Garfield: His 9 Lives
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Garfield: His 9 Lives is a 1984 book (ISBN 0-345-32074-3) of illustrated short stories showing the "nine lives" of comic strip character Garfield. It was adapted into an animated television special in 1988 and also got a screensaver for download on Garfield website.
The book is slightly more "adult" than the Garfield comic strip, which has resulted in some controversy: in 1989, the public libraries of Saginaw, Michigan, moved the book to the adult section after patrons requested that children be denied access to it.
Contents |
[edit] The book
- "In the Beginning" (written by Jim Davis, illustrated by Paws Inc. staff): The cat is created. Not an actual life; it is more of a prologue.
- "Cave Cat" (written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Davis, Mike Fentz, and Larry Fentz): In the Stone Age, the first cat emerges from the sea and is domesticated
- "The Vikings" (written by Jim Davis and Mike Fentz; illustrated by Fentz): An unfrozen group of Vikings, including Garfield the Orange, loots and pillages St. Paul, Minnesota
- "Babes and Bullets" (written by Ron Tuthill, illustrated by Kevin Campbell): Hard-boiled detective Sam Spayed investigates a suspicious murder. Later adapted into the television special Garfield: Babes and Bullets.
- "The Exterminators" (written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Davis, Mike Fentz, and Larry Fentz): A trio of Three Stooges-like cats chase a mouse, and mayhem ensues.
- "Lab Animal" (written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Gary Barker and Larry Fentz): at a secret government facility, lab specimen 19-GB receives an unusual injection. Then he escapes from the military base. After swimming across a river the serum has some unusual effects... and 19-GB becomes a dog.
- "The Garden" (written and illustrated by Dave Kühn): Cloey and her yellow kitten play in a magical, Wonderland-like, garden. However, like the Garden of Eden there is a test of character of a chest the pair must not open. The pair approach the chest and after much suspense, the pair resists the temptation and stays in the garden forever.
- "Primal Self" (written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Jim Clements, Gary Barker, and Larry Fentz): An orange housecat meets an evil force...
- "Garfield" (written by Jim Davis; illustrated by Gary Barker and Valette Hildebrand; color by Doc Davis): Present-day Garfield meets lasagna, Jon, and Odie.
- "Space Cat" (written and illustrated by Jim Clements): Our hero battles menacing aliens.
[edit] The television special
The one-hour long television adaptation produced in 1988 featured four different* "lives." (consequently leaving out four of the lives in the book: "The Vikings", "Babes and Bullets", the "Exterminators" and "Primal Self". "Babes and Bullets" was adapted into a television special of its own the following year: "Garfield's Babes and Bullets", which won an Emmy Award fo Outstanding Animated Program of 1989.).
- "In the Beginning": Unlike the rest of the special, this prologue sequence is shot in live-action.
- "Cave Cat"
- "King Cat"*: In Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh's sacred cat discovers what happens to him if the Pharaoh dies.
- "The Garden"
- "Court Musician"*: The king demands a concerto from Handel (nicknamed "Freddie" in this segment), and if the king doesn't enjoy it...
- "Stunt Cat"*: Garfield is (briefly) a stunt double for Krazy Kat. As Garfield explains before it starts, this life was his shortest.
- "Diana's Piano"*: A young girl, Sara, receives a cat, Diana, who goes with her everywhere, specially to piano lessons.
- "Lab Animal"
- "Garfield"
- "Space Cat"
The epilogue for this special is different from the one in the original book. Here, Garfield and Odie meet God. ("God" is apparently modelled on pictures on Lorenzo Music, Garfield's long time voice.) Garfield succeeds in gaining nine more lives for himself and Odie due to a computer problem.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Garfield: His 9 Lives at the Internet Movie Database
- Garfield: His 9 Lives at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Garfield's Babes and Bullets at the Internet Movie Database (one of the stories from the book was made into its own special)
| Garfield |
|---|
| Characters |
| Garfield | Jon Arbuckle | Odie | List of Garfield characters |
| Television specials |
| Here Comes Garfield | Garfield on the Town | Garfield in the Rough | Garfield's Halloween Adventure | Garfield in Paradise | A Garfield Christmas | Garfield Goes Hollywood | Garfield: His 9 Lives | Garfield's Babes and Bullets | Garfield's Thanksgiving | Garfield's Feline Fantasies | Garfield Gets a Life |
| Video games |
| Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal | Garfield: A Winter's Tail | Garfield: A Week of Garfield | Garfield Labyrinth | Garfield: Caught in the Act | Garfield: The Search for Pooky | Garfield & His Nine Lives | Garfield Bound for Home |
| Films |
| Garfield | Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties |
| Other media |
| Am I Cool or What? | Garfield As Himself | Garfield and Friends | List of Garfield and Friends episodes | Garfield's Holiday Celebrations |
| Other |
| Jim Davis | U.S. Acres | Gnorm Gnat |
