Dessert in the Desert is the third segment from the forty-seventh episode of Garfield and Friends.
Synopsis
After Jon gets a flat tire, Garfield and Odie get lost in the desert, where they see mirages.
Plot
Jon Arbuckle, Garfield and Odie drive to Cactus Jake's Dude Ranch. Garfield enjoys a snow cone during the ride, mentioning that he has an entire supply of snow cones for the trip. Garfield then offers Odie a lick, which Odie agrees to before Garfield actually licks Odie.
Ten miles from the way point, a tire is blown, with a sound similar to a shooting firearm. Garfield pretends to have been shot, as if in the Old West, while Jon tells him that it was just a flat tire.
Jon goes out to the trunk for a spare tire, only to find Garfield's snow cone supply in lieu of the spare tire. Jon decides to walk back to the gas station they had seen on their way to the ranch and seek help there, cautioning Garfield and Odie to stay out of the sun. Walking through the desert road, an exhausted Jon eventually arrives at the gas station. Jon asks for help, with a cashier in the station explaining that it is a self-service facility.
Meanwhile, Garfield manages to deplete his stash of snow cones in the middle of the desert heat. He then explains to Odie about seeing mirages in the desert. Odie soon spots a swimming pool out in the middle of the desert- the first mirage. He rushes to swim there, not paying attention to Garfield's warnings. When Garfield sees Odie swimming backstroke in the pool, he attempts to jump in with him. The pool disappears just before Garfield lands, while Odie, swimming in the sand, eventually bumps into a rock.
Odie experiences another mirage, this time an amusement park not far away from the "swimming pool". Garfield follows, spotting Odie enjoying a merry-go-round. The illusion disappears after Garfield explains to Odie that it is another mirage. The pets decide to walk back to the car, only to discover that they are lost.
Meanwhile, Jon has managed to find help at the gas station; he comes back to his car in a "Homer's Tow Service" truck with a greedy employee. Jon finds that Garfield and Odie have abandoned the car and apparently gotten lost, judging by the paw prints left behind. He tells the employee to follow the tracks, with the employee responding that it will cost him more.
As the duo continue to wander through the desert, an exhausted Garfield feels that they are done for, when Odie spots what appears to be an ice-cream parlor and attempts to bring Garfield there. After seeing Odie enjoy a drink and ice-cream, Garfield decides to try it, despite figuring that he will get "another sand mouthful" After discovering that it was another mirage, Garfield becomes despaired again. Eventually, a "real" Jon appears, much to Garfield's gratitude.
While the tow truck is driving back to Jon's car, Garfield spots three female cats in bikinis resting around a huge lasagna (which Garfield figures is "the second largest lasagna" he has ever seen). Garfield tries to go after it, with Jon holding him back and telling him that it is just a mirage.
The Homer's Tow Service employee manages to fix the flat tire, while Garfield still desires to taste the lasagna he saw. As Jon hands out the money for everything, the tow truck driver and his vehicle disappear, (with Jon's money landing on the asphalt). Jon, deciding not to ask questions, quickly leaves the area. Garfield still wants to get to the alleged lasagna, with Jon insisting that it is a mirage. It turns out the female cats and their lasagna are real, with the cats amazed with Garfield's apparent disinterest in their lasagna.
Characters
Major Characters
Minor Characters
- Cashier (voiced by Gregg Berger)
- Homer's Tow Service attendant (voiced by Gregg Berger)
- Female cats
- Cactus Jake (mentioned)
Trivia
- Odie says "No horsey?" while Garfield convinces him that the merry-go-round is not real.
- One of the female cats resting around the lasagna looks similar to Lola and Gwendolyn, except with white retinas and blue eye shadow. She is also one of the few cats who speak with moving lips.
- The female cats have also appeared in The Garfield Rap.
Cultural References
- When Garfield declares that it is the end, among the terms he uses is "That's all, folks", the classic ending line from Porky Pig in the Looney Tunes series.
Goofs
- Garfield's original snow cone constantly appears and disappears between scenes.
- The paw prints left by Garfield and Odie look more like footprints from someone wearing shoes.
- One of the female cats (the one that resembles Lola) is shown resting on a sunbed at the end of the episode, despite it not being there in the first scene.