Here Comes Garfield

"Here Comes Garfield" was the first half-hour animated televised special based on the "Garfield" comic strip. It features the voices of Lorenzo Music as Garfield and others who later went on to voice their characters in future Garfield specials and the television series "Garfield and Friends". "Here Comes Garfield" premiered in 1982 and was nominated for seven Emmy awards. The songs in the special (including the official but seldom used theme song itself) are performed by Lou Rawls and Desirée Goyette, both of whom did songs for future Garfield specials. Desiree Goyette later voiced Nermal in the "Garfield and Friends" television series.Over 15 million people tuned in to watch Here Comes Garfield.

The show later aired in CBS's rotation of the "Garfield and Friends" series. Fact|date=June 2007

Storyline

Garfield and Odie are outside harassing a neighbor's dog when the owner Hubert (also from the strip) calls the pound. When the dog catcher arrives, Garfield flees but Odie is too stupid to run away and is taken. Garfield decides to go home but realizes how boring life is without Odie around, so that night, he goes to rescue him. However, Garfield is caught and thrown into the cage. Garfield learns from a cellmate that Odie is going to be euthanized in the morning. During the night, a depressed Garfield remembers through flashbacks of the all good times he and Odie had playing together and how sad his life would be without him (in these series of flashbacks by Garfield, the song "So Long Old Friend" is played in the background). Morning comes and after Garfield says "so long" and sheds a tear, Odie is taken down the hall to be euthanized. A girl then arrives at the pound for a pet and chooses Garfield. When the cage opens, Garfield leads the pets out of the cage in a stampede. They rescue Odie and break down the pound door, with the knocked-out dogcatcher on it. As the pets run home, Garfield and Odie again, knock the front door down as Jon is trying to fix it after Garfield knocked it down earlier in the cartoon. Jon then bets that they did things in the night while he worried about them, and they agree. Jon later gives Odie a steak and gives Garfield bacon and eggs. Garfield furiously throws them at Jon, who then looks up from his newspaper, his eyes covered with the eggs and his mouth covered with the bacon. Garfield says that he's only human, and Jon continues reading the newspaper without taking the food off.

oundtrack for "Here Comes Garfield"

There was a soundtrack for "Here Comes Garfield" released on LP and cassette. It featured songs from and inspired by the television special. Some of these tracks were re-released or re-recorded on the "Am I Cool or What?" CD.

Track List

#"Here Comes Garfield" (Lou Rawls)
#"Move Me" (Desirée Goyette)
#"Foolin' Around" (Lou Rawls and Desirée Goyette)
#"Long About Midlight" (Lou Rawls)
#"Big Fat Hairy Deal" (Lou Rawls)
#"Up On a Fence" (Desirée Goyette)
#"Life Is Just a Roller Coaster" (Lou Rawls)
#"So Long Old Friend" (Desirée Goyette)
#"Together Again" (Lou Rawls and Desirée Goyette)
#"Here Comes Garfield (Reprise)" (Desirée Goyette)

Lyrics to the songs

*Together Again: Now we're together again, no need to be lonely, together again, my one and only, together my friend, just you and me!

*So long, old friend...I wish that I could see you once again...I never knew the time would come when I'd be losing you...I hope you know I never meant to treat you badly...and now I know just what a friend like you is for...I never thought that it would end so sadly, and you'd be walking through that door...

So long, old friend...I wish that I could see you once again...I never knew the time would come when I'd be losing you...I always thought our fun and games would just go on and on...I never knew I'd have to say sooooo long...

I never knew I'd have to say sooooo long...

Quotes adapted from the strips

Numerous lines from this TV special are actual quotes from Garfield strips published before it aired. Here are samples of them:

*Garfield: (after rudely waking Jon up) Good morning, sunshine. Welcome to another fun-filled day with your favorite pet!
Jon Arbuckle: I'm so happy to own a cat, I could just throw up (only says this second line in comic strip, not in TV special).
**Originally from [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1979-ga790506 May 6, 1979]

*Garfield: So this is what it feels like to be potato salad.
**Originally from [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1980-ga801228 December 28, 1980]

*Garfield: Ten billion Dogs in this world, and I get Tweedledee the Wonder Dummy.
**Originally from [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1978-ga780811 August 11, 1978]

*Garfield: I´m not known for my compassion.
**Originally from [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1978-ga781228 December 28, 1978]

*Garfield: Show me a good mouser, and I'll show you a cat with bad breath.
**Originally from [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1978-ga780621 June 21, 1978]

*Garfield: When I want in, I want in now!
**Originally from [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1980-ga800414 April 14, 1980]

*Jon: What would you like for breakfast, Garfield?
*Garfield: A cup of coffee, a Danish and the newspaper.
*Jon: OK, one bowl of cat food coming up!
*Garfield: Nobody listens anymore.
**Originally from [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1979-ga790102 January 2, 1979]

Trivia

* has a similar plot to this special.
*In addition, virtually all of the Garfield shorts at the end of the special are a direct adaption of a full strip.
*Rich Little auditioned for the voice of Garfield.
*This was the only Garfield special where Thom Huge doesn't voice Jon instead he is voiced by Sandy Kenyon.
*At some point in each of the specials Garfield utters the line "nice touch!".