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May 6, 2019 4:30 AM   Subscribe

Of all the newspaper comic strips ever created, only one is so aggressively neutral that it is endlessly parodyable in countless ways. The latest? Garfeld: The Musical, a 90-minute Garfield parody musical. (Content warning: foul language, sexual references, violence, dog se--wait, that's just sexual references again)
posted by BiggerJ (13 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
The opening number is a real toe-tapper.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:54 AM on May 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


Jon, owner of Garfield, is pictured mainly as a bust.

I'm imagining a vaporwave Garfield mashup, perhaps along the lines of Olly Moss' garfs, only with Jon modelled in 3D as a greco-roman bust on a pastel-coloured checkerboard or something.
posted by acb at 5:39 AM on May 6, 2019 [6 favorites]


I don't know, wasn't Family Circus also so aggressively neutral that it is endlessly parodyable in countless ways?
posted by Schmucko at 5:52 AM on May 6, 2019 [7 favorites]


I’ve been singing the refrain from that opening number for the past hour. Definitely has a hook.


“We’ll laugh and dance and play...
And every-thing will be okay
As long as it’s not a Mon-day!”
posted by darkstar at 6:13 AM on May 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


Now do an adaption of Gale Galligan’s Jon.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:33 AM on May 6, 2019


cursed video
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 7:15 AM on May 6, 2019


What's neutral about proof you've succeeded, the ultimate goal in life: a comfy spot with some kibbles close by?
posted by sammyo at 7:34 AM on May 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


This says more about the creator of Garfield being OK with tie ins, merchandizing and remix culture than it does about the neutrality of the work, I think.

E.g., Why Garfield phones keep washing up on this French beach. Garfield has been a merchandizing juddernaut for a long time, Jim Davis is not precious about copyright.

It does remind me of how all the popular shounen anime and Disney princess movies eventually get made into musicals and stage shows. Also, Blondie Films.

The parody nature of this musical might be more specific to Garfield, but I also think that's just where the meme-driven parts of our culture are at, these days.
posted by subdee at 12:01 PM on May 6, 2019 [1 favorite]


AIDS (well, FIV) is actually not that serious in cats!

I'm sure this is the only factual oversight in this
posted by vibratory manner of working at 4:35 PM on May 6, 2019


Jim Davis is from a part of Indiana that has been struggling for a long time, and was intent on setting up the Garfield merchandising machine as a way to revitalize his home town. So intent, that. he's been willing to let the world at large think he's a hack.
posted by ocschwar at 8:07 PM on May 6, 2019 [3 favorites]


Because they've been in my head and I downloaded it from bandcamp, here's the songs of Garfeld: The Musical, ranked:

1. John's Lament

The villain song of the play, which means that, obviously, it's the best track. There's a little bit of distortion when he gets loud, which I'm not sure was intentional, but it actually works well. Dude sings his heart out.

2. People You Love Can Do Bad Things

Odie breaks kayfabe - great song and great narratively. Good Act I ending.

3. Paging Dr Lizz

"You gave Odie a shot in the anus / and you gave me a shot in the heart." Honestly.

4. House Calls

I like the idea of this song, and wish the execution was a touch stronger. I want to hear the version with the real drummer in the video rather than the drum machine on the audio track.

5. The Lowest Form of Art

A good song, and well placed in the play. The weaker but more obvious move would be to use this in the conclusion instead of right before the climax.

6. As Long as It's Not a Monday

As noted, it has a hook. A decent introduction to the play.

7. Guilt Free Sex

Purely a comedy song, but it works pretty well.

8. Now That Was a Monday

Musically an echo of the intro, but thematically more a reply to "The Lowest Form of Art".

9. Planting the C4

Catchier than it should be.

10. Warning

Short and does what it intends to, but nothing particularly special.

11. Another Warning

Fine.

12. I Love Lasagna

repetitive for narrative reasons, but that doesn't make it a good song.

13. I Love Lasagna (reprise)

Not much better the second time around.

14. Drawn to Scale

Worst song in the play - narratively unrelated (which is the point, but it's not a great one) and not musically interesting either.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 12:26 AM on May 10, 2019


One of the other great moments I'd like to call out is towards the end of John's Lament:

John, this is your doctor / your mental health has lost control
John, this is the police / and murder violates parole
John, this is your mother / and murder is a big no-no
John, this is Charles Mason / and murder is so worth it, bro

*chef's kiss*
posted by vibratory manner of working at 12:31 AM on May 10, 2019


I forgot how much else was going on in the reprise of I Love Lasagna and should have ranked it much higher
posted by vibratory manner of working at 1:04 AM on May 10, 2019


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