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Overview

The Great Inventor is the third segment from the seventy sixth episode of the fifth season of Garfield and Friends.

Synopsis[]

Garfield tells the story of how lasagna was invented.

Plot[]

Garfield narrates of how throughout history, great inventors were inspired to create new devices from their cats. His examples include the telephone (so Alexander Graham Bell could order pizza for his cat), the lightbulb (so Thomas Edison's cat would not have to watch television in the dark), and the pot-bellied design of the wood-burning stove (which prompts Benjamin Franklin's cat to insult him). Having presented those inventors, Garfield adds that the greatest invention ever created was influenced by a Roman cat named Cicero, proceeding to tell the story.

In Ancient Rome, the year 11 1/2 A.D, Cicero was owned by an architect named Jonah, who was also an aspiring cartoonist who loved sketching his pets for his comics. Jonah's problem was that he was much more into cartooning than architecture and often got into trouble when he expressed his ideas, such as when he spent six weeks proposing to build hot dog stalls and hire a man in a chicken costume at the Colisseum when it was under construction. One day, while he was drawing comics on the job instead of sketching plans for a new aqueduct, one of the Emperor's Centurions saw what he was doing and assured that he would be punished. Despite being certain that he can't be thrown in the dungeon for cartooning, fate proved that Jonah was wrong. Seeing his master in the dungeon, and thus knowing he had no one to feed him, Cicero enlisted the help of his friend Odious Maximus to sail to the Emperor's palace to appeal for Jonah's release.

In his palace, Emperor Voracious the Great was facing a dilemma of his own: being unable to enjoy a decent meal, as no food brought to him has been able to appeal to his tastes. After scolding a servant woman for bringing him a roast griffin leg he did not like, the Emperor's royal advisor reminds him that it has been 17 years since he sent Marco Polo to get Chinese food (as there's no other place than China to get it). Meanwhile, a palace guard in the north tower spots Cicero and Odious scaling the walls and sounds the alert. Voracious orders his centurions to sieze the intruders while Cicero and Odious attempt to outrun them via chariot. As Cicero and Odious flee from the soldiers, the emperor demands from his advisor to bring him his royal chefs. The advisor reminds him that he already threw the royal chefs to the lions, stretching his already limited options even thinner. Ultimately, the pets manage to get inside the palace, crashing into the Emperor and causing the three of them to end up in a fountain.

Knowing he was in big trouble, but also sympathizing with Voracious' plight and wanting to help him, Cicero tells the Emperor that Jonah is a chef who can cook the best meals in the kingdom. Voracious agrees to try Jonah's cooking, but warns Cicero that he, Jonah, and Odious will be thrown to the lions if he is not satisfied with the result. With that, Voracious has Jonah released from the dungeon and placed in the royal kitchen. Jonah nervously admits that he has no idea how to cook, but Cicero tells him that he will guide him through the process. He selects his favorite foods and has Jonah mix them together in a tray and cook them inside an oven, figuring that emperors are like cats for how they are fat, lazy, and enjoy being waited on, and therefore reasoning that whatever Cicero would like, Voracious would like as well.

When the dish is completed, Jonah offers a sample to the Emperor. Upon taking a bite, Voracious quickly devours the meal, claiming it to be the best thing he's ever eaten. Voracious grants Jonah a full pardon and apponts him his personal chef, allowing him plenty of recreational time to draw his cartoons. When asked for the name of his meal, Jonah calls it lasagnium. The story returns to the present, where Garfield explains that the word "lasagnium" is a Latin term for "a stewpot of mixed foods". With that, Garfield concludes the story by saying how today, people know lasagnium as lasagna. Before leaving, he defends his opinion by stating that lasagna is a lot better than the invention of the light bulb.

