Garfield on the Town

I had completely forgotten this TV special from my childhood until coming across it online. This one has Garfield stranded in the city, where he's accosted by a gang of tough street cats named The Claws. Running for his nine lives, Garfield is rescued by a female cat who turns out to be his mother. From there we get some touching moments, which the Garfield specials I've seen were always good at, and a life lesson or two. I especially like how one particular plot point doesn't go the way you might expect. It's a good cartoon with nice simplistic animation, fun songs (The Claws' theme is a classic), and a story with humor and heart. Definitely worth a look, even if you're not an avid Garfield fan.

Garfield is one of my favorite comics, and as a 24-year-old woman, I do not remember the other Garfield TV specials, except for the holiday ones; my favorite is Garfield's Halloween Adventure. I did buy the DVD "Garfield as Himself," which features the three TV specials: Here Comes Garfield (the first Garfield TV special), Garfield on the Town, and Garfield Gets a Life. And after watching all three, I found that I love Garfield on the Town the most.

In this special, Garfield gets lost in the city and encounters the Claws, an unfriendly alley cat gang. He confronts the leader and runs away to an abandoned restaurant, where he meets his long-lost mother. The family, including his maternal grandfather, half-brother Raoul, and cousin Sly, are all mouse-catchers. The Claws surround the building, demanding Garfield come out for offending them.

I love the animation for this special. It came from the famous Peanuts cartoon team of Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson, giving it a similar look. I also like Lou Rawls and Desiree Goyette doing the songs. And one last thing: I think Garfield's mom is pretty.

I remember watching this 1983 animated movie back in my childhood, so it was a nice thing to return to watch it again here in 2025.

Writers Jim Davis and Lorenzo Music put together a nice storyline and script with an entertaining and enjoyable narrative.

The voice acting in "Garfield on the Town" is good, and it is good to have the familiar voices of Lorenzo Music and Thom Huge voicing Garfield and Jon respectively. In addition, George Wendt and Allyce Beasley also lends their voices to the animated movie.

Having grown up with reading the "Garfield" comic strips, there is a great sense of familiarity and nostalgia with the art style and animation style seen in this 1983 animated movie.

If you like "Garfield", then this 1983 animated movie is definitely an enjoyable movie to watch.

My rating of director Phil Roman's 1983 animated movie "Garfield on the Town" lands on a six out of ten stars.

One year since "Here comes Garfield".

In "Garfield on the Town", Garfield has wrecked and cause his owner Jon enough trouble, that he decides to take him to the vet for punishment.

On the way Garfield ended up getting out of the car when Jon turn to the next corner. Now Garfield is free to roam the streets as he please.

One night, he decides to get something to eat from the dumpsters, only to find a punk cat who tells him he's invading his territory. Garfield shows him who's boss, but doesn't realize that the cat is part of a Gang of Cats called the Claws. Who soon become Garfield's new enemy.

Garfield makes a run for it, and ends up in an old building, which he meets face to face with another cat, who turns out to be his long lost mother. Garfield was over joy to see his own mom again.

In this TV movie, we learn a little bit of Garfield's family, and the day he was still a kitten. The animation is similar to the previous one and has some good voice acting. Hats down to Lorenzo Music.

With plenty of emotional moments, humor, and songs. This is another must for Garfield fans.

When I was really little, I always thought that "Garfield on the Town" was really funny. As I aged, I thought less of it. Of course, I like the thought of someone's reconnection with his roots (such as Garfield's growing up in an Italian restaurant). What's really cool to me nowadays is knowing that Garfield's voice artist was Lorenzo Music, who was also the original voice artist of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray's character) on "The Real Ghostbusters"*. In all, Music was a sarcastic, lasagna-loving cat hunting evil spirits! Anyway, this movie isn't really anything special, unless you look at it from the perspective of retracing ones roots.

*Incidentally, Bill Murray provided Garfield's voice in the 2004 movie.