Unlike the other Garfield 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 both VHS and DVD home video.
The songs "Monday Morning Blues (Blues for Mr. G)" (performed by B.B. King) and "Shake Your Paw" (performed by The Temptations) were released on the 1991 album Am I Cool or What?. An instrumental version of the opening theme, under the title "Spare Time" (performed by David Benoit), was also released on the album.
Plot
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.