which was called simply Heathcliff, although for distinction this series is usually referred to by the expanded title of Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats.

Dingbat has appeared as a cameo in a Yogi Bear comic with many Hanna-Barbera animal characters captured. He was the only Ruby-Spears character there.

## Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats

Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats debuted on September 3, 1984, nearly 2 years after the ending of the 1980 skits. 65 half-hour episodes aired in first-run syndication in the fall of 1984, followed by a second season of 21 episodes in 1985 ran in syndication until it ended in 1988. The Catillac Cats characters (identified in the end credits as Cats and Co.) were created by Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi. Voiced Mel Blanc, who stood up again to become the famous voice of Heathcliff, as he voiced Heathcliff in the Ruby-Spears series.

Each episode featured two segments, one being about Heathcliff and his friends, while the other featured The Catillac Cats. At the end of every episode and before the end credits, Heathcliff or many other characters from the show would give out tips to viewers that are related to pet care. The year after the series ended, the film Heathcliff: The Movie was released, which consisted of a compilation of segments.

#### Cast

* Mel Blanc as Heathcliff
* Donna Christie as Cleo, Iggy
* Jeannie Elias as Marcy, Willie
* Stanley Jones as Riff-Raff, Wordsworth, Milkman
* Marilyn Lightstone as Sonja, Mrs. Nutmeg
* Danny Mann as Hector, Mr. Schultz
* Derek McGrath as Spike, Muggsy, Knuckles, Lefty
* Danny Wells as Bush, Raul
* Ted Zeigler as Leroy, Mungo, Mr. Nutmeg

## Heathcliff: The Movie

Heathcliff: The Movie released in 1986 as an animated anthology children's comedy film from DiC Audiovisuel, released by Atlantic Releasing under their Clubhouse Pictures label.

The film was released theatrically on January 17, 1986, by Clubhouse Pictures. It was released on VHS in the 1980s and 1990s by Paramount Home Video, KVC Home Video, and GoodTimes Home Video. It was released on VHS in 1997 by Sterling Entertainment Group.

#### Plot

On a rainy day, Heathcliff (Mel Blanc) recalls his past exploits to his three nephews (and a mouse), through a compilation of episodes originally broadcast on the TV series.

#### Stories

* “Cat Food for Thought" - Heathcliff becomes a TV star after getting rid of his competition.
* "Heathcliff's Double" - There's a new cat in town called Henry who looks exactly like Heathcliff, and everybody mistakes him for Heathcliff.
* "The Siamese Twins" - There are two new cats in town that are ruining Heathcliff's reputation, making everyone think Heathcliff is the cause of their troubles.
* "An Officer and an Alley Cat" - In a loose parody of An Officer and a Gentleman, Heathcliff goes to obedience school in order to qualify for a contest where the first prize is a lifetime supply of cat food.
* "The Catfather" - In this parody of The Godfather, Heathcliff collects gifts for the Catfather, oblivious to the fact that the Catfather is the scare of the town.
* "Boom Boom Pussini" - Hector gets Heathcliff into a challenge to wrestle the famous cat wrestler Boom Boom Pussini who cheats to win matches.

Caryn James of The New York Times stated that the film is "harmless", but thought that the children will be bored with this film. James also criticized the animation, the lip sync on the human characters, and the character of Heathcliff, However, Heathcliff: The Movie grossed $508,305 on its opening weekend and grossed $2,610,686 domestically by the end of its run. It is the 8th highest grossing G-rated film of 1986.

## Garfield

After hearing about Heathcliff’s big hits, Garfield came along with its huge creations and decided they wanted to earn some money with their work too. And that’s when the first cartoony animation of Garfield came out in 1980 with The Fantastic Funnies on CBS.

The special features live action segments- with Loni Anderson hosting as well as Charles Schulz (*Peanuts*), Dik Browne (*Hagar the Horrible*), Hank Ketcham (*Dennis the Menace*), Johnny Hart (*B.C.*), and other comic strip creators interviewed- and animated sequences- showcasing comic strips, among them *Peanuts*, *Hagar the Horrible*, *B.C.*, *Broom Hilda*, and *Doonesbury*.

Loni Anderson introduces Garfield as a "newcomer", having made its national debut only two years prior, and this special marking the character's first depiction in animated form. The strip is represented with a brief animated scene in the special. The segment includes adaptations of comic strips from (in order of appearance) June 21, 1978, July 2, 1979, August 2, 1978, July 21, 1978, and May 12, 1979.

