Top 10 Surprising Garfield Cameos and References in Movies and TV
We hate Mondays, but we love him! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at character cameos, clever references, and novelty appearances of the lasagna-loving orange cat, Garfield. This will not include any movies where Garfield is the focus, or part of an official ensemble.
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00:00 "If you're pounding, that's the advice."
00:01 "Here's a practical reply."
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at character cameos,
00:07 clever references and novelty appearances of the lasagna-loving orange cat Garfield.
00:12 "Oh my god, it's the guy who tried to kill Jim Davis!"
00:15 "I'm Garfield!"
00:17 This will not include any movies where Garfield is the focus or part of an official ensemble.
00:22 Number 10. A handsome window cling.
00:25 DC League of Super Pets.
00:27 While DC's extended universe floundered, Warner Animation Group introduced audiences
00:32 to a comedic new angle for DC's dynamic heroes.
00:35 "Batman works alone. Except for Robin. And Alfred. Commissioner Gordon."
00:40 Here, they played second fiddle to a cast of super-powered pets
00:44 led by Superman's loyal Labrador Crypto.
00:46 "Your choice. Her or me."
00:48 "What's gotten into you?"
00:50 "Bad dog!"
00:52 One of the pup's allies is Merton McSnertle,
00:54 a semi-aquatic turtle who becomes super speedy after coming into contact with orange kryptonite.
01:00 "Remember me when I'm gone, Fabrizio."
01:02 Unfortunately, the hero's newfound powers didn't help her poor eyesight.
01:07 Merton regularly mistakes inanimate objects for other animals,
01:10 and her flirtations with them become a running gag.
01:13 "What just happened?"
01:15 "No, seriously, what just happened? I can't see s***."
01:18 After PB's unpredictable powers squash Merton against a window,
01:22 she comes face to face with a Garfield window cling,
01:25 and immediately tries to put the moves on him.
01:27 "What's happening, handsome? Come on, we're both grown-ups. Don't leave me hanging, okay?"
01:33 Number 9. Fry's Garfield Syndrome. Futurama.
01:37 "Careful, Leela. He knows less about human anatomy than I do.
01:40 And I can't even find my own uterus!"
01:42 After spending six seasons with the Planet Express crew,
01:45 fans of Futurama likely weren't surprised to learn that
01:48 Zoidberg lacked the knowledge and skill required to do his job.
01:52 What was surprising was just how spectacularly he got it wrong.
01:56 When Fry comes to the ship's doctor for help getting cactus pins out of his hand,
02:00 Zoidberg accidentally gives the out-of-time human a progressive cartoon-based disease.
02:05 Each new cure changes Fry's shape to a new popular character, one of which is Garfield.
02:10 "My body rejected your liver, and now I've got Garfield Syndrome. Ugh, I hate Mondays."
02:16 Given the state of the rest of the crew, he seems to have gotten off easy.
02:19 "Hmm. What started out as a pleasant afternoon of drugs and surgery has not gone as planned."
02:25 Number 8. Andrew Garfield. BoJack Horseman.
02:28 "And what's your name, darling?"
02:29 "I... I'll just make it out to Evelyn."
02:34 Set in an alternate Hollywood, or should we say, Hollywood,
02:39 BoJack Horseman has featured several real-world actors over the course of its six seasons.
02:44 Some of these appearances, like Naomi Watts, Margot Martindale, and Henry Winkler,
02:48 are done by the actual actors playing themselves,
02:50 "It really burns my brisket that some people would turn a funeral into some kind of schmooze fest."
02:55 while others are performed by people doing impressions.
02:58 Andrew Garfield's cameo is the latter. At one point,
03:02 the British actor's ex-girlfriend implies he loves lasagna and hates Mondays.
03:06 "Andrew's the one who flies up the handle whenever his agent sets up an audition on a Monday."
03:11 "Andrew Garfield hates Mondays and loves lasagna."
03:15 "I said I don't want to talk about it!"
03:16 "She said drop it, Todd!"
03:18 A fitting combination for his last name, which amuses Todd.
03:21 Interestingly, the reiteration of the joke in-world implies that the Garfield we know
03:26 exists in BoJack. We can only hope the cat's post-TV show career fared better than the title characters.
03:32 "I wanted to do this in a public place so you wouldn't make a scene."
03:35 "You think I won't make a scene, you limey bastard!"
03:38 Number 7. Jim Davis' House. I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson.
03:43 "That chair reclines, by the way. The tongue sticks out."
03:45 This surreal sketch comedy show is one of those things you have to see to believe.
03:50 Created by comedians Tim Robinson and Zach Cannon,
03:53 I Think You Should Leave takes cringe comedy to new heights, with its genius cast of actors
03:57 playing out several unbelievably awkward and hilarious scenarios. Garfield enters the mix
04:02 at the end of the show's first season finale, when an intervention is held in a woman's
04:07 elaborately themed home. It's all Garfield.
