Jim Davis made Garfield appealing in the best way

When it comes to iconic orange cats, no one holds a candle to Garfield. Given that he's had numerous movies, TV shows, and video games over decades, there is no shortage of Garfield content.

If there's one person we have to thank for all Garfield content, it's Jim Davis. As the creator of the Garfield comic strip, Davis has done so much with the character. Even so, it's clear Davis still loves the character he created.

That's why when looking at this article shared by CBR, a few details stood out to me. Most notably, the outlet referred to an older article shared by The Washington Post. The article is unfortunately behind a paywall but I was able to pull quotes from CBR's article to use so I wanted to share Davis' thoughts on his own character.

Frankly, it's refreshing to see a creator talk so candidly about the character he created and in a way, Davis gave even more life to Garfield via this interview.

Jim Davis shares his thoughts on Garfield and it's refreshing.

When asked about Garfield's broad appeal, Davis answered simply that he wanted to appeal to everyone. He also shared this fun tidbit: " In an effort to keep the gags broad, the humor general and applicable to everyone, I deal mainly with eating and sleeping. That applies to everyone, anywhere." I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy eating and sleeping so Davis already ticked off a huge box with that one.

However, he goes even further in the article by saying: "By virtue of being a cat, Garfield's not black, white, male or female, young, or old or a particular nationality. He's not going to step on anyone's feet if these thoughts are coming from an animal." Honestly, that's such a unique way to look at it and something that I feel like never gets talked about. A lot of us love those cartoon animals from childhood because, in a way, they never change. While things have changed in Garfield's world, we all associate him with lasagna, Odie, and Jon.

Even though that interview ran in 1982, it's clear Davis still feels the same about his beloved character. While The Garfield Movie gave us a different take on the character, the film was at its core about Garfield and his story. He was still eating and sleeping which Davis noted above. In a way, it's a beautiful moment and a great way to pay homage to such a beloved character.

The Garfield Movie is currently playing in theaters.