[While the dogs, along with the spy bird, head to an abandoned mall…] [in the bag]
What do you guys...What do you want? Money? I don't have any money, okay? Who-who carries cash anymore? I've-- I-I've got Jon's credit card number memorized. 5552-3857-5521. Did you write that down? Expiration code is 555.
[Inside the mall, they release the two from the bags.]
The cat is out of the bag! [Cackles; throws the rope up]
We hope this kidnapping plan works or she’ll put us down....with her insults and cutting observations.
[They tie the two by their ankles and pull up the ropes.]
I think this is a case of mistaken identity! You must be looking for another gorgeous, lovable kitty cat! Right?! [Once they’re high above, the two dogs leave.] Hey, hey, hey, hey! Hey, where you going?! No, no, come back, come back! [Odie barking] No, no. Odie?
Odie Hmm?
I'll handle this. [angrily] Alright, you guys, I'm giving you the count of 3 to get back here, and let us down! 1, 2, 3! Four, five… I am not kidding here! [Later, Garfield is exhausted while Odie plays the harmonica.] 308, 309...I can't... yeah, they’re not coming. [groans] It’s over.
V Voice
[offscreen]
Psst!
[He and Odie turn around to see a shrouded figure standing in the mall.]
Huh? [Odie drops his harmonica in awe.] Am I dead? [The shrouded figure moves around.] Are you an angel? [The figure comes to the mall ceiling by the ropes.] Please take me. I am ready to go to the...[sobs] to the all-you-can-eat buffet in the sky.
SF Shrouded figure
What? Listen, I’m going to swing you out, cut your ropes, and drop you safely to that landing below.
Wait, what? That seems a tad risky. Is there another plan that doesn’t involve cutting the rope from a 40-foot drop?
SF Shrouded figure
No time. We gotta get outta here before they come back. [He swings Odie first, then cuts his rope. The dog lands perfectly on the landing. Then, the shrouded figure swings Garfield and cuts his rope. The cat falls and lands next to Odie, though not so gracefully.] We need to go! Come on, Junior!
[Garfield gasps in shock as he remembers being left in the alley.] [flashback]
Wait here, Junior. I’ll be right back. [echoes]
[Garfield narrows his eyes as he pulls the shroud off the figure, revealing his long-lost father, Vic, a burly orange tabby cat.] [gasps and points angrily at Vic]
You…?!
Odie Huh?
Who is he? This is Vic, my "father".
Look, Junior, I know how you might be upset...
[ticked off]
Upset?! Why would I be upset?! You only abandoned me in an alley as a kitten! I’m probably just overreacting!
[Suddenly, they hear a claw scratching against metal.]
Oh, no. Not her. Quick, follow me, Junior!
[However, Garfield refuses to follow Vic.]
Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You lost the privilege of telling me what to do a long time ago.
[Red light glows behind them, revealing a maniacal cat, Jinx, with a glowing mood necklace.]
Hello, Vic!
[The three jump back and scream, startled.] [scared]
Dang!
Scare-cam! [laughs] Oh, you should’ve seen your faces! [makes spooky noises then laughs as she runs over to Nolan and Roland holding a phone] OK, boys, show me! [The phone shows a video of the trio being scared by her sudden appearance; laughs] Post that ASAP! [laughs]
Hey, Jinx. I haven’t seen you since… Oh, well, no hard feelings though, right? [holds his hand out for a handshake]
[pushes Vic's hand away]
Oh, I don’t think so. [glares for a moment, then smiles] I’m a hugger! [hugs Vic]
A part of me wants to be mad at her for kidnapping us, but you gotta love her energy.
[gasps]
Where are my manners? [claps her paws to summon Barry]
B Barry
Chop, chop, gentlemen. Look alive.
[Nolan sets up the table and Roland pours them glasses of milk.] [drinks hers]
Perfection. You know, I was so delighted to think you accepted my invitation here tonight.
Well, throwing us in a burlap sack wasn’t exactly an Evite.
Vic, you’re so quiet. Are you feline sad? Cat got your tongue? Would you prefer a mew-mosa?
Excuse me, how do you two know each other?
Let me handle this, Junior.
Oh, don’t "Junior" me. You may call me "Garfield", "Mr. Garfield", or "G-Money". [Odie scoffs] Okay, whatever, no "G-Money". Anyway, can somebody please tell me what is going on??
[interrupts Vic]
I’ll take this one.
[Roland is nearby, playing the piano.]
What?
[Odie shrugs "I don’t know".]
I’m from a small town outside London that you’ve probably never heard of. Oh, I scratched and clawed my way through hard times to come here with one dream. [We fade to a flashback of her entering America’s Next Top Feline, walking down the red carpet as people take pictures of her; voiceover] I wanted to be seen. I wanted to matter. [Cut to her holding a tuba. She stands still in stage fright. Crickets chirp. Voiceover] But... [wah-wah sound is heard.] I was a failure.
