Garfield Joins Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

It’s just after the holidays, and I’m betting a good few people have gotten Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl among their other presents, so let’s talk a little bit about that.

I initially had some trepidation about going for this one. I enjoy Super Smash Bros., of course, and I grew up on Nickelodeon (was pretty much hooked on it in the early- to mid-’90s) but I wasn’t sure here. Some characters I knew from firsthand experience, others just from cultural osmosis. Actually, mostly the latter. Of the 20 characters on offer, I only had firsthand experience with about nine — less than half. And among those, we only have half of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (plus April)?

That ratio actually summed things up perfectly: I was on the fence, but the side that I wasn’t sure about was just a little greater than the side I was.

Then it happened:

“Garfield has joined the game!”

And just like that, the die was cast.

Sometimes, there’s just that one character who makes it so that it doesn’t matter to you who else is on the roster. In this case, Garfield was that character.

One fun thing about these types of games is the references, and as a lifelong fan of that cat, I thought it would be fun to scrutinize what this free downloadable character brings to the dinner table in that regard.

But first, some of you might be questioning why Garfield is in a Nickelodeon game in the first place.

If one were to be charitable, they could call back to the syndicated run of Garfield and Friends on the channel from 1997 to 2000. However, the much meatier reason would be because in 2019, Nickelodeon bought out PAWS, Inc., the company which produced Garfield, U.S. Acres/Orson’s Farm, and other material under the leadership of Garfield’s creator, Jim Davis. Since then, Nickelodeon has produced a new cartoon featuring Garfield and his friends (though so far, not his “Friends“) called Garfield Originals. Check it out:

Now then, on with the show!

Okay, so I’m not going to lie: This one is at once a move I’m thrilled to see included, and am a little disappointed by.

One of Garfield’s favorite pastimes is kicking Odie off the table… or any other high-ish place, for that matter. So if Garfield was going to appear in any sort of fighting game, it just had to be there.

The downside, to me, is that it’s a pretty basic move. When Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was first announced and I hoped that Garfield would make the roster, it was the first move that came to mind, only I saw it as an extremely damaging knock-out kind of move:

Still, it’s here, and that’s what’s important.

As a fat cat who loves eating and sleeping, it was only natural that some food was going to make its way into Garfield’s arsenal. And among his favorites? Donuts.

With his up attack, Garfield holds a pink frosted donut high above his head in triumph.

As much as Garfield loves food, he hates spiders.

Which is the point of the oddly-named “Fly Swatter” down attack. While Garfield attempts to swat a spider with his rolled-up newspaper, he might just hit an opponent instead, leaving the spider to skitter away from danger.

Okay, I have to admit: this one has me stumped. While the expression itself doesn’t seem particularly uncommon among Jim Davis’s menagerie of colorful cartoon characters as an expression of extreme surprise or shock, I’m honestly not sure what makes this a “Happy Day” animation; the closest I can come up with is this:

Suffice to say, this is definitely on the more obscure side.

This one has layers.

It’s important to note that Garfield does not actually talk. Granted, his lips tend to move more in stuff like the movies and The Garfield Show, but it’s generally established that he can’t actually speak (well, there was Garfield’s Judgment Day, but that’s something else entirely). Instead, he thinks.

That’s right: Garfield is basically like some sort of low-level telepath, at least among other animals, as they communicate with each other using their thoughts.

This works to Garfield’s advantage here in more ways than one. For starters, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl doesn’t have voice acting, so in a sense, Garfield comes out ahead of most of the roster by communicating through his thoughts with word balloons — just like in the comics!

Throw in his sharp wit and biting sarcasm, and it makes sense (in a way) that he’d be able to do some damage with those thoughts. These come in two varieties: “Lasagna!” and “Mondays =(“.

Because, as we all know, he loves lasagna, but hates Mondays.

In an added cool touch, he also uses thought bubbles instead of normal dialogue boxes when speaking to other competitors.

Neat!

This is another odd one that’s difficult to pin down. Spinning isn’t much of a Garfield thing… but dancing is, leading me to think that perhaps this move draws from Garfield’s penchant for tearing up the dance floor:

This also ties in nicely to his next move on the list…

As noted, Garfield loves to dance. And as seen above, tap dancing is a particular favorite, giving us this move.

Of course, Garfield might be better known for his tap dancing on television than in the comics, particularly from the beginning of the TV special Garfield Goes Hollywood:

For a running attack, this one just makes sense.

