Jon Arbuckle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jonathan Q. Arbuckle | |
|---|---|
 Jon Arbuckle as he appears in Garfield and Friends |
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| First appearance | Garfield comic strip (June 19, 1978) |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | Possibly in 30's |
| Year of birth | July 28, 1951 (working from his age given in the December 23, 1980 strip) |
| Occupation | Cartoonist |
| Family | "Mom", "Dad", "Doc Boy","Grandma" and Aunt Gussie. |
| Relatives | Tony Arbuckli (ancestor) |
| Portrayed by | Sandy Kenyon (voice in Here Comes Garfield) Thom Huge (voice in all other animated appearances) Breckin Meyer (in the live-action films) |
| Created by | Jim Davis |
Jonathan Q. "Jon" Arbuckle is a fictional character from the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis. He has also appeared in Garfield and Friends and two live-action feature films.
A total nerd and a clumsy man, Jon is the owner of Garfield and Odie. He is the conversation partner to Garfield and is often the butt of his jokes. In the animated show Garfield and Friends, he was frequently portrayed as being incredibly gullible when faced with unscrupulous salesmen and often as being rather dumb in general.
Contents |
[edit] History
His full name has been revealed as Jonathan Q. Arbuckle in a Christmas strip. His birthday has been revealed to be July 28, 1951 (the same month and day as that of Jim Davis). It is rumored that Jon is based on a former member of the Paws, Brian Strater, art director for merchandising in the early 1980's. While this information is unverified by Davis, the resemblance is uncanny [1]. Jon tells Garfield that he is 29 years old in December 23, 1980 (he makes a joke that he would be 30, but he was sick a year). This would make Jon's birthdate July 28, 1951, and his current age 56 years old (however, he doesn't really seem to age like the other characters in comic strips and animated cartoons). It has also been shown in the animated show Garfield and Friends that Jon has an ancestor from Italy, whose name was Tony Arbuckli, which shows that Jon is either Italian or partially Italian. In addition, some episodes of the show suggested that Jon and his pets live in Muncie, Indiana, which is also where Jim Davis lives. Jon is known to wear contact lenses in the strip. His favorite music style is polka, and he plays the accordion. Often, Jon, as well as Garfield, gets bored, and comes up with "fun" ways to cure boredom (such as buying new socks, clipping his toenails, or playing "Guess the Burp" with Garfield). Jon yells his famous catchphrase "GARFIELD!", whenever he's angry and annoyed at Garfield.
[edit] Dating
He is extremely bad in the world of dating and coolness, even though he portrays himself as a smooth-talking, conceited ladies' man. He is constantly rejected when trying to get dates with women, perhaps due to his ridiculous pick-up lines or due to his loud and flashy outfits, as well as extolling the virtues of stamp collecting. His biggest crush is Dr. Liz Wilson, Garfield and Odie's vet, who has gone out with him a few times, though the dates are usually unsuccessful. However, after finally being able to get a date with his other long-time crush Ellen (who was suffering from amnesia and forgot who Jon was), he saw Liz at the same restaurant with another man. After expressing his feelings for Liz, she responded that she cared for Jon also, and the two seem to finally be a couple (for now). Previously, Jon has had a couple of very rare successes with women, with Owooda in the TV special Garfield in Paradise and with Mona (sort of) in the TV special Garfield Gets a Life.
[edit] Career
He makes his living as a cartoonist. This reference has not been seen in the comic strip since its early days, but Garfield and Friends does show him several times in his job as a cartoonist. Jon manages to make enough money to keep Garfield well fed. It is unknown if Jon is still a cartoonist or if he got fired.
[edit] Other media
Jon Arbuckle was voiced by Thom Huge in Garfield and Friends and several animated television specials. Breckin Meyer portrayed the role of Jon Arbuckle in the live-action films.
In both of the live action films, Jon Arbuckle has a powerful right hook which he uses to knock out the main antagonist of the movie.
In an episode of Futurama, Jon's forehead from a Macy's balloon is part of a hot air balloon to rise Fry, Leela and Bender to the surface world.
Arbuckle: Garfield through Jon's eyes [2] is a daily webcomic in which fans send a redrawing of a Garfield strip with Garfield's thought bubbles removed. As creator Tailsteak puts it,
The comic changes dramatically when one removes the thought bubbles. "Garfield" changes from being a comic about a sassy, corpulent feline, and becomes a compelling picture of a lonely, pathetic, delusional man who talks to his pets. Consider that Jon, according to Garfield canon, cannot hear his cat's thoughts. This is the world as he sees it. This is his story.
[edit] References
| 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 |
