# Are Garfield and U.S. Acres set in the same universe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, comic-strips\ **Created:** [June 3, 2022, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622 "2022-06-03T11:36:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/1 "2022-06-03T11:36:06Z")
_Garfield_ and _U.S. Acres_ are both comic strips by Jim Davis. Animated versions of both strips appear in the TV show _Garfield and Friends_, albeit in separate segments. With one minor exception mentioned below, I don’t recall any crossover between the two strips/shows. Do they take place in the same universe? That is, in Garfield’s world, is U.S. Acres a real farm that Garfield might conceivably visit? From my limited knowledge, a couple facts would seem to discount the possibility of a shared universe: - In _U.S. Acres_, the animal characters all talk with their mouths, and humans seem to be absent. By contrast, in _Garfield_, the animal characters don’t talk, but rather only “think” in thought bubbles (or voice-overs without lip movement, in the TV show). There are humans, such as Jon Arbuckle, but they can’t actually hear what Garfield is thinking. - The only time I’ve ever seen Garfield in _U.S. Acres_ was in one episode of the TV series, where he was featured on a calendar hanging on a wall. This suggests that in the _U.S. Acres_ universe, just as in our universe, Garfield isn’t a real sentient animal but rather just a fictional character that appears in comics and on merchandise. Does anyone know if a sentient Garfield (or Jon, Odie, etc.) ever appeared in _U.S. Acres_, or if any of the sentient _U.S. Acres_ characters ever showed up at Garfield’s house or anywhere else in the _Garfield_ universe? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/2 "2022-06-03T14:12:39Z")
I thought that there was a crossover in the comics at some point but I can’t remember details. It may have been a very small connection like Jon’s brother visiting the farm or something like that. I may not be remembering correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/3 "2022-06-03T14:36:53Z")
Has Jon ever acted in a way that indicates he does understand Garfield? I swear when I was in 4th grade or so(about the audience for Garfield), I thought Jon understood him sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/4 "2022-06-03T14:46:42Z")
He understands Garfield’s body language, which may roughly or exactly correspond to what he’s thinking. I don’t recall any cases where Jon responds to Garfield in a way which could be explained _only_ by telepathy and not by making assumptions about Garfield’s internal state on the basis of external behaviour. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/5 "2022-06-03T14:53:57Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > The only time I’ve ever seen Garfield in _U.S. Acres_ was in one episode of the TV series, where he was featured on a calendar hanging on a wall. This suggests that in the _U.S. Acres_ universe, just as in our universe, Garfield isn’t a real sentient animal but rather just a fictional character that appears in comics and on merchandise. Woo-hoo—check out what I’ve just discovered: [Garfield by Jim Davis for July 04, 2010 - GoComics](https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2010/07/04) In this 4 July 2010 _Garfield_ strip, Jon draws a cartoon of what looks like Orson from _U.S. Acres_. Could this mean that in the _U.S. Acres_ universe, _Garfield_ is just a comic strip, and vice versa? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/6 "2022-06-03T18:35:59Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > In _U.S. Acres_ , the animal characters all talk with their mouths, and humans seem to be absent. I do remember a human character who briefly appeared early on, a child who convinced her? father to adopt Orson when he was found alone after falling out of a truck. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/7 "2022-06-03T18:46:04Z")
In the animated series at least Binky the Clown exists as a real person in both Garfield and US Acres. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/8 "2022-06-03T19:25:18Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Woo-hoo—check out what I’ve just discovered: [Garfield by Jim Davis for July 04, 2010 - GoComics](https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2010/07/04) OK, that’s pretty weird. Canonically, Jon is by profession a cartoonist. Doesn’t it seem rather odd for a cartoonist to show off “Hey, look at this cartoon character I drew!”? That should be a perfectly ordinary daily occurrence, not something in the least remarkable. Jon’s family are all farmers, right? I had always assumed that US Acres was their farm. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/9 "2022-06-03T21:07:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, that’s pretty weird. Canonically, Jon is by profession a cartoonist. Doesn’t it seem rather odd for a cartoonist to show off “Hey, look at this cartoon character I drew!”? I dunno; don’t most creative types bounce ideas off their friends and colleagues to get feedback? Jon’s kind of a socially inept loser and so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he’d be soliciting an informal review from his cat. > [@Chronos](#): > > Jon’s family are all farmers, right? I had always assumed that US Acres was their farm. In both the _Garfield_ comic strip and TV show, Garfield and Jon visit the farm. There are plenty of animals, but to my recollection the _U.S. Acres_ cast are not among them. And I don’t recall the Arbuckle farm ever being referred to as “U.S. Acres”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/10 "2022-06-03T21:14:59Z")
Yeah, that seems to come and go. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/11 "2022-06-03T21:22:08Z")
Garfield’s drawing skills certainly came a long way in 26 years: > **[Garfield by Jim Davis for August 05, 1984 | GoComics.com](https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1984/08/05)** > > Garfield: Hello, what have we here? I think I'll draw something. > Jon: Hey, Garfield! This is a great drawing! Do you know what this means?! A cat who can draw! We'll make millions, you'll be famous! We'll tour the world! Live out of a suitcase!... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/12 "2022-06-04T12:51:43Z")
Of course, both of Garfield’s drawings, as well as Jon’s, were actually done by Jim Davis, for whom Jon Arbuckle is a fictional stand-in. Except, of course, that “done by Jim Davis” should really be “attributed to Jim Davis”, because the Garfield comic strip has long been a collaborative effort, with much or all of the actual art done by uncredited others. Lots of layers to sift through, here. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-garfield-and-u-s-acres-set-in-the-same-universe/965622/13 "2022-07-12T17:30:33Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > In this 4 July 2010 _Garfield_ strip, Jon draws a cartoon of what looks like Orson from _U.S. Acres_. Could this mean that in the _U.S. Acres_ universe, _Garfield_ is just a comic strip, and vice versa? Another intriguing discovery today: In the eighth episode of the second season of _Garfield and Friends_ there’s a Garfield segment called “The Lasagna Zone”. An accident involving a satellite dish results in Garfield being sucked into the TV and thereby appearing in various shows. At one point Odie starts flicking between channels and Garfield ends up in U.S. Acres next to Booker and Sheldon: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tBB6yGBRTJ0/hqdefault.jpg "THE LASAGNA ZONE - #1 | Garfield and Friends Cartoon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBB6yGBRTJ0&t=180) The implication is that in the _Garfield_ universe, _U.S. Acres_ is indeed a comics franchise that includes a TV show. And from what we know from my OP, in the _U.S. Acres_ universe, Garfield is a comics character that appears on merchandise like wall calendars.