Won the 1985 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.
The Italian title 'Garfield en difficoltà' translates as 'Garfield In Difficulty'.
When Garfield briefly fantasizes about a trip to Hawaii, he imagines a volcano erupting and a beautiful islander asking for help in saving her tribe. This would later be used as part of the plot of a subsequent special Garfield in Paradise (1986).
Despite a prolific career in musicals, 1961 Tony Award nominee Orson Bean (who voices Billy the sardonic rabbit) is one of the few characters who does not sing.