Later on, after a few more improvements with their cartoons, in 1988, Garfield and Friends released on air. The show features animated story lines adapted from the comic strip Garfield and Davis's other comic strip U.S. Acres. Mark Evanier was the show's head writer. Lorenzo Music provided the voice of Garfield the cat, the strip's title character, as he had done since Here Comes Garfield in 1982. Other voices present on the show included Thom Huge as Jon Arbuckle, Garfield's human owner, and Gregg Berger as Odie the dog. Berger and Huge also respectively voiced Orson Pig and Roy Rooster in the U.S. Acres segments. 121 episodes were made, each consisting of two Garfield segments and one U.S. Acres segment. All episodes have been released in the U.S. on five DVD sets by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

As Garfield’s “The Fantastic Funnies” cartoon didn’t do well, they improved it over the course of 2 years, creating their first hit in 1982 with the television movie Here Comes Garfield on CBS. Garfield was adapted into eleven more television movies for the network, ending with Garfield Gets a Life in 1991. Garfield and Friends was also made for CBS, and debuted on the network in 1988. The network first announced in April 1988 that the show would be joining the network's Saturday morning cartoon lineup alongside The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy and Superman.

#### Garfield And Friends

Coming out in 1986, and ending in 1994, Garfield and Friends typically consists of two segments adapted from Garfield and one adapted from U.S. Acres, a comic strip also created by Davis which began in 1986. These segments featured original story lines written using the characters from each strip, although both segments featured original characters not present in the source material as well. Nearly every episode of the show was written or co-written by Mark Evanier.

Although the series was a success in the ratings at the time, it had become expensive to make and the Saturday morning cartoon format was in decline by the mid-1990s. Additionally, CBS as a whole was a distant third behind NBC and ABC for much of the series' run, and was in the middle of its cost-cutting by Laurence Tisch that resulted in CBS losing broadcasting rights to the National Football League for four years starting in 1994 and subsequently losing many longtime affiliates to Fox, which had outbid CBS for its NFL package. As a result, CBS proposed renewing the show for another season, albeit with significant budget cuts. Since the show did well in syndication, producers ended the series in 1994 with its seventh season.

#### Garfield’s IRL Movie Adaptations

Heathcliff had no plans whatsoever to create an IRL CGI version of their comic, however Garfield beat them to it. Coming out in 2004, It is a live-action adaptation to Jim Davis' comic strip of the same name. Directed by Peter Hewitt, it stars Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Dr. Liz Wilson and features Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield, who was created with computer-generated imagery. The film was produced by Davis Entertainment Company and 20th Century Fox. It was released in the United States on June 11, 2004. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, the film was a commercial success, grossing $200 million on a $50 million budget. A sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, was released in 2006. It is the first Garfield film distributed by 20th Century Fox following the acquisition of the license, which would expire in 2009.

Garfield: The Movie was released in theaters on June 11, 2004, one week before Garfield's 26th anniversary. During its theatrical run, it was preceded by an Ice Age short film, Gone Nutty. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film on VHS and DVD on October 19, 2004. The special features includes a behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and the Baha Men music video "Holla!". The film was released on a 3-disc Blu-ray on October 11, 2011.

The film opened up with $21.7 million in the US in its first weekend. It grossed a total of $75.4 million in the US and a further $125.4 million internationally for a total of $203.7 million worldwide.

#### Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties

Coming out in 2006, is an American comedy film directed by Tim Hill and written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. It is the sequel to the 2004 film Garfield: The Movie. The film stars Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt reprising their roles as Jon Arbuckle and Dr. Liz Wilson respectively, and Bill Murray reprising his role as the voice of Garfield. New cast members include Billy Connolly, Ian Abercrombie, Roger Rees, Lucy Davis and Oliver Muirhead in live-action roles and Tim Curry, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Vinnie Jones, Joe Pasquale, Richard E. Grant, and Jane Leeves as the voices of the film's new animal characters. In the film, Garfield, Odie, Liz and Jon travel to the United Kingdom, where Prince, another cat that looks exactly like Garfield, is ruling over a castle after the death of his owner. His reign is soon jeopardized by an evil aristocrat, who plans to remodel the castle into condominiums, destroy the estate, and get rid of Prince.

In 1994, when the show ended, the cartoons, and comic strips carried on until 1995, when Toy Story was released. This was revolutionary since it was not likely that with proper animating skills, you can achieve an entire animated movie in just a year or two. With Toy Story and the up coming Pixar and inspired companies that saw this revolutionary movie update in the world, came The Garfield Show in 2009. The Garfield Show with it’s pro animators, created a CGI animated television series produced by Dargaud Media and Paws, Inc.

The animated series premiered on 22 December 2008 in France as Garfield & Cie and on 2 November 2009 in the United States. It ran for five seasons, with its last episode airing in America on 24 October 2016; Evanier stated shortly afterward that it was on hiatus. On 6 August 2019, an untitled Nickelodeon series based on the Garfield comic strip was announced, seemingly ending any chances of The Garfield Show coming back.

The Garfield Show has received mixed reviews. The series has a 6.0 user score on Metacritic indicating mixed reviews.

#### The Garfield Show: Threat of the Space Lasagna

The Garfield Show: Threat of the Space Lasagna, a party video game, was released in July 2010 for the Wii. It includes over 12 minigames and supports the Wii Balance Board and Wii Motion Plus. The game was critically panned for its short length, lack of interactivity and monotonous gameplay.

Sources:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathcliff\_(comics)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathcliff\_(1984\_TV\_series)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathcliff\_(1980\_TV\_series)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathcliff\_(comics)