Now this one, I find rather fascinating. While one wouldn’t expect Garfield to turn down chicken, it’s not an item you see him eat frequently nowadays. However, back in the early days of the strip?

They got a fair bit of use out of chicken, and especially chicken legs.

The name is kind of interesting as well, as it might be a reference to a trick used in pro wrestling to emphasize an impact of a kick, and has recently been the source of some slight controversy. This might just be a coincidence, however.

Garfield. Lasagna. Need any more be said?

And of course, you do not get between this cat and his lasagna, or else there may be dire consequences.

Also worth noting is that beyond referencing his love of lasagna, Garfield often displays a very specific signature way of consuming it:

Naturally, that’s how he devours the dish in this devastating move.

Most of these moves so far have become a part of Garfield lore through the comics, but this one is no doubt far better known from the beginning of the opening to the long-running Garfield and Friends TV show:

As an added bonus, he enters battle mimicking the opening in this attire as well!

Garfield eats. Garfield burps.

A lot.

Naturally, it only makes sense that they would weaponize it.

Garfield also sleeps a lot, so it only follows that he would yawn quite a bit as well.

And of course, Garfield goes for the big, dramatic yawns, so there’s a bit of stretching involved, giving him a greater reach when using it as an attack.

A little-known fact about Garfield: He’s kinda heavy, especially for a cat his size. Even as a kitten…

Suffice to say, this makes stomping a potent attack for him:

Here’s another neat bit of trivia about Garfield: He’s a cat. This actually informs a lot of his tendencies and mannerisms. Many tend to get exaggerated in one way or another, but at his core, he’s still just a cat who is doing cat stuff.

That includes pouncing, particularly when he sees something he wants to eat and/or maul.

Pies are a longstanding part of Garfield lore. They’ve featured in the comics…

As well as prominently in the cartoons:

With this attack, the first two pies do normal damage, knocking the opponent into the air, but the third one — which I affectionately refer to as the “splut” pie, for reasons:

This one will not only do multiple hits of damage, but in the right situation, can even carry an opponent all the way off the screen. Set things up just right with the first two pies, and then you can make it Monday for your opponents any day of the week!

This one’s a lot like the Cat Pounce, in that I’m not aware of a specific reference, except that like most cats, Garfield is known to leap up and dive down onto some prey every now and again:

It doesn’t do any damage going up, but after he reaches the apex of his leap, look out below!

Finally, we come to Garfield’s final move, which utilizes his longstanding and beloved companion, Pooky.

Garfield loves his teddy bear, possibly even more than lasagna (he may pick lasagna in the moment, but he’ll soon regret it).

But despite his prowess in the martial arts…

Pooky doesn’t do any harm when Garfield initially throws him. However, he can summon Pooky back to his side at any time, and much like lasagna, you don’t want to be anywhere between this cat and his bear when he does.

Bonus!

While this list has been all about Garfield’s move set and the references contained therein, this would feel woefully incomplete if we didn’t look at his stage, too.

As far as I’m aware, this isn’t a specific reference to any particular Garfield strip, cartoon, or other work, but does take much of what makes Garfield, well, Garfield and crafts a sensible stage around it.

Garfield loves doing two things in particular: eating and sleeping. And when he sleeps, he dreams about eating, which brings us to this dreamscape.

This Battleground-styled stage (to put it in Super Smash Bros. terms) takes place atop a large pan of lasagna as its center stage, with two pizzas acting as the two platforms. As lasagna is Garfield’s favorite, it is naturally put on a pedestal.

Various sweets and treats make up the background, many of which we’ve covered already, such as donuts. There’s also a cake castle, candy in the sky, Pooky resting atop a crescent moon, and sheep (such as the ones you count to get to sleep) down below. A statue of Garfield is visible, holding what appears to be a bowl of cat food.

Oh, and of course, there’s a lake/waterfall flowing with Garfield’s favorite beverage, coffee:

What’s curious to me, though, is what appear to be salads over on the right among the milk carton houses. Garfield is not much a fan of salad…

Not much at all.

Still, the rest seems like a good mash-up of his passions, and in a dream world, anything goes (except maybe salad), right?

Now, that’s not all of the Garfield references to be found, but this covers all the core stuff (and is pretty image-intensive as it is). If you want more, just let me know in the comments, and maybe I’ll dive even deeper into the corners of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl for more! For now, I hope those of you playing are not only enjoying the game, but may have a newfound appreciation for what this cat brings to the table.

Thanks for reading!

Copy of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl for Xbox provided by Game Mill Entertainment. Garfield comics via GoComics, used for reference purposes.

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.