Is Get Fuzzy really Garfield recast in a parallel (i.e. funnier) universe? The shocking similarities are too, well, similar to be mere coincidence. Look at the evidence and decide for yourself!! :dubious:
Bucky Katt = Garfield : the wisecracking feline star of the strip
Rob Wilco = Jon Arbuckle : the generally decent, but undeniably dorky “owner”
Satchel = Odie : the dimwitted but lovable canine compadre
Smacky = Pooky : stuffed companion to feline hero
Monkeys = Lasagna : object of lust for feline hero
10 bonus points to the first to “discover” this missing link-
Fungo the Ferret = ?? : nemesis to the feline hero
Disclaimer: I don’t really think Get Fuzzy is ripping off Garfield. It just struck me, you know?
Rob is certainly a geek, but Jon is an utter, complete loser.
Garfield is sarcastic and intelligent; Bucky is stupid and psychotic.
Garfield is a protagonist; Bucky is an antagonist.
Odie has no personality at all; Satchel does. Odie is just happy all the time. Satchel experiences a wide range of emotions. (Does Odie even have thought bubbles at all?)
I don’t think it’s coincidence that the strips are similar - dogs are natural sycophants, and cats are naturally self-centered.
Fungo = The Stupid Dog next door, of course. Who I always thought was Snoopy, as Snoopy had ‘crazy cat next door’ jokes. Neither the stupid dog or crazy cat were ever seen.
I actually have no idea who the Garfield counterpart is for Fungo; so I had no right offering 10 bonus points. My apologies. I had forgotten completely about Nermal, and I guess that sort of works.
I think it would be hilarious if Rob were to challenge Bucky why he so desperately wants to eat a monkey, with a resulting punchline from Bucky (or better yet, Satchel) that “monkeys taste like lasagna”.
I reject that theory that Garfield is the cat next door to Snoopy. I believe we know that cat’s name to be World War III. Also, that cat has been portayed as a physical match for Snoopy and Peppermint Patty, and I just don’t the Big Fat G in that role.
I always figured that the ‘cat next door’ is Snoopy’s perspective of the cat next door, not the actual cat next door. Garfield can talk a good game when he wants… Remember the early strips with the mouthful of fangs? But there’s never a sustained fight, just posturing and it ends.
That sorta happened. Bucky asked what fish ate, and Rob told him bugs. Here’s the rest of the paraphrased conversation(if you have the Get Fuzzy collection, it’s in there):
Rob: What did you think they ate?
Bucky: I dunno, monkeys or something.
Rob: Monkeys?
Bucky: You mean to tell me that you can look at a monkey and not get hungry?
Rob: Yes, I can honestly say that I don’t want to eat a monkey.
Bucky: [Something about humans being pink], and hey…they ain’t MY cousins.
Watch your language! This isn’t The Pit, and even so, that word is over the top.
Get Fuzzy is, IMHO, far wittier and more insightful into the human/pet relationship than Garfield ever was. People complained about the Garfield movie, but hey, says I, look at the source material. What did you expect?
Sigh, I suppose I can let HPL in on the joke. Its from the third book in the late Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Long story short: on other planets the word “Belgium” is a curse so vile that it is restricted to artsy movies. Make sense? No? Good.
I think the Get Fuzzy equivalent of Nermal is probably Tubby Huggs rather than Fungo.
And while I see the similarities between the two, Get Fuzzy feels a lot more developed. And is also just funnier. Bucky’s psychosis and Satchel’s cute (and, importantly, verbalized) muddledness really make things, and they all share the spotlight about equally.
Chubby Huggs. Boy, he’s an annoying one. If I were Bucky, I’d spork that sucker before he could get his filthy paws around me.
What I enjoy about Get Fuzzy is that the animals actually act like animals (except for the talking bit, of course.) Bucky has the twisted, psycho mannerisms one might expect from a particularly neurotic cat. Satchel is just dopey, as you’d expect a char-pei to be, but occasionally he comes back with a zinger or an attitude. Garfield, on the other hand, is just a fat, lazy couch potato, and Odie…no personality there, whatsoever. John was too much of a drip to take seriously. Rob Wilco, however, is just the sort of schlub that lives across the hall and can never seem to keep his hair brushed, and yet has enough passion to stay up all night watching rugby.
It’s just a much better developed (not to mention better drawn–one of the best, actually) comic.
