| Garfield Gets a Life | |
|---|---|
 The Title | |
| Written by | Jim Davis[1] |
| Directed by | John Sparey[1] |
| Starring | Lorenzo Music Thom Huge Gregg Berger Julie Payne Frank Welker June Foray Kim Campbell Kevin Campbell[1] |
| Music by | David Benoit andDesirée Goyette (music and lyrics) Lou Rawls,B.B. King andThe Temptations (vocals) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jim Davis Jay Poynor[1] |
| Producer | Phil Roman |
| Editors | Timothy Borquez Brian F. Mars[1] |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | Film Roman United Media/Mendelson Paws, Inc. |
| Original release | |
| Release | May 8, 1991 (1991-05-08) |
Garfield Gets a Life is a 1991animatedtelevision special based on theGarfield comic strip written byJim Davis. It featuresLorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield. The special was first broadcast on May 8, 1991, onCBS.[2] It was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program at the43rd Primetime Emmy Awards.[3] It was the final in the series of twelveGarfield television specials, as the success ofGarfield and Friends caused CBS to cancel new animated specials in 1990. It is the only CBSGarfield special directed byJohn Sparey instead ofPhil Roman, although the latter served as producer. It is also the final Garfield production to feature music byDesirée Goyette who had performed for previous Garfield specials and various episodes ofGarfield and Friends.
Unlike the otherGarfield specials, despite the title,Garfield Gets a Life focuses mainly on Jon rather than the titular fat cat. Odie only appears twice in this special. It has been released on bothVHS andDVD home video.
The songs "Monday Morning Blues (Blues for Mr. G)" (performed byB.B. King) and "Shake Your Paw" (performed byThe Temptations) were released on the 1991 albumAm I Cool or What? An instrumental version of the opening theme, under the title "Spare Time" (performed byDavid Benoit), was also released on the album.
On a dull Monday morning,Jon Arbuckle realizes how uneventful his life is and sets out to change it. He goes out to various locales to meet girls, but is turned down by every one. At home, Jon watches an advertisement on TV for the Lorenzo School for the Personality Impaired and chooses to attend. There, he meets a girl named Mona, and the two like each other and go to Jon's house. There,Garfield is worried about Jon being in a relationship and goes to tell him. Mona begins sneezing and Jon learns that she is allergic to cats. Jon chooses to stay with Garfield, but he agrees to stay friends with Mona, and the two go out to dinner as Garfield follows them.