A Announcer
[offscreen; spotlight shines elsewhere]
The winner!
[Fade to her sitting on a bench. A hand holds out to her, and she sees Vic and his cat crew.] [voiceover]
And then, I met Vic and his crew. They were outcasts. Losers. Thugs. We didn’t have much, but we had each other. We became a real family.
[Cut back to present day.] [scoffs]
Vic and family. I know where this is going. [to Roland] Excuse me, garcon? Uh, when might we expect appetizers? Perhaps some amuse-bouche?
Then, one night...[Cut to a flashback of the crew stealing quarts of milk from Lactose Farms. Voiceover] We were about to make our biggest score. Enough milk to last us for weeks! [She drops one bottle and tries to get it, only to be captured and thrown in a pound truck; flashback] Vic! VIC!!!! [Vic tries to go after the truck, but it drives off with her. Cut back to present day.]
Jinx, I tried to come back for you. You have to know that.
Oh, yes. You get an A for effort.
Imagine Alcatraz...[Cut to her being served slop in the pound. Voiceover] But smellier. It was cold and lonely...[One cat knocks her lunch away, making Jinx growl in anger. Cut to Jinx sleeping under a smelly cat; voiceover] And stinky. So very stinky. I can’t ever state that enough. [Cut to her sulking at the fence. Voiceover] But it gave me purpose. I needed to get out. I just needed help.
[A ball rolls over to her. She turns to see Roland and Nolan. Jinx throws the ball to Roland, who grabs it with his mouth. Smiling, she gets an idea. Later, the three of them break out of the pound. Cut back to present day.]
So, your purpose was to escape jail and get involved with charities?
Nope. My purpose was...revenge. [Vic gulps in fear]
Oh, I see. I went the other way with it.
I’m kidding! Another cat would be bent on revenge, but I’m a...ooh, how do you put it?
B Barry
Evolved, compassionate, and incredibly self-actualized.
Bingo! [giggles] I had such trouble finding him and when I discovered you were his son, I had no choice but to kidnap you to lure him here.
Listen, I totally get it. It’s all a part of being associated with Vic. So, what do you need from him to make this right?
I simply want him to pay back the quart of milk I lost that night, and we’ll call it even.
What he can’t do is raise a child.
For every day I was in the pound.
Uh, how long were you in the pound again??
4 years, 7 months, and 2 days.
Alright, I’m gonna do the math here in my brain and, uh...the way you do that is...[clears his throat] Odie?
[Odie barks to Garfield the grand total]
1,675 quarts of milk. Exactly right, Odie. We both came up with it at the exact same time.
Where am I gonna find that much milk?
Well, I suggest you go back to the place you double-crossed me. Lactose Farms.
Wow. Well, good luck, Vic. [laughs] I’ll leave you two to work on the fine print. We’ll just see ourselves out. Odie...[He tries to leave but is stopped by Roland and Nolan.]
Uh, no, you’re all going to do this.
What? Why me? He’s the one who abandoned you!
Yes, but this is more than a one-cat job.
If I’m sure Vic has a whole crew of lowlife cat burglars, he could ask.
Oh, I’m sure he does, but if I’m being completely honest, seeing how miserable you make one another brings me endless satisfaction.
Oh, well, thank you for your honesty. And if I don’t go?
You can stay and have a playdate with Roland and Nolan. [to the hench-dogs] Okay, boys, go play!
B Barry
[The two dogs proceed to maul two nearby mannequins.] [clears his throat; last words]
Ma’am. I think this is an opportunity to take a deep, cleansing breath and repeat your anger management mantra.
[Suddenly, Jinx eats Barry and spits out a feather. The three are terrified by this.] [clears her throat]
Anyone else have any objections?
[gulps nervously]
Nope, I’m good. [gives two thumbs-up] Thanks for the opportunity.
Excellent! Now you boys have 72 hours...[drinks her milk and throws her glass away] or else!
[Soon, Garfield and Odie are back home!]
That’s right! I’m back, baby! [rushes over to his favorite chair] I was just talking about you, wasn’t I? [presses the button to put it in recliner mode] Oh, I’ve missed you, too. [turns on the TV to watch Catflix, then rushes over to Pooky and his bed] Pooky! I have a lot to tell you. You’re never gonna believe it. Crazy stuff happened. I slept outside twice! I know. Oh, and I made you this commemorative pin. [gets out a pin and puts it on Pooky]
Talk later! [kisses Pooky and runs off]
[Garfield gets on the stair railing, slides down, jumps off, and floats down with an umbrella. He dances over to the dinner table, where Jon serves up lasagna for dinner. Garfield takes in the smell and Jon grates cheese on top of the food.]
