Garfield Originals

Lore & Background

Garfield Originals is a 2D animated short series created by Jim Davis and Philippe Vidal. The series premiered in France on December 6, 2019, on France 3 and Okoo; it is also available on France.tv, a streaming platform available only in France. Half of the show's episodes aired on December 6, 2019; the remaining half aired on June 17, 2020. The series also aired on Radio-Canada on May 11, 2021. On October 19, 2021, the series was added to Nick.com in the United States as well as being uploaded to YouTube by the official channel of The Garfield Show.

Reader's Guide

Garfield Originals is significant as the first Garfield franchise installment since 1994 to use traditional animation, marking a return to hand-drawn techniques. Its reliance on physical comedy and silent-film inspiration distinguishes it from other Garfield media, which typically features dialogue. The series consists of 120 thirty-second shorts, grouped into 24 segments of five shorts each. It was developed with France's Dargaud Media and Ellipsanime, and animated by MadLab Animations, created by Ankama Animations and Ellipsanime Productions. The voice cast includes Gérard Surugue as Garfield, Véronique Soufflet as Nermal, Arlene, and Liz Wilson, Antoine Schoumsky as Odie, Squeak, Big Dog, and Herman Post, and Bruno Choël as Jon Arbuckle (uncredited). The series' distribution across French broadcasters, Canadian television, and US streaming platforms highlights its international reach.

Did You Know?

• Garfield Originals is the first Garfield franchise installment since Garfield and Friends (1994) to use traditional animation.
• The series is composed of 120 shorts, each 30 seconds long, grouped into 24 segments of five shorts.
• Half of the episodes aired on December 6, 2019, and the remaining half aired on June 17, 2020.

Creative Vision & Franchise Context

Garfield Originals represents a deliberate return to the franchise's roots in hand-drawn animation. Conceived by Jim Davis alongside Philippe Vidal, the series marks the first time since the closing episode of Garfield and Friends in 1994 that a Garfield production has employed traditional animation techniques. Rather than following the dialogue-driven or slapstick formulas that defined many later entries in the franchise, this project leans heavily on physical comedy and draws clear inspiration from the era of silent cinema. The result is a show where Garfield's expressions, body language, and visual gags carry the narrative weight, allowing the cat's iconic personality to shine without the crutch of extensive spoken dialogue. This stylistic choice sets Garfield Originals apart from virtually every other incarnation of the character, positioning it as a nostalgic yet fresh chapter in a franchise that has spanned decades and multiple media formats.

Production & Structural Design

Behind the scenes, Garfield Originals was developed in partnership with France's Dargaud Media and Ellipsanime, two key players in the European animation and publishing landscape. The actual animation work was handled by MadLab Animations, a studio that was itself created through a collaboration between Ankama Animations and Ellipsanime Productions. The series is structured in a highly compact format: it consists of 120 individual shorts, each lasting just thirty seconds. These shorts are grouped into segments of five, and the full series is divided into 24 such segments. This micro-episode structure reinforces the silent-film aesthetic, as each brief vignette must deliver its comedic punch within a very tight timeframe. The format also makes the series highly accessible for casual viewing, fitting neatly into the short-form content consumption habits that have grown in popularity across streaming platforms and broadcast schedules alike.

Broadcast Journey & Global Availability

The release of Garfield Originals followed a staggered international rollout that spanned nearly two years. The series made its debut in France on December 6, 2019, airing on the national broadcaster France 3 and the streaming service Okoo. Viewers within France could also access the show through France.tv, a streaming platform restricted to French audiences. The full run was split into two waves: half of the episodes premiered on that initial December 2019 date, while the remaining half followed on June 17, 2020. The series then crossed the Atlantic to Canada, where Radio-Canada aired it on May 11, 2021. Finally, on October 19, 2021, the shorts became available in the United States through Nick.com, and simultaneously the official YouTube channel of The Garfield Show uploaded the content for a broader global audience. This multi-platform, multi-country strategy ensured the series reached Garfield fans across several continents and on a variety of viewing devices.

Voice Cast & Character Ensemble

Although the show is rooted in visual comedy, a dedicated French-language voice cast brings the ensemble to life. Gérard Surugue lends his voice to Garfield himself. Véronique Soufflet takes on three roles, voicing Nermal, Arlene, and Dr. Liz Wilson. Antoine Schoumsky handles four characters: Odie, Squeak the mouse, Big Dog, and Herman Post the mailman. Bruno Choël voices Jon Arbuckle, though his credit appears as uncredited in the series. The character roster extends beyond the core trio of Garfield, Jon, and Odie to include Nermal, Dr. Liz Wilson, Arlene, Pooky, Squeak, Big Dog, and Herman Post. This broader cast gives the thirty-second vignettes a rich pool of personalities to draw from, allowing the physical gags to play out across a variety of relationships and comedic pairings. The French-language recording also underscores the series' origins as a Franco-American collaborative production, developed with Dargaud Media and Ellipsanime.

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