Review of Garfield on the Town (1983) by Ben L — 15 Jun 2012

In Garfield's second trip to the small screen Jim Davis strayed a little further from the established jokes written for his comic strip. Now Garfield is going through some trip down memory lane as he runs into his birthplace and a whole slew of his relatives. The contrast of their street-wise mouser personalities and Garfield's pampered and spoiled personality is definitely good for a few laughs. However this feels like they're trying too hard to elicit an emotional response rather then just having fun like in Here Comes Garfield. Watching Garfield get in trouble with a cat street gang is just not as interesting as the potential of Odie being killed at the pound.

Of course Lou Rawls and Desiree Goyette return and offer some more great singing. However the songs don't seem to have quite as much punch as the first special. Don't get me wrong, the singers still bring their A game, but the songs as written just aren't quite as catchy and endearing as those that were included in the first Garfield TV special. In the long run I think this is a much less exciting trip into the world of Garfield. It will probably still entertain young kids, and since it is available on DVD with the original there is no reason to avoid it. Besides, no matter how sub-par I may think Garfield on the Town is, it still is light years ahead of the repulsively bad movie made in 2004.