Garfield on the Town

Plot

Jon becomes concerned about Garfield's behavior after he and Odie mess up his house. On attempting to take the cat to the veterinarian, Garfield accidentally falls out from Jon's car and becomes lost in the inner city. Garfield soon runs into a large gang of unfriendly alley cats known as the Claws, antagonizing their leader. Garfield flees into an abandoned restaurant called "Mama Leoni's Italian Restaurant", where he is reunited with his estranged mother. The building is Garfield's birthplace and also where he discovered his love for lasagna.

The next day, Garfield's mother takes him to see the rest of his extended family including his tough maternal grandfather, as well as his sickly half-brother Raoul and cousin Sly, who is the security guard on watch for the Claws. Garfield is appalled to learn that everyone in the family are mousers. The Claws have finally track Garfield down and surround the building, demanding Garfield to come out. The family decides to fight instead of giving up Garfield to the Claws. Garfield hides cowardly while his family fights and finally chase the Claws away. Although Garfield is triumphant, his grandfather advises him to go home. Reassured by his mother that they all envy his easy life at Jon's house, Garfield sadly says goodbye and leaves.

Exhausted and hungry, Garfield walks along a street and it soon starts to rain. A car drives by and Garfield realizes it is Jon. Garfield pursues Jon until he collapses onto the sidewalk and passes out, Odie spots him and orders Jon to stop. Jon and Odie reunite with Garfield and Jon puts him into the backseat of the car. The next day, Garfield wakes up and wonders if his entire experience was real or not. However, he glimpses his mother looking at him through the window. His mother quickly disappears, while Garfield smiles and emotionally whispers: "Thanks Mom, for everything".

Songs

Production

Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, best known for the Peanuts specials, produced Garfield on the Town. The special was directed by Phil Roman, who had previously directed Here Comes Garfield in 1982. It was the last Garfield special Roman directed before founding his own company called Film Roman to produce the specials himself, starting with Garfield in the Rough (1984).

The character of Jon Arbuckle was voiced by Sandy Kenyon in Here Comes Garfield, but was recast with Thom Huge in Garfield on the Town. Huge later voiced Jon in the remaining specials and in the Garfield and Friends TV series.

Broadcast and release

The special was originally aired on CBS on October 28, 1983, and was viewed by 40 million people. It has been re-broadcast in subsequent years. Ballantine Books published a 64-page illustrated book adaptation in 1983.

In July 2004, Garfield on the Town was released on the DVD Garfield as Himself, along with Here Comes Garfield (1982) and Garfield Gets a Life (1991). It was released on another DVD compilation, The Garfield Holiday Collection, on November 4, 2014, sold only by Walmart, and was also made available for digital download on November 11 that year.

Reception

At the 36th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1984, Garfield on the Town won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. Louisiana's The Town Talk's 1985 review called Garfield "outrageous" and said there was "popular demand" for the special.

In 2004, DVD Talk critic Randy Miller judged the Garfield as Himself specials to be "quite enjoyable," highlighting "a long-lost family reunion." In 2014, with the release of The Garfield Holiday Collection, Jim Davis identified Garfield on the Town as a personal favorite, explaining, "Garfield actually meets his mother on that. It was very special."