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Overview

Astrocat is the first segment from the the second episode of the third season of Garfield and Friends.

Synopsis[]

Garfield tells the story of his Great-Uncle Buchanan, the first cat in space.

Plot[]

Garfield and Odie are watching a game show called "Hit the Buzzer, Win a Cookie!". The game show is interrupted by the news station to give the latest news on a rocket, preparing to land on the moon. After an image of a cat called Buchanan appears, Garfield reveals that in 1958, his great-uncle Buchanan was the first cat in space. He gets a photo album while bragging about the bravery of his family.

Buchanan tries to escape a lab run by a scientist and his two assistants. He is soon caught and is examined using a tongue depressor before the scientist tests Buchanan’s reaction to the change of gravity. Buchanan is put in a small testing rocket which spins in order to test heavy stress. The machine starts spinning at a high speed, pushing Buchanan to the back of the seat. The scientist switches it to full power before the rocket flies off the spinner and out of the building. When the rocket lands, a policeman gives Buchanan a ticket for speeding before the lab takes Buchanan back.

On the flight day, the scientist takes Buchanan to the rocket telling him that he will be the first creature in space. Buchanan manages to escape the scientist’s arms and locks him in. Buchanan decides to stop the countdown, feeling that it is even too rotten for him. In the rocket, the scientist apologies to Buchanan, before Buchanan presses the launch button after reading it as “lunch”.

The scientist manages to escape the rocket, with the door closing before Buchanan can get out. After the rocket has taken off, the scientists attempt to track the rocket. The last they heard from him was in the flight data; an order for pepperoni pizza.

Odie tells Garfield that he does not believe the story before both go back to the TV to watch the astronauts, who have now landed on the moon. As the astronauts prepare to put down the flag, they see Buchanan who asks where his pizza is. Buchanan then reassures the alien behind him that he ordered pepperoni, stunning the astronauts. Garfield then tells Odie that he should never doubt him.

Characters[]

Major characters[]

Minor characters[]

  • Scientist’s Assistants (one voiced by Gregg Berger)
  • Henry "Buzz" Fenork (voiced by Thom Huge)
  • Freddy "Buzz" Lunchbox (voiced by Gregg Berger)
  • Buzz #3 (voiced by Jim Davis)
  • Newscaster (voiced by Kenneth Mars)
  • Policeman (voiced by Thom Huge)
  • "Hit the Buzzer, Win a Cookie!" Host (voiced by Gregg Berger)
  • Giant Alien

Trivia[]

  • Although the scientist announces a test for Buchanan’s reaction to change in gravity, it is never shown.
  • "Hit the Buzzer, Win a Cookie!" was previously mentioned in "Video Victim".

Cultural references[]

  • A billboard advertises All Dogs Go To Video, a parody of All Dogs Go To Heaven.
    • The director of the film is Dan Blech, a spoof of animation director Don Bluth.
    • This creates an anachronistic problem, as home video was not around in 1958.
  • A store named "Walgreeds", a parody of Walgreens, is briefly shown as Buchanan flies through town.
  • The scientist's assistants were intended to be named Bialystock and Bloom, a reference to the 1967 film The Producers, which featured Kenneth Mars. The line giving out their names was cut for time.[1]

Goofs[]

  • In the scene, where Buchanan is about to be taken to the rocket, he has orange cheeks instead of yellow for a moment.
  • One of the astronauts in the later part of the episode seems wearing a visibly yellow-tinted spacesuit.

References[]


Garfield and Friends
Episodes

"Pest of a Guest / The Impractical Joker / Fat & Furry" • "Rip Van Kitty / Grabbity / The Big Catnap" • "The Great Getaway / Scrambled Eggs / Hansel and Garfield" • "The Sludge Monster / Fortune Kooky / Heatwave Holiday" • "One Good Fern Deserves Another / Goody-Go-Round / The Black Book" • "The Legend of the Lake / Double Oh Orson / Health Feud" • "Binky Gets Cancelled! / Show Stoppers / Cutie and the Beast" • "The Lasagna Zone / Sleepytime Pig / Yojumbo" • "Pros and Cons / Rooster Revenge / Lights! Camera! Garfield!" • "Polecat Flats / Hogcules / Brain Boy" • "Maine Course / No Laughing Matter / Attack of the Mutant Guppies" • "Robodie / First Aid Wade / Video Victim" • "The Curse of Klopman / Mud Sweet Mud / Rainy Day Dreams" • "Basket Brawl / Origin of Power Pig / Cactus Jake Rides Again" • "Binky Goes Bad! / Barn of Fear / Mini-Mall Matters" • "Attention-Getting Garfield / Swine Trek / It Must Be True!" • "Arrivaderci, Odie! / Gort Goes Good / Feeling Feline" • "The Bear Facts / Nothing To Be Afraid Of / The Big Talker" • "Cactus Makes Perfect / Hogcules II / Crime and Nourishment" • "T.V. of Tomorrow / Little Red Riding Egg / Well Fed Feline" • "Invasion of the Big Robots / Shelf Esteem / Housebreak Hotel" • "First Class Feline / Hamelot / How to Be Funny!" • "Mystic Manor / Flop Goes the Weasel / The Legend of Long Jon" • "China Cat / Cock-a-Doodle Dandy / Beach Blanket Bonzo" • "Lemon Aid / Hog Noon / Video Airlines" • "The Mail Animal / Peanut-Brained Rooster / Mummy Dearest"

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