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"Halt! Officer Odie orders you to stop and help!"
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(The third of five parts in this series begins with a recap. During a trip to Vito’s, Jon and the pets learn that Mama Meany is stealing Vito’s customers away. Mama tries to buy the restaurant, but is adamantly denied by the chef. Later, everyone learns of a tree that grows lasagna on Eddie Gourmand’s TV show, and while watching the show, Vito sees his cousin, Nunzio, giving him an idea of where the lasagna tree is. Angelica alerts Jon that Vito might be in danger, and Jon tells his pets that they are going to Italy)
(Part 3 opens with a side view of the plane going to Italy)
Video Announcer: Italy was one of the birthplaces of civilization. Some of the oldest relics of life can be found within its borders, (Garfield is sitting in the window seat drinking something, with his best friend Odie next to him. They watch a video about some of the sights of Italy) as well as well-known tourist attractions such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum of Rome, and the canals of Venice.
Garfield: And the lasagna tree! (Odie gets a whiff of Garfield’s drink as the fat cat holds it next to him) He should’ve mentioned the lasagna tree, the eighth wonder of the world! (Garfield’s venting distracts him, allowing Odie to steal a swig of his drink. As Garfield turns around, Odie returns to his seat, sitting as if nothing ever happened, with his cheeks bulging) Ninth if you count me.
Odie: Mutters (He swallows. Garfield notices some of his drink missing)
Garfield: Grrr!
Odie: Bark! (He grins and blinks. On the other side of the aisle, Jon and Angelica are seated, with Jim Davis snoring behind them)
Angelica: We’ve got to find Vito.
Jon: We will, and before those two goons who work for Mama Meany get to him! (The flight attendant walks up the aisle with a tray holding two mugs and a pot of coffee)
Plane Stewardess: Excuse me, did I hear you mention Mama Meany? The man with all the Italian restaurants everywhere? I just love those places of his!
Angelica: Really? What do you like about them? (This question gives the stewardess pause)
Plane Stewardess: Ummmmmmm… the commercials mostly.
Jon: (pointing up) Well let me tell you, Mama Meany is a bully, and a tyrant, and a seller of rotten food!
Plane Stewardess: You think so? Well may I tell you what else he is?
Jon: Sure. What else is he?
Plane Stewardess: He’s the passenger in 16. (She turns and shows Mama Meany a few rows behind Garfield and Odie. He growls low, like a lion)
Mama Meany: Grrrrrrr! (Jon turns around and sees him)
Jon: Whimper (Mama then roars like a lion)
Mama Meany: Roar! (Garfield and Odie watch from their seats, standing on tiptoe to see better)
Garfield: If you got a parachute,
Odie: Huh? (He plops down in his chair)
Garfield: (continuing) this would be a good time to use it. (He seats himself. Mama Meany walks up to Jon, who is cowering in fear)
Jon: Whimpers
Mama Meany: Listen to me, Arbuckle, I'm a man (He points at himself with his thumb) who gets what he wants. I WANT that lasagna tree, you’re NOT (He gets face-to-face with the cartoonist) gonna get in my way. (He takes a cup from the attendant’s tray)
Plane Stewardess: Huh?
Jon: Yelp! (One loud SPLASH later, and Jon is doused with the liquid that the attendant was serving. Mama Meany slides sideways back to his seat)
Angelica: Ew…
(They soon land at their destination: Venice, Italy, and stand in the square. The camera pans down from a tall tower to Jon and the others)
Jon: The Piazza San Marco is the town square in the city of Venice (Jon, Angelica, and the pets stand in the middle of the square) and the major gathering spot. Yep, this looks like the major gathering spot. This is where Vito’s cousin used to work? (The Flabby Tabby and the compassionate canine decide to wander off from Jon and Angelica)
Angelica: Yes. This is where Vito hoped to find him. Let’s try that way. (She gestures to her left)
Jon: Huh? (He notices his pets are gone) I wonder where Garfield and Odie went.
Angelica: Gasp!
(Elsewhere in the square, closer to the pier, Garfield is enjoying some spumoni from a vendor. Odie, however, is a lot more hesitant to try it)
Garfield: Mm! (He notices his friend hasn’t touched the small bowl of ice cream and questions him about it) What’s the matter? Don’t you like your spumoni?
