Garfield: His 9 Lives

The book that this animated special was based on came out in...84 or 85. Reading it was a BIG surprise for me, although a lot of it is the same artistic and writing style as the comic, it contains some stories and art that are decidedly NOT the usual Garfield thing, including some rather twisted segments. Only one of those really oddball segments made the TV special (the part where he's a laboratory cat, escapes the military facility, and changes into a dog before the guard dogs can catch him). One of the other segments from the book that does not appear in the show is called Babes and Bullets, which was of course later made as its own stand-alone (slightly rewritten) Garfield special. The show did include at least one segment that was not in the book (Diana's Piano).

If you ever come across the book, give it a read, but don't expect the entire thing to be typical Garfield. The part called "Primal Urges" contains some very...disjointed art, a la a comic book graphic novel (not the same style, but just as freaky as, say, Batman - The Arkham Asylum).

Going in as a kid seeing it was about Garfield I went in assuming it was going to be like the other specials and movies, cynical funny jokes and moderate slapstick usually at Odie's expense. This movie was not like that... think Heavy Metal, but without the straight out adult material.

Life six ranked up there with Plague Dogs in terms of scare factor to 5 year old me. Life 7 still is capable of reducing me to tears and is more disturbing when you consider other factors of the life.

In a lot of ways it was a brilliant special... however its such a step away from the star character that it doesn't feel like it belongs in the Garfield canon.

Also his life from the book version babes and bullets got spun off into its own movie so in the animated version Garfield technically must have 10 lives.

Anyway if your in the mood for one of those specials from the 80s that feels magical but yet uncomfortable in a weird way this will give you some of that feel but not nearly as overwhelming as some things out of this time period for that.

I thought it would be a cute Garfield flashback from the 80s. 2 segments are not animated in the same genre as Garfield. One is OK where Garfield is a female cat who lives its life with a piano playing girl. The cat later grows old and dies which was a bit heavy for the kids but fine. The 7th life "Garfield" is Creepy. He a lab cat but the animation is more like a moonlighting Disney animator (per Jungle Book features) and the story is dark. The non-Garfield is in a military lab being injected with serum that genetically alters him into a dog. He later escapes and is chased by the military. Creepy lab scenes for kids.

This Garfield TV movie is pretty much the most unique of it's kind.

The story begins when the Creator(who portrays as God) creates a cat also known as Garfield. And gives him 9 lives to create an interesting story.

Then we get to see Garfield intro each of his 9 lives. Each one is different from another. A lot of them were done in different animation to give it a different taste.

Pretty much Life #8 is similar to the common Garfield cartoons.

I consider this one a Garfield of a different color.

The idea of 9 different stories in one TV movie is really cool in my opinion. A must see for the Garfield fans.

Ignore Stickman. Read this book. This is a great book with great stories and a great character. Definitely an instant classic. I mean no offense to anyone or anything, but if you don't like Garfield, WHY ARE YOU POSTING MESSAGES HERE?! Okay, yes I'll admit, it has several curse words, suggestive scenes, and maybe some violence, but you can just skip over those stories. Garfield pretty much sums it up before it even starts, and the title should tell you something. It is hilarious. Read ASAP. Find it on the internet, look for the movie, (even though the book and movie have little in common) and read/watch it to no end. Garfield is one of the greatest cartoon/comic strip characters of all time. Nobody should put him down. Plus, 9 different stories is hard to come up with. Appreciate Jim Davis! Odie rules.