Garfield on the Town
| Garfield on the Town | |
|---|---|
 The Title | |
| Written by | Jim Davis and Lorenzo Music |
| Directed by | Phil Roman |
| Starring | Lorenzo Music |
| Narrated by | Thom Huge |
| Theme music composer | Ed Bogas and Desiree Goyette (music and lyrics) Robert Vandervort (co-writer of "Home Again") Desiree Goyette and Lou Rawls (vocals) |
| Country of origin |  USA |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jay Poynor |
| Producers | Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez |
| Cinematography | Amy Barrick |
| Editors | Roger Donley Michael Tomack Richard C. Allen |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | Mendelson–Melendez Productions United Media Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | October 28, 1983 |
Garfield on the Town is a half-hour animated television special based on the Garfield comic strip. It once again featured Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield and was the first Garfield special to feature Thom Huge as the voice of Jon. Huge later voiced Jon in the remaining specials and in the Garfield and Friends TV series. The special was first broadcast October 28, 1983 on CBS. It has been released on both VHS and DVD home video.
Plot
Jon becomes very angry and concerned about Garfield's behavior after he and Odie mess up his house. Somewhere in between being dragged out of Jon's house and driven to the vet, Garfield accidentally falls out from Jon's car and is later lost in the inner city. Not losing his optimism, Garfield tries to make the most of it until he runs into a large gang of unfriendly alley cats known as the Claws. Garfield confronts the gang leader, who later calls for the rest of his gang, in which Garfield runs away and ends up in an abandoned restaurant, where he is reunited with his estranged mother. The building they are in used to be "Mama Leoni's Italian Restaurant", which is Garfield's birthplace and also where he discovered his love for lasagna. Meanwhile, Jon calls Garfield's vet, Dr. Liz Wilson, to ask her about Garfield, but Liz unexpectedly hangs up on Jon instead. Next, Jon calls Lost and Found and asks them to hang posters to find Garfield around the town, but Jon has to make sentences shorter only because it costs him lots of money.
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 tracked Garfield down and are surrounded the entire building and demand Garfield to come out for offending them. The family decides to fight instead of giving up Garfield to the Claws. Garfield hides cowardly while his family fights and finally chases the Claws away. Garfield's grandfather calls him a "lardball" and demands Garfield to leave for showing cowardice during the fight with the Claws. Reassured by his mother that they all envy his easy life at Jon's house, Garfield sadly says goodbye and leaves. Very tired 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 and takes Garfield home and puts him to bed for the night. The next day, Garfield wakes up and wonders if his entire experience was real or not. However, Garfield's mother looks at him through the window, Garfield goes over to the window to see her, but his mom is leaving Jon's front yard, then Garfield smiles and emotionally says: "Thanks Mom, For Everything".
A story somewhat similar to the special ran in the comic strip beginning December 3, 1984 and ending on December 26 (excluding Sunday strips).[1]
Voice cast
- Lorenzo Music as Garfield
- Thom Huge as Jon Arbuckle
- Gregg Berger as Odie (uncredited) / Ali Cat
- Julie Payne as Dr. Liz Wilson
- Sandi Huge as Garfield's Mother
- George Wendt as Raoul
- C. Lindsay Workman (credited as Lindsay Workman) as Garfield's Grandfather
- Desiree Goyette as Girl Cat #1
- Allyce Beasley as Girl Cat #2-3
Songs
- "Good Morning" (instrumental)
- "Just Another Crazy Day" performed by Lou Rawls
- "The Monday Morning Blues" (instrumental)
- "Out on the Town" (instrumental)
- "Startin' from Scratch" performed by Lou Rawls
- "Showdown" (instrumental)
- "Home Again" performed by Desirée Goyette
- "Reunited" (instrumental)
- "The Claws" performed by Goyette / Rawls
- "Final Showdown" (instrumental)
- "The Rescue" (instrumental)
- "Because I'm Home" performed by Desirée Goyette
- "Goodnight" (instrumental)
- "I'm Home" performed by Desiree Goyette
- "Out on the Town (reprise)" (instrumental)
Awards
1984 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program
Animation
The animation for the first two Garfield specials came from the famous Peanuts cartoon team of Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson, giving them a look similar to the Peanuts cartoons. All future specials and the popular Garfield and Friends TV series were animated by Film Roman studios.