Odie: Mutters (He shakes his head slightly and gives Garfield a sad look)
Garfield: You want ice cream instead? (He puts the spoon back into the ice cream, switches holding the ice cream in his paws and holds his finger up)
Odie: (sadly) Uh-huh. (He hops toward his feline friend)
Garfield: Spumoni IS ice cream. (This perks Odie’s spirits) It’s Italian ice cream. (He takes a piece of the pistachio part of the spumoni on the spoon and sticks it in his mouth. He sighs contentedly) Ahhhhhh… (With the reassurance from Garfield, Odie looks curiously at the triple-flavored treat)
Odie: Sniff! Sniff! Sniff! (He gives it a lick) Slurp! (He smiles. His best friend was right, it is ice cream, and he chomps down on the whole dessert, including the bowl) Chewing noises (He gives the viewers a look that says, "I love this." The vendor, though, has a business to run and asks Garfield for payment)
Italian Ice Cream Man: It’s time to pay me.
Garfield: Oh, pay, heh, I forgot about that part. (Odie walks up to him) Heh.
Odie: Whoa! (Before anything can be done, the Tubby Tabby leaps onto the cart and grabs some premade bowls of spumoni)
Italian Ice Cream Man: Hey! (Garfield takes off, ice cream in his paws. Odie follows) You have to pay me for that! Stop that cat and dog! (He takes off after the pets)
Garfield: You know, this stuff isn’t bad!
Odie: Mutters Bark! (The pets, because of their shorter stature, run under a table where a recurring character, Esmeralda Brubaker, was sitting)
Esmeralda Brubaker: YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (The ice cream man runs right into her without breaking his stride)
Italian Ice Cream Man: I will get you!
Odie: Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! (Garfield polishes off the spumoni and tosses the bowls behind him. They run by another recurring character, Gloria, who is at another table with someone else. The pets hop on top of Gloria’s tablemate’s head as part of their chase)
Gloria: Whoa! (The ice cream man blows by them as well, causing them to spin. Esmeralda falls off of him and the three diners form an acrobatic pose with the table, chairs, and teacups)
Odie: Ta-da! (The chase goes on)
Italian Ice Cream Man: You cannot get away from me! (This last bit is hard to make out. The pets dart to their right, juking the man out, and sprint through the square)
Odie: Bark! Bark! Bark, bark, bark! (They circle a column a few times)
Garfield: YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Odie: Bark! Bark! Bark! (The vendor stops, realizing the pets disappeared somewhere. Or perhaps he is out of breath)
Italian Ice Cream Man: Wheeze! Wheeze! I cannot run no longer! (The pets watch from a statue on top of the column. When the man sees them, he gets his second wind) Strains (He hops onto the column and starts climbing it. Odie slides down the other side)
Odie: Ta-da! (Garfield follows the big-hearted beagle’s lead)
Garfield: Snickers
(Elsewhere in the square, Angelica and Jon talk and walk together)
Angelica: Nunzio was working for a spumoni vendor here on the plaza.
Jon: How do we find him? (Just then, Garfield and Odie run up. The vendor collides with Jon, knocking him over and catching the pets)
Italian Ice Cream Man: Oof!
Jon: Moan… (He is dazed, but instead of seeing stars, he sees gondolas. The angry vendor gets up, holding Garfield and Odie in each arm)
Italian Ice Cream Man: Is that your cat and dog? (Jon grins and nods) You owe me for the spumoni they ate!
Jon: Spumoni? (He kicks himself up off the ground. Angelica runs to the vendor’s other side) You sell spumoni?
Angelica: Do you know a man named Nunzio Cappelletti?
Odie: Huh? (Jon and Angelica step away. The vendor turns and leaves)
Italian Ice Cream Man: A good-for-nothing crook. I fired him! (Jon reappears over his shoulder)
Jon: Do you know where to find him? (He gives the man some money to pay off the spumoni Garfield and Odie ate)
Italian Ice Cream Man: Hmm… (He gives Jon the pets in exchange for the money) I heard that Nunzio got a job as a gondolier. His cousin was here a few hours ago asking me that very question! (Angelica raises her hands to her face longingly, lovingly, for Vito)
Garfield: Gondolier? Do you know what a gondolier is, Odie?
