The seventeenth episode of the third season of Garfield and Friends.
Post-opening sequence line: "Here are some commercials, and then, more of me."
Mistakes Will Happen
As the show starts, Garfield complains about the letters he's been getting that claim his show has lots of mistakes. So he tries to convince people that his show doesn't have any mistakes. Unfortunately, once the show runs, it shows nearly 90 mistakes (see mistakes below).
The story of the episode shows that Garfield, Jon, and Odie are having a barbecue in the woods when Jon warns his pets not to wander off, since the woods are supposedly haunted. Disbelieving him, Garfield and Odie decide to walk inside the forest while Jon decides to scare them with a bedsheet (unaware that Garfield saw him). Meanwhile, a runaway convict spots Garfield and Odie and decides to scare them with the bedsheet (stealing Jon's when he accidentally knocks himself out). But this fails as the convict is the one who ends up scared by Garfield (who wrongly assumes he's Jon) and is chased by a wild wolf. This causes him to chase a police car begging to be sent back to jail. Garfield wakes Jon up and they decide to head home. As they drive off, they are surprised to hear about the convict, but Jon assures Garfield that they lead boring lives and never run into people like that.
Once it finishes, Garfield mentions that there are three mistakes: 1) Garfield's asleep when he should be eating in the beginning 2) During the part where Garfield has a picnic, there is no mustard, and 3) Jon's car doesn't have any gas. Odie claims that there are more mistakes but Garfield refuses to believe him, and two more mistakes appear before the episode ends.
The Well Dweller
While drilling for water, Orson encounters a strange little creature named Al. Al (and other creatures like him) lives under the ground.
The Wise Man
Jon takes in a maharishi to give him peace and tranquility but the maharishi's idea of peace and tranquility does not sit well with Garfield.
"Mistakes Will Happen" provides examples of:
- Art Shift: This episode ends with Odie being turned into Marmaduke, drawn in his usual style.
- Bedsheet Ghost: Jon plans to scare Garfield and Odie when they go into the woods against his wishes by disguising himself as a ghost. He uses a bedsheet as his disguise. Garfield catches onto his disguise, and when Jon runs into a tree, the convict takes the disguise to scare Garfield and Odie. Garfield, having mistaken the convict for Jon, attacks him.
- Beggar with a Signboard: Binky's cameo has him holding up a sign saying "LOOKING FOR WORK".
- Big Eater: Garfield. When he unpacks a picnic lunch with a large quantity of food, Odie believes it to be a mistake, but Garfield assures him it isn't; it's how much food he always packs.
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Invoked; the Buddy Bears' cameo appears to be a parody of this trope. They appear out of nowhere, sing their theme song, and then disappear.
- Blooper: Viciously parodied; the animation goes off-model on purpose while Garfield "reviews" the episode in search of mistakes. Even though there are many blatantly obvious ones (e.g. a misspelled title card that has Garfield's face on Odie's body), the only three he points out aren't really "mistakes". Numerous scripting, continuity, and voice-acting mistakes also occur.
- Creator Cameo: Jim Davis voiced the off-screen director as well as a policeman in this episode.
- Exit, Pursued by a Bear: After Garfield attacks the convict, a wolf chases the convict away.
- "Let's Watch Our Show" Plot: In this episode, Garfield addresses concerns that his show contains mistakes. To prove that it doesn't, he sits down with Odie and watches an episode titled "Mistake Will Happen"; the episode is filled to the brim with animation, coloring, and voice acting errors, with Garfield denying that anything shown, is an error. He claims that the three errors are incredibly minor things, such as his picnic not having any mustard.
- Mistaken for an Imposter: When Garfield and Odie go into the woods against Jon's wishes, Jon disguises himself as a ghost, but his costume gets taken by the convict. Garfield attacks the convict, having mistaken him for Jon, and the convict begs for the police to take him back to jail. When Garfield hears a police report that an escaped convict has been apprehended, he begins to worry, but Jon assures him that they have pretty boring lives and never run into any people like that.
- Non Sequitur, *Thud*: This line from Jon after he bumps into a tree:Jon: No, ladies, I'm not Tom Selleck, but I can understand how you can make that mistake.
- Owls Ask "Who?": Parodied; at one point, an owl hoots "Who? Who? Where? Where? When? When?"
- Prefer Jail to the Protagonist: After Garfield attacks the convict, having mistaken him for Jon, and the convict gets chased by a wolf, the convict begs for the police to take him back to jail.
- Suddenly Speaking: Odie. When Garfield asks him "Can you believe Pete trying to scare us like that?", Odie responds by saying "I don't know. I'm kind of scared."
- Take That!: To animation, scripting, and voice acting mistakes. All "mistakes" are placed there on purpose, but it's played for laughs, at most.