04:10 "Whoa."
04:10 "What is this place?"
04:12 "Take a seat, Mark. Sorry, bud, no partying tonight. I'm afraid to say this is your intervention."
04:17 Although the guests try to remain serious about their friend's struggle with addiction,
04:21 the house's owner repeatedly pivots the conversation back to their absurd surroundings.
04:26 "We were like brothers, going to the movies together, traveling, playing sports."
04:30 "To see something be in control of you and see you drinking it all away."
04:34 "All Garfield."
04:35 "Do you know how hard that is for me?"
04:37 She believes that the fully furnished house once belonged to the comic's creator, Jim Davis.
04:42 Unfortunately, the truth is far more sinister.
04:45 "I'll never forget the day that I told you that I bought Jim Davis' house,
04:47 the creator of Garfield. You just sat there, stared at me. Like, I didn't just tell you that
04:52 I bought Jim Davis' house. Fully furnished!"
04:55 Number 6. Mandy's Kitty Costume - Last Man Standing
04:58 Finding the perfect Halloween costume as a teenager is a delicate balance.
05:03 The ideal choice rides the line between being fashion-forward and family-approved.
05:08 Unfortunately, Mandy's costume in the first season of Last Man Standing
05:12 misses the mark for her father.
05:13 "Did you happen to pick up the kitty costume I reserved for Stella's party?"
05:17 "Oh yeah, the fur lion bikini with the cat ears?"
05:19 Instead of picking up his daughter's desired kitty costume,
05:23 Mike opts to rent her a giant Garfield suit.
05:25 "What is that?"
05:26 "This is Garfield, America's favorite cat."
05:29 It's hilarious and really well-made, but not at all what Mandy expected to be partying in.
05:34 "Well, off to Stella's party, dressed as some ridiculous overweight cat."
05:37 Before the night is over, she ends up editing the suit into an outfit she feels more comfortable in,
05:42 crafting what might be the world's skimpiest Garfield costume.
05:46 "Where's the Garfield costume?"
05:47 "Dad, this is Garfield. Look, look, look. This is his tail and these are his ears."
05:51 Number 5. A Fantasy Phone Call - Yellow Jackets
05:55 Focused on a group of teens who spent months stranded in the wilderness,
05:58 Yellow Jackets doesn't exactly seem like the kind of show to have a whimsical reference
06:02 to America's favorite fat cat. And yet it does!
06:05 As adults, the Yellow Jackets are understandably wary of their former teammate Lottie's cult-like
06:10 camp, and skeptical that any of her new "treatments" could have a positive impact
06:14 on their lives. Nonetheless, they eventually relent to each trying out a different method.
06:19 Misty ends up with guidance. Submerged in a tank of water,
06:23 she experiences a charming musical fantasy.
06:26 "Sit right down, shake off your blues, I'll set the mood for ya. Lights out, now!"
06:34 "Sit right down!"
06:35 Which ends with an imagined call between her and her admirer Walter.
06:39 "Misty, I, I, I just wanna say…"
06:42 If you pay close attention, you'll see that Walter's phone during the sequence
06:51 is a novelty Garfield phone.
06:52 Number 4. Late Night Pep Talks - Chungking Express
06:56 After a bad breakup, an unnamed cop begins talking to the objects in his home,
07:01 comforting them about being lonely.
07:02 "After he left, I was so sad. I had to comfort them every night before I could sleep."
07:09 Of course, he's actually comforting himself with these monologues,
07:12 which he directs at everything from a bar of soap to a threadbare towel.
07:16 It's not until he meets the eccentric Faye and gets to know her that he truly begins to heal.
07:21 He notices his positive change in demeanor, and it translates into his late night pep talks with
07:26 the objects in his home, which now includes a large Garfield-stuffed animal.
07:30 "Do you feel more cheerful?"
07:31 "Suddenly, I feel that things are a lot more pure and soft."
07:35 "I used to think you were very blunt."
07:37 This stuffed toy is actually a significant prop in the film,
07:40 initially appearing in its first half in one of the only scenes
07:43 directly connecting the anthology's first and second segments.
07:47 "There's so many holes."
07:47 "Someone's coming to fight."
07:51 Number 3. Bill Murray's Regret - Zombieland
07:54 Following the death of voice actor Lorenzo Muzik,
07:57 the live-action adaptation of Garfield needed to find a new way for its protagonist to sound.
08:01 "Used to have John to myself, day or night, there was no one else."
08:09 They ultimately found that new voice in Bill Murray,
08:11 though the actor would later admit that he took the role by mistake,
08:14 believing the 2004 movie was written by the Joel Coen famous for Fargo,
08:18 not the Joel Coen with an H famous for Cheaper by the Dozen.