Odie: Uhh… Uh-uh. (He shakes his head no)
Garfield: They’re kinda like taxi drivers, only instead of carsick, you get seasick.
(Soon after, the four of them find a gondola and ride it down the famous Venetian canals)
Garfield: (continuing) All the streets here in Venice are waterways, and the man propelling the boat is the gondolier.
Odie: (understanding) Ahh!
Garfield: Laughs (They ride down the canals, under bridges, through the city. A woman on a bridge stops and points at then)
Woman: Oh!
Odie: Mutters (He waves hello at the woman)
Garfield: There’s only one bad thing about gondoliers. (He waves his finger like a music conductor and begins rocking his head to music. Odie also rocks his head)
Odie: Oh…
Garfield: Sometimes they sing.
Odie: Oh! (He stops dancing and turns to the gondolier, who starts singing)
Gondolier: My gondola is way too long
Way too long on the canal!
It takes me each night to the home
Where there’s a very special gal!
Odie: Moan!
Garfield: I agree. (Despite their displeasure, the pets seem to be enjoying the ride)
Gondolier: Maria is her lovely name,
To me she is so very dear!
Her father says, “‘Twould be a shame
For her to wear the gondolier!” (Both Jon and Angelica seem to like the music)
Jon: Chuckle
Odie: Bark! Bark! (Jon covers Odie’s barking mouth)
Jon: Grunt! (The pets dangle their paws over the edge)
Gondolier: He says that she deserves a king
A man of highest grade,
And not someone who lives to sing
To foreign tourist trade! (Garfield splashes some water on Odie)
Odie: Aww! (He glares at the portly prankster, who smiles back at him)
Gondolier: Oh, Maria, don’t you know what… (Garfield presses a button on a radio, and fast-paced music plays. The gondolier sings faster to keep up with the music)
Maaaaaaaaaaaa-ria, I am the man you need,
Please don’t make me plead! (He leans over the gondola on his oar)
Maria, (The boat leaves from under him, but he spins on his oar and leaps back onto it) Maaaaaaaaaaaa-ria!
I cannot give you gold, (He poses on his oar)
But someone warm to hold,
Maria!
Odie: Bark! (Garfield switches the music back to the slower song from earlier. The gondolier returns to the boat, and to his song)
Gondolier: I’m not a rich successful guy
Nor any great financier, (The pets slump over either edge of the boat)
But I will love you ‘til I die
If you will have this gondolier.
You will have this gondolier! (Jon and Angelica applaud the song, and almost as instantly as he gets up, Jon falls into the water)
Jon: Whoa! (His head rises above the surface) Now we just have to find the head gondolier. (His pets enjoy a chuckle)
Garfield and Odie: Snicker
(Jon had somehow gotten back into the boat and their journey continues)
Angelica: The gondola is slowing. He must be up there! (She points) And look who’s with him! (The head gondolier chats with Vito on the shore directly in front of them)
Vito: I can imagine why you fired him: lying, cheating…
Head Gondolier: You know your cousin well. (He gives Vito an index card with writing on it) Here is the address where I sent his last check.
Vito: This is out in the country. It must be where the lasagna tree is! (Unbeknownst to Vito, Mama Meany’s goons, Grover and Louie are lurking around the corner, eavesdropping on the conversation)
Grover: (quietly) See? I told ya. He’ll lead us right to it. (Louie nods)
Vito: I go now to the… (He is about to take the card, but is interrupted)
Angelica: Vito!
Vito: Angelica!
Angelica: Laughs (She holds her arms out, and Vito leaps into them, accidentally knocking himself, Angelica, and Jon into the water)
Jon: Whoa! (They all emerge, unharmed. Vito and Angelica hold each other in their arms. The gondola glides into the camera, and then the back of it is shown with everyone back inside. Louie and Grover press themselves against the wall so as to not be noticed)
Louie: He’s getting into that gondola. (He pronounces it gon-DO-la)
Grover: (pointing at them) Then WE’D better get into a gondola. (He pronounces it the same as his partner)
(Back at the heroes’ gondola, Vito and Angelica hold hands)
Vito: What are you all doing here?