- Tyop on the Cover: An In-Universe example; Garfield and Odie watch the episode itself. The title card reads "Mistake Will Happen" and has Garfield's head on Odie's body.
- Watch Out for That Tree!: Jon walks into a tree due to neglecting to cut eye holes in his ghost costume.
"The Well Dweller" provides examples of:
"The Wise Man" provides examples of:
List of mistakes happen during 'Mistakes Will Happen' (In order):
01) Title Screen shows Garfield with Odie's body.
02) Title reads 'MISTAKE Will Happen'.
03) One of the steaks has been replaced by a shoe.
04) Jon holds a microphone instead of a spatula.
05) Jon says macaroni instead of steak.
06) Garfield suddenly wears shoes.
07) Jon wears a suit.
08) Jon says 'pizza with everything on it' instead of steak.
09) Jon serves Garfield a fish.
10) Garfield claims that he never likes to eat too much.
11) Odie wears a cowboy hat.
12) Jon wears a scuba diving suit.
13) Jon calls Odie 'Fido'.
14) Jon wears a ballerina outfit.
15) Odie's ears turn into flowers.
16) The Leaning Tower of Pisa appears.
17) It suddenly turns night.
18) The grill has been replaced by a pinball machine.
19) Garfield now wears a backpack.
20) Garfield calls Jon 'Pete'.
21) Odie talks.
22) A Jim Davis logo appears below the bushes.
23) Garfield wears shades.
24) Two Odies appear.
25) Two Moons appear behind them.
26) Jon suddenly has a black mustache.
27) Jon isn't wearing pants and is wearing bunny slippers.
28) Binky shows up with a 'Looking for work' sign behind Jon.
29) The cop (Charlie) is driving the police car in the forest instead of on the road.
30) An elephant appears behind the police car's seat.
31) The police radio microphone is a paper cup.
32) The police voice is Garfield's.
33) The car wheels turn smaller.
34) Two police appear behind the convict when the convict walks away, claiming that there aren't any police within a hundred miles.
35) Odie wears a suit.
36) Garfield wears a ski cap.
37) Garfield's mouth opens as he is talking.
38) An outtake happens when Garfield messes up his line.
39) The clapboard says "Take 1" when it's supposed to say Take 2.
40) Nermal replaces Odie.
41) A fish is swimming above them.
42) The Buddy Bears appear out of the cave.
43) Garfield maintains they're alone even after the Buddy Bears appear out of a cave.
44) The ground suddenly turns green after the Buddy Bears head back into the cave.
45) The convict walks on the surface of a pond (which is apparently deep enough for a frog to jump into).
46) The convict's shirt is blue with polka dots.
47) The convict appears naked.
48) Both Garfield and Odie have antlers.
49) The convict wears a monocle and a hat.
50) Garfield calls Jon 'Fred'.
51) A blizzard appears and Garfield and Odie wear snow outfits.
52) The owl suddenly says "Where" and later "When" instead of "Who", although you hear "Who" before the latter two.
53) Garfield's color is missing, leaving only the outlines.
54) Garfield enters a tree house that has a living room inside while Odie keeps banging on the door; asking Garfield to let him in.
55) Garfield, later on, appears behind Odie and offers him a "snack."
56) Jon calls Garfield a dog and a female.
57) Wade, Orson, and Roy appear behind Jon.
58) Odie has rabbit ears.
59) Garfield has blond curls and a pink bow.
60) Jon says "I'm going to scare the pants off those three or my name isn't June Arberkle" instead of "I'm going to scare the pants off those two or my name isn't Jon Arbuckle"
61) Garfield is wearing a visor.
62) The screen suddenly turns upside down.
63) Jon has a beard when the convict takes off his sheet.
64) The convict wears a sombrero.
65) The white sheet somehow has eye holes in it when Jon hadn't even cut out the eye holes yet.
66) Garfield and Odie have duck beaks.
67) Odie has 4 hands when he sees the 'ghost'.
68) Garfield wears a straw hat.
69) An igloo appears behind them during the chase.
70) Garfield opens a 'magic door' that leads the convict to crash into the basement.
71) Garfield suddenly turns blue.
72) Garfield is suddenly voiced by a girl (Lanolin).
73) Garfield wears a safari hat.
74) A barber pole appears outside the cave.
75) The wolf starts to bark like a dog.
76) The police car has a chimney on top of its car.
77) The Taj Mahal appears behind the convict who's chasing the police car.
78) Garfield wears a superhero suit.
79) A cow sound is heard, which Garfield assumes is a rhinoceros.
80) Garfield is holding an umbrella.
81) Odie has chicken legs.
82) Garfield is driving the car.
83) Jon calls Garfield 'Kermit'.
84) The Eiffel Tower appears at the end of the cartoon.
85) Odie has been replaced by Marmaduke before the episode ends.
86) Garfield says it's 10 a.m. and time for a midnight snack before the episode ends.