08:22 Five years later, Murray would play a version of himself in Zombieland,
08:26 and name Garfield as his only regret.
08:28 "So do you have any regrets?"
08:29 "Garfield, maybe."
08:34 This hilariously meta gag took on new meaning in Double Tap,
08:38 when the mid-credits scene revealed that the Zombieland world was set to have
08:41 even more Murray-Garfield films than our real world.
08:44 "The idea of a trilogy was something, as an artist, you think the great ones,
08:49 Godfather and Lethal Weapon."
08:53 "But the question is, why in the world Garfield 3?"
08:57 "Can this be just between us?"
08:59 "Yes."
09:00 "Drugs cost money."
09:01 Number 2. Leslie and April - Parks and Recreation
09:04 "Well, you know what, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
09:06 I mean, I've been boycotting them ever since Pinewood and her goons
09:10 started this whole recall business."
09:12 Everyone knows that Leslie's top three priorities are waffles, friends, and work,
09:16 but did you know that she's also a Garfield fan?
09:19 It's not as obvious as her other interests, but if you keep an eye out,
09:22 you'll see that the fat cat comes up quite a bit in Parks.
09:25 When a word cloud is made of things Leslie frequently mentions in emails,
09:29 Garfield is one of the words, and a DVD of the 2004 movie can be seen in her home.
09:34 Ironically, April references the comic by calling herself Odie,
09:38 Garfield's positive dog pal who seems more akin to her upbeat boss.
09:42 "Hello, it's me, City Councilwoman Leslie Knope."
09:45 "And me, Odie the dog, Garfield's enemy."
09:47 Of course, the true Garfield fan may actually be co-creator Michael Schur,
09:52 as his other show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, also includes a few referential lines.
09:56 "I mean, who needs relativity when we could have had Einstein's take on lasagna eating cats?"
10:01 "I said I'd cancel."
10:02 "Did he hate Mondays? We'll never know."
10:04 "Okay, I'm going, I'm going."
10:05 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:09 A silly phone for a serious call, Ninja Terminator.
10:13 This iconic prop choice added character to the film's delightfully bad dubbing.
10:17 "Jaguar, this is Harry."
10:18 "Hi, boss. What's happening?"
10:22 "Tamashi's sister was kidnapped."
10:23 Emerald's nightshirt. Nope.
10:25 Only Garfield could sleep through an alien invasion.
10:28 "They let Clover out, man."
10:29 "Yeah, what? They trying to train Haywood? It's on!"
10:33 "You stole their horse."
10:34 Puss in Boots hates Mondays.
10:36 Shrek 2.
10:37 Puss in Boots and Garfield have more in common than the color of their fur.
10:40 "I hate Mondays."
10:43 Jane expresses her lasagna love, Smiley Face.
10:46 One of many reasons to frame a picture of Garfield in your home.
10:50 "When I get home, I'm gonna frame a bunch of stuff I love.
10:52 Like lasagna.
10:55 I love lasagna.
10:58 It's so good and cheesy.
11:02 You know who else loves lasagna?
11:06 Garfield."
11:08 Ralph's Mistake.
11:09 Once Upon a Studio.
11:11 A surprising reference to one of the few characters Disney doesn't own.
11:15 "Right this way.
11:16 Oh, Ralph, you okay?"
11:19 "Never better, Garfield."
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11:36 Number 1.
11:39 Grandma Huang and the Big Balloon - Fresh Off the Boat
11:48 If there was a prize for the world's biggest Garfield fan,
11:51 Grandma Huang would be a top contender.
11:53 The Fresh Off the Boat matriarch even stole books compiling Jim Davis's comics
12:03 from her local library.
12:05 "Oh, I see some whiskers.
12:07 Could it be everybody's favorite tabby?"
12:09 "Garfield!"
12:10 "It is!
12:11 Here comes Heathcliff!"
12:15 Some of our favorite moments of her fat cat fandom, however,
12:18 are her annual viewings of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
12:21 Wearing a Garfield t-shirt, she eagerly awaits her favorite character's appearance in balloon form,
12:34 dissing any characters who dare to steal his spotlight.
12:37 "White, white, chubby bread doll.
12:39 I won't let that fat-ass tell me what kind of bread to eat."
12:45 Of course, Garfield isn't a character solely to be celebrated on Thanksgiving.
12:50 He's perfect for any holiday.
12:51 In a Christmas episode, Jenny adds the character to the family's winter village setup,
12:56 explaining one of her many reasons for loving him as she does.
12:59 Were you aware of these unconventional Garfield cameos?
13:06 Let us know your favorites in the comments.
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13:24 [music]