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Overview

Garfield on the Town is the second Garfield television special.

Synopsis[]

Garfield, the plump, pasta-loving cat, falls out of his owner's car on the way to the vet. He finds himself on the delightful, but dangerous streets of the city where, after several adventures, he runs into his long-lost family.

Plot[]

At the Arbuckle residence, Garfield wakes up but refuses to touch the cold floor. Using his bed, he jumps over to Jon Arbuckle for breakfast. While Jon pours him a bowl of cat food, Garfield eats Jon's breakfast. While wiping his mouth with Jon's tie, Odie scares Garfield, who pulls the tie in fright, choking Jon. Garfield chases Odie around the house while destroying objects. Arbuckle becomes concerned about Garfield's behavior and decides to take Garfield to the vet. During the drive, Garfield tries multiple ways to escape the situation before falling out of the car as Jon turns corner at an intersection. He realizes he has no bounds and tries to act cool by hitting on female cats, who all reject him. After some time, he finds that he misses his house and is cold. Back with the Arbuckle residence, Jon is worried about Garfield's absence and calls Dr. Liz Wilson, who proves to be no help.

Being hungry, Garfield opens an alley can, before a tough cat, who claims to own it insults Garfield, calling him a "puffball". They both "shadow fight", before Garfield has the initial upper hand. He follows the alley cat around a corner, only to find that the cat has an entire gang at his disposal. Garfield escapes by hiding in an abandoned building, before being approached by another cat. Garfield fears for himself until she reveals herself to be his mother, before they embrace.

Meanwhile, Jon has a missing cat poster made. The next morning, Garfield is awoken by his mother before reconnecting with his childhood. He recognizes the building as an old Italian restaurant where he was born and first discovered a taste for Italian cuisine. His mother takes him to see the rest of his family who live further into the building, such as his sickly brother Raoul and his cousin Sly, who is the watch guard. Finally, Garfield meets his maternal grandfather, who boasts about their family's mousing history, before becoming ashamed of how soft and weak his domesticated grandson has become.

Sly suddenly warns that the same gang (The "Claws") Garfield dealt with have arrived at the building. They demand Garfield is brought out or they will level the whole building. Though his grandfather is sorely tempted to give Garfield up, he refuses and the Claws attack. While Garfield cowers, his family manages to defend the building and the Claws retreat. Garfield is happy about the victory, but his grandfather orders him out, due to his cowardice, to which Garfield has no objections. Garfield's mother tries to reassure her son that not all cats can be mousers, and that they all envy his easy life. Garfield pays his respects and excuses himself while his mother tells him she will always be watching out for him, and that she loves him. After Garfield remembers he is still lost, a rainstorm appears much to his despair when Jon's car passes by. Garfield chases it before passing out. Odie luckily spots Garfield lying on the sidewalk before the two take Garfield home.

The next morning, Odie wakes Garfield up, who is in his bed. Garfield questions if everything really happened before spotting his mother walking away from the house. Garfield then, to himself, thanks her for all her help.

Characters[]

Main characters[]

Major characters[]

Minor characters[]

Songs[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the only special to have been co-written by Lorenzo Music.
  • This special marks the return of Thom Huge as the voice of Jon, following Sandy Kenyon's stint in Here Comes Garfield.
  • The circular eye style for characters is featured regularly for the last time in this special. The style appeared one more time in the first few minutes of Garfield in the Rough.
  • Dialouge from the special was sampled in "Fat is Where It's At."
  • This is the last Garfield special produced by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson. Mendelson would later serve as an executive producer for Garfield and Friends.

Book adaptation[]

Differences between the special and the book adaption:

  • When meeting his grandfather, Garfield declares that he will try his hand at mouse-hunting, in an attempt to impress him. His Grandfather orders that he will face the "training mouse", a giant rodent that's larger than him. The arrival of The Claws cuts Garfield's training short.

Awards[]

Organization Recipients Award Result
Primetime Emmy Jay Poynor
Lee Mendelson
Bill Meléndez
Outstanding Animated Program
Won


Television Specials
"Here Comes Garfield" "Garfield on the Town" "Garfield in the Rough" "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" "Garfield in Paradise" "Garfield Goes Hollywood" "A Garfield Christmas" "Happy Birthday, Garfield" "Garfield: His 9 Lives" "Garfield's Babes and Bullets" "Garfield's Thanksgiving" "Garfield's Feline Fantasies" "Garfield Gets a Life"
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