Angelica: We came to WARN you! Mama Meany’s men are following you!
Vito: (concerned) They are? Where?
Odie: Bark! (He urgently points at something behind them) Bark, bark, bark! (The henchmen had grabbed a gondola for themselves and were following them down the canal)
Grover: Grrr! (He shakes his fist angrily. The pets fear)
Odie: Yelp!
Garfield: Oh, those two guys again.
Jon: (to the gondolier) Get us away from here, and get us away from that gondola!
Gondolier: Grunt! (He salutes and begins paddling faster. He turns to the left, but Mama’s goons are still on their tail)
Grover: (pointing) After them! We can’t lose them now! (Their gondolier paddles faster to keep up. Jon, Vito, and Angelica turn around and see their adversaries closing in)
Jon: (pointing) We’re not losing them! They’re gaining on us! (Their gondolier paddles faster, but so does the other one. Garfield runs to the front of the boat and gets on top of the pillar on the end to get a better view. He sees the villains get side-by-side to his friends)
Grover: Grr! (He glares and shakes his fist)
Garfield: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (The gondoliers take their oars and clash them together, like sword-fighting knights)
Gondoliers: Grunt! Strain! Grunt! (They leap onto a bridge and continue dueling. Everyone just watches) YAAAAAHHHHHHHH! (Grover and Louie turn to Jon and the others)
Jon: Chuckles (He grins nervously. Grover scowls at them, but Louie smiles and waves)
Grover: Strain! (He pulls the other gondola closer, but Garfield comes in clutch, jumping onto Grover’s hat, blinding him and causing him to let go) Roar! (He roars like a lion. At that moment, the gondoliers return to their respective gondolas and resume paddling)
Gondoliers: Grunt!
Odie: (terrified) Howl!
Garfield: YAH! (He turns around and sees his gondolier running out of steam, while Louie too notices the same on his gondolier. Louie takes the oar from him and launches him into the air, prompting a Wilhelm scream from the gondolier. He begins paddling himself, faster) Heh. (He disappears into the boat)
Odie: Huh? (The Flabby Tabby reemerges with a radio)
Garfield: OK, let’s try this one. (He presses a button, and romantic music plays on the radio)
Man on radio: She is the woman…
Garfield: Ah! This one will do it! (He glares and presses another button. Disco music plays, and Louie starts disco dancing in the gondola)
Grover: Louie! Don’t! Stop! Not in the boat! (Their boat rocks precariously back and forth) Sit down, you’re rocking the boat! (Louie doesn’t listen and spins the oar in his hand) You’ll capsize the boat! (Garfield grins and turns the music up. Odie still has a puzzled look on his face, but the fruits of Garfield’s labor soon ripen)
Grover and Louie: YAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (The boat rocks so much that it tips over, spilling Grover and Louie into the drink. Garfield and the others laugh at them as they float away)
Garfield, Odie, Jon, Vito, and Angelica: Laugh (The henchmen pop up in the water, Grover’s blood boiling)
Grover: GRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Louie: I couldn’t help it, Grover. I sometimes think I was just born to dance. (The camera pans up one of the nearby buildings. A flock of pigeons flies toward it)
(Later that day, Vito drives his friends in a jeep to the address given to him by the head gondolier. Angelica rides shotgun, and Jon and the pets ride in the back. Odie sticks his head out the side and his ears and tongue flap in the breeze)
Angelica: Nunzio’s address (Vito rolls his eyes and scowls) is 10 kilometers this way! (She points in front of them)
Vito: My cousin Nunzio is a cheater and a liar and a good-for-nothing swindler!
Jon: Why do you even associate with him?
Vito: Because… he’s family. (The Tubby Tabby could care less about that. He is more excited about the lasagna tree)
Garfield: (clapping and chanting) Our next stop is the lasagna tree! Our next stop is the lasagna tree! (Odie turns to look at his bestie and gives him a worried look)
Odie: Uh-oh. (He shakes his head, leans over and whispers something to Garfield) Whispers (The fat cat glares at him at first, but after Odie’s done, his mood changes to concern for the pup)
Garfield: Really? (Odie can only glance at Garfield, embarrassed) Are you sure?
