Garfield on the Town (1983 TV Short)
8/10
Garfield gets emotional
11 January 2019
Find the character of Garfield, 'Garfield and Friends' and his specials to be even better now than as a child. Really liked to loved them then, still do and am not saying this out of nostalgia. Have stressed the point a few times of not all my childhood favourites holding up. Have found the humour funnier and cleverer as an adult and have found more things to like and invested emotionally more, the main reasons why the character, 'Garfield and Friends' and his specials still have appeal today.

'Garfield on the Town' is not for me one of the best Garfield specials (all of which worth watching at least once, so that is not in any way a knock). It is still very good and very enjoyable, with it being nice to see a different side to everyone's favourite orange cat and in terms of tone, but misses the extra something of the best ones. Again not a knock, because saying that is only meaning that the best ones are so great with a high standard hard to live up to. Do have a personal preference for the holiday specials as far as Garfield goes, especially 'A Garfield Christmas Special' and 'Garfield in Disguise', both quintessential when it comes to things to watch on Christmas and Halloween and essential Garfield.

Other Garfield specials are funnier when it comes to the humour, approach their subject more imaginatively and perhaps more refined in terms of animation.

That is not saying that the animation is poor, far from it. It is still bright and colourful with some nice detail, just that the drawing and movement have been smoother elsewhere. Cannot fault the music, which is incredibly infectious and hard to forget, complete with clever lyrics. "The Claws" is one of my favourite songs of any of the Garfield specials.

Humour is still playful and classic Garfield, but it is the emotion that sets 'Garfield on the Town' apart from the other specials. On top of being charming and nostalgic, 'Garfield on the Town' has a lot of heart and is likely to evoke tears (the reminiscing has always done with me), with being saccharine or over-sentimental. Garfield is still an immensely likeable character, with a different side to him and some proper character development, and Lorenzo Music was born to voice him and hasn't been equalled or bettered since.

In summation, very enjoyable and heartfelt. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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