Jim Davis’ Garfield celebrates his 40th birthday this year with a new TV series, book, feature film, and merchandise with the help of Paws, Inc. Later this year, a new animated series of 120 30-second shorts titled Garfield Originals will be released. An animated Garfield movie is also in development with Alcon Entertainment.
The sarcastic fat cat is also collaborating with streetwear brand The Hundreds for a second time, with a ’90s-inspired collection featuring t-shirts, hoodies, an embroidered denim jacket, an allover print pajama set, headwear, a trash can, coaster set, plush toy, stickers, and pins.
Also celebrating his 40th birthday is Penguin Ventures’ The Snowman. Among the celebratory events planned are a London performance by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, another run of its live show at The Peacock, and a new novel penned by acclaimed children’s author Michael Morpurgo.
Beano Studios is choosing to celebrate its 80th birthday with new creative collaborations with Westminster Mint (collectable Ingots and medals), TruffleShuffle (t-shirts), Koch Media (gifting sets), and Art & Hue (unframed art prints).
But let’s not forget the king of character licensing: This year marks the 90th birthday of Disney’s Mickey Mouse.