Odie: Uh-huh… (He taps his fingers together)
Garfield: (clapping and chanting) Our next stop is to walk the dog! The stop after that is the lasagna tree! Our next stop is to walk the dog… (His chanting is drowned out by the whirring of helicopter blades. Grover and Louie, now without their hats, follow them in a helicopter Louie pilots. Grover talks to his boss on the phone)
Grover: Don’t worry, Mama! We’re right on their tail! Or over their tail or something!
(Elsewhere, Mama Meany is in an office not too far away)
Mama Meany: You’d better be! When you get (He pounds the desk so hard everything on it jumps) the tree, bring it to me here. (He points at the ground) I’m in my processing plant near you. (Grover gives his partner simple instructions)
Grover: (pointing) Just follow ‘em, Louie! They’ll lead us right to the tree!
Louie: (nervously) Uh, Grover, I think it… (Grover cuts him off)
Grover: Oh, and by the way, (He waves his arm dismissively) SHUT UP! (Louie swerves the chopper, surprised by Grover’s outburst)
Louie: I’m shutting up!
(A few kilometers later, Vito rolls up to Nunzio’s address)
Vito: Let’s go this way and see if we can find Nunzio. (Everyone hops out of the jeep) That bum, then, the lasagna tree!
Angelica: I still can’t believe there’s a tree that grows lasagna.
Odie: Huh?
Garfield: What does she know? (He smells the air) Sniff! Ahhhh, (He lets his tongue hang. Odie also sniffs the air) the lasagna’s in bloom! (He turns) Did you spot the… (He and Odie both see the tree in the distance and are in awe of it)
Garfield and Odie: Gasp! (They grin. Odie’s tail wags, and Garfield stares at it lovingly)
Garfield: It’s… it’s the most beautiful thing I ever saw! (Without hesitation, he leaps over the fence and runs over to the tree) A tree that actually grows… (He grabs the trunk and spins around it in midair) LASAGNA!! Mmm! (He hugs it and quickly climbs it) Woo hoo! (He grabs a piece of the lasagna) Grunt! Ahhh! (While hanging from a branch, he shovels the lasagna into his mouth) Chewing noises (He licks his lips and rubs his tummy and then grabs some more) Grunt! (Odie is seated nearby, waving his front paws at the tree)
Odie: Pants Mutter
Garfield: No! (He wraps his feet around the limb) It’s mine! All mine! Mine, mine, mine! (He wags his finger at Odie) You can’t have any of it! (He clenches his fist. Odie is heartbroken)
Odie: Cries (He shakes his head sadly) Whines (Garfield relents and decides to let his pooch pal have some)
Garfield: Ugh, alright. (He picks one and eats it for himself) Chewing noises (He picks another one and holds it over Odie, who instantly perks up) Whoa!
Odie: Bark! Bark! Bark!
Garfield: Moan (He begrudgingly lets it drop into Odie’s open mouth. He licks his lips, enjoying it almost as much as Garfield does)
Odie: (longingly) Howl! (The humans walk up to the fence)
Garfield: Boy, and I thought I loved MY lasagna.
Jon: This is the lasagna tree, Vito.
Angelica: I still don’t believe it! (Vito appears between them)
Vito: Let your eyes tell you otherwise! I have come a long way (He hops over the fence, eager to sample some) to taste this crop. (He gazes at the tree, with the cat still in it)
Garfield: Heh.
Vito: Strain! (He leaps and grabs a piece and pops it into his mouth) Chewing noises (He wiggles his fingers as he samples it) Giggles It is magnificent! (He drops to his knees) Very much like the lasagna my dear mother taught me to make but, even better! (He wipes a tear from his eye. At that moment, his cousin arrives)
Nunzio Cappelletti: There’s a reason for that, Vito. (Vito sees his cousin)
Vito: Nunzio!
Nunzio Cappelletti: As I was saying, there is a reason that this lasagna (He gestures behind him) reminds you of your mother’s. (Vito’s mother walks up behind them, carrying a basket)
Vito: Mama!
Mama Cappelletti: Oh! (She drops her basket and raises her hands to her face)
Jon: Mama Meany’s here?!
Vito: No! My mama! (Before anything else can happen, Part 3 reaches its end)
TO BE CONTINUED…