Say when?
Never, Jon! Bury me in cheese!
I have two more in the freezer. Let me know when you want them. [timer dings] I’m gonna go check on dessert. [runs off to check on dessert]
Oh, I apologize in advance. [gets out a fork and a knife] The eating you are about to see will not be pretty. And if you have young children, this would be a good time for them to leave the room.
Odie Mm-hmm!
O Olivia
[Garfield prepares to dig in until he notices a giant oak tree across the house.] [voiceover]
He’d just sit across the street from his kid’s house in a giant oak tree.
[He gets up from his seat and walks away. His stomach growls and tries to steer him back to the table.]
I know, I know. We’re coming back. [his stomach growls.] I just need to check something out first. [He leaves the house and walks to the oak tree, causing a bit of traffic along the way.]
S Snickers
[voiceover]
He put a notch in the bark. Every time he was there.
[He climbs up the tree and looks around for a notch.]
He left a notch. [sighs] Yeah, right. [He looks up to see one notch followed by tons of notches scratched everywhere on the tree.] He was here. He saw me grow up.
[Odie barks from below and Garfield uses his claws to slide down the tree.]
Oh. Ow. Wow. That really stings. I don’t know why I didn’t think it would. Give me a second. [gets off the tree and hugs Odie] Vic loves us! Me first, of course, but then you too, but me a lot. At first. [Odie scoffs.] Wait, wait, wait, wait, but if he loves me, us, why would he let me, us, get captured at the dairy? Unless...[gasps] he wanted us to get captured! [As he walks down the street, he causes more traffic.]
Yes! He knew that Jinx wasn’t going to let him off the hook, but if we got caught, we get sent to the pound, and Jon would come and get us! [Odie gets him off the road.] Don’t you see, Odie? He was trying to save us!
D Driver
[offscreen]
Losers!
We have to go save my dad.
[Back in the kitchen, Jon wheels in a big candy volcano.]
And here’s your favorite dessert, Mount Candy-toa! [notices they’re gone] Uh, guys? [He sees the two pets leaving and the volcano erupts, covering the entire kitchen and himself in candy.] Oh, come on!
[The next morning, Garfield, Odie, and Vic arrive at Jon’s house.]
Uh...[sighs] Well, this is us.
Right. Your home. I just..
I just wanted to say I’m sorry.
I’m sorry. What are you sorry for?
Oh. Well, thanks. Well, I just wanted to apologize to you for…
Everything bad that happened to us the last three days?
You know, you had your hand in a few bad decisions back there, too, but...[sighs] Yeah, I’m sorry for dragging you into my world. This is where you belong here. Here with Jon and...[to Odie] what’s your name again? Odor?
Odie Huh?! [growls then pants happily before hugging Vic]
Yeah, yeah. I mean, unless you want to come in.
I don’t know. I don’t think that would work. I’m...I’m an outdoor cat.
Right. Sure, sure. No, I just...I figured...
No, no, no, I get it. But you know, I got this thing on the other side of town I gotta go do, so...
No, I’m very busy, too. Yeah.
You know where to find me.
In the kitchen. Well, take care. And remember, [imitates Otto] stay out of the pinecone. [He leaves the two alone and Odie barks at Garfield.]
What? You heard him. It’s for the best.
Odie [shakes his head]
Mm-mm.
[They go inside the house and reunite with their owner.]
Oh, you’re back! What is going on? Are you okay? I was so worried! I was gonna add more locks to the door. You know, try to keep you in, but then I thought, well, what if they wanted to be outdoor pets? Do you want to be free range? [They shake their heads “no”. Sighs in relief] I really missed you, guys, and I gotta say it’s great to be together again, the whole entire family. You have no idea what the last few days have been like: phone calls and hold times and tears...
[As Jon talks, Odie barks to Garfield.]
Don’t give me that. I asked him to stay. [Odie grumbles.] He wanted to leave. [Odie groans.] You heard him. He said he had to...[Odie growls.] Well, I-I...[Odie growls again; groans] Fine. I’ll be right back. [He heads out of the house.]
Wait! Wait! What?! Am I using trigger words that I’m not aware of? [Odie pats his shoulder.]
[In outside, Garfield running far away and he stops and he look sideways of the neighbourhood, and then Garfield approaches the oak tree where his father is.]
So, you coming in or do we have to bring food up there to you?
I’ll come to you. I just need to finish something up here. [He comes down, Garfield hugs him in embrace, and they head back to the house.]
You know, those notches show how much you love me.
Is that what you think of me?
Nah, I was just counting how many slices of lasagna you ate.