Characters[]

Major characters[]

Minor characters[]

  • Garfield
  • Alexander Graham Bell (voiced by Gregg Berger)
  • Thomas Alva Edison
  • Benjamin Franklin (voiced by Thom Huge)
  • Cats (the Bell's one and the Franklin's one voiced by Lorenzo Music)
  • Orson (television cameo and galley detail)
  • Legionnaires, including palace guards and centurions (one of the latter voiced by Neil Ross)
  • Advisor (voiced by Gregg Berger)
  • Ancient Roman citizens, including Jonah's prison mate, architects, oarmen, and a palace servant

Trivia[]

  • Most of the history presented in this episode is generally accurate. One exception was Alexander Graham Bell, who was Scottish-born.
    • The insult "Go fly a kite, Franklin." refers to the famous Kite experiment Benjamin Franklin did perform in 1752.
    • The pocket sundial Cicero used is similar to a real life version used by the Romans.
    • Upon farewelling Jonah inside the dungeon, Cicero mentions the end of the Byzantine era which did occur 1442 years after the episode's setting.
    • When Odious Maximus complains that he is not a horse, Cicero replies that he is not Ben Hur himself. It is a reference to a 1959 movie directed by William Wyler.
  • The story about inventing lasagna in Ancient Rome has apparently been made up for the episode, however. The meal appeared in Italy during the Middle Ages, and the recipe was not set down before the early 14th Century.
  • Orson's head is seen as a ship sculpture on the galley the convincts are handling.
  • Voracious mentions Marco Polo as he sent him to get Chinese food from China.
  • The majority of the ancient Roman soldiers seen in the episode move in one pace - by running in the Skip A running form. Only the centurion approaching Jonah for the first time moves in a standard walking gait.
  • Despite lacking weapons (see below), the Roman legionnaires are otherwise depicted accurately in their service attire.
  • Jonah's ideas to put hot dog stalls and an entertainer in a chicken outfit would reflect the colisseum being maintained in the primarily way baseball stadiums in the United States are run.

Goofs[]

  • The palace guard, who spots Cicero and Odious Maximus crossing the wall, plays a bugle call on his simple valve-less trumpet. In reality, playing such a tune requires a trumpet with valves, which were designed long after the collapse of Ancient Rome.
  • Cicero loses his yellow lip area when he crashes with Odious and the emperor into the fountain.
  • The cartoon mistakenly refers to ordinary ancient Roman soldiers as "centurions". In reality, a centurion in the ancient Roman army was a commanding officer leading a military unit. Privates from the ancient Roman army are properly called "legionnaires".
    • The ancient Roman soldiers throughout the episode appear unarmed. In reality, the legionnaires should be carrying spears, short swords, daggers, and large rectangular shields, while actual centurion would be equipped with a short sword, the same shield as enlisted men, and a vine staff as a symbol of authority.


Garfield and Friends
Episodes

"Pest of a Guest / The Impractical Joker / Fat & Furry" • "Rip Van Kitty / Grabbity / The Big Catnap" • "The Great Getaway / Scrambled Eggs / Hansel and Garfield" • "The Sludge Monster / Fortune Kooky / Heatwave Holiday" • "One Good Fern Deserves Another / Goody-Go-Round / The Black Book" • "The Legend of the Lake / Double Oh Orson / Health Feud" • "Binky Gets Cancelled! / Show Stoppers / Cutie and the Beast" • "The Lasagna Zone / Sleepytime Pig / Yojumbo" • "Pros and Cons / Rooster Revenge / Lights! Camera! Garfield!" • "Polecat Flats / Hogcules / Brain Boy" • "Maine Course / No Laughing Matter / Attack of the Mutant Guppies" • "Robodie / First Aid Wade / Video Victim" • "The Curse of Klopman / Mud Sweet Mud / Rainy Day Dreams" • "Basket Brawl / Origin of Power Pig / Cactus Jake Rides Again" • "Binky Goes Bad! / Barn of Fear / Mini-Mall Matters" • "Attention-Getting Garfield / Swine Trek / It Must Be True!" • "Arrivaderci, Odie! / Gort Goes Good / Feeling Feline" • "The Bear Facts / Nothing To Be Afraid Of / The Big Talker" • "Cactus Makes Perfect / Hogcules II / Crime and Nourishment" • "T.V. of Tomorrow / Little Red Riding Egg / Well Fed Feline" • "Invasion of the Big Robots / Shelf Esteem / Housebreak Hotel" • "First Class Feline / Hamelot / How to Be Funny!" • "Mystic Manor / Flop Goes the Weasel / The Legend of Long Jon" • "China Cat / Cock-a-Doodle Dandy / Beach Blanket Bonzo" • "Lemon Aid / Hog Noon / Video Airlines" • "The Mail Animal / Peanut-Brained Rooster / Mummy Dearest"

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