Jon The Barbarian is the first segment from the ninety second episode of Garfield and Friends.
Synopsis[]
Garfield tells the tale of Jon The Cartoonist, who is in love with a woman named Mariah, while Bork, the tyrant leader of the tribe they belong to, makes sure that Mariah is his woman.
Plot[]
Garfield narrates a story that takes place around the year 11 and 1/2. The world was much more barren and civilization was rare. In one mountain stronghold, where travelers come to rest, there lived a tyrant leader named Bork. He was the leader of the tribe and winner of many push-up contests. Every night, Bork would demand for food, usually consisting of meat, from the owner of the inn named Mariah. She would serve Bork his platter and then everyone else, although Bork would steal other food to eat along with his.
Bork would often state that Mariah is his fiancé and that no one should ever look at her. Many agreed due to his strength and arrogance; even his fellow warriors would not go against him. One man named Jon the Cartoonist has had his eyes on her and kept drawing cartoons of them together. They were also torturous to him since Bork would inflict bodily harm upon him if he found out about the affair. Mariah tried to feed stray cats with all the food she could scrounge from Bork, but those attempts often failed.
One day a stray cat (Garfield) walked into the stronghold, where Mariah fed him some leftover goats' feet. The cat, not wanting to eat it, attempts to reason with Bork to spare some food, to no avail. Once Bork and his men charge into battle, Mariah is left to clean up the inn until Bork and his marauders inevitably return. Seeing his chance, Jon talks to Mariah about his love for her. While Mariah wishes for it to come true, she is still forced to remain with Bork. Seeing the problem, the cat follows Jon back to his room where he ponders how can he win Mariah from Bork. The cat's first suggestion is to become heroic and strong.
Jon is off to a bad start at the warrior training camp. When he attempts to sign up, the receptionist at the office laughs at him because of his appearance. Once let into the training camp, Jon was the 28th choice of service. During the training sessions, he attempts to do his best. In the archery section, he shoots himself straight at the target instead of the arrow, and in swordplay one-to-one he finds the sword too heavy to wield and falls. He eventually gets kicked out of the camp due to his poor performance and his wimpy stature. The cat has another plan.
The following night, Bork is at the inn eating his usual dinner when the cat comes to him and hands him something. It turns out the cat presented Bork a drawing of Jon and Mariah together. The graphic depiction immiediately annoyed Bork. When Jon asks what did he show him, the cat smiles, meaning he showed one of his cartoons of Jon and Mariah, inciting Bork to chase Jon. Seeing the chase, Mariah worries that Jon will be slain; the cat ensures the plan will work. As the chase leads into the outer areas, Jon hides behind a tree while Bork is looking for him. Garfield directs Bork to a cave, where Bork finds what he thinks is Jon and gives him a beating. Instead, it turns out that Bork has offended a giant dragon, which chases Bork out of the cave and into the outer areas. The two are never seen again afterwards.
With Bork gone for sure, Jon and Mariah are free to marry, and the two live happily running the inn. The cat meanwhile demands food in a manner vaguely similar to Bork. No one is scared of him as Jon ponders turning the inn into a sushi bar.
Characters[]
Main characters[]
- Garfield/The Cat
- Jon the Cartoonist
- Bork
- Mariah
Minor characters[]
- Warriors, including Bork's marauders and recruits at the army camp
- Squad leader
- Army recruiter
- Spaniel Number 27
- Local people
- Stray cats
- Dragon
Trivia[]
- This is the second episode to take place in the year 11 and 1/2, after The Great Inventor.
- The episode itself is a parody of Conan the Barbarian books and motion pictures, since it portrays an archaic setting similar to Cimmeria and Hyboria.
- Jon is called in Hyborian manner - after his profession "Jon the Cartoonist".
- Bork is even speaking with a mock German accent, similarly to Arnold Schwarzeneger.
Goofs[]
- Bork changes his skin tone when he is dining at the inn for the first time. At least two different skin tones can be observed during his feast.
- Jon is missing his mouth in the scene he is trying to flex his muscles.