Title: Garfield Holiday Collection
Anderson Digital
Directors: Phil Roman, George Singer, Gerard Baldwin, Bob Nesler, John Sparey
Writers: Jim Davis, Lorenzo Music, Kim Campbell
Cast: Lorenzo Music, Lou Rawls, Thom Huge, Gregg Berger, Pat Carroll, Julie Payne, David L. Lander, Pat Harrington Jr., Wolfman Jack, Desirée Goyette, Frank Nelson, C. Lindsay Workman, George Wendt
Running Time: 144 minutes, Rated TVG
Special Features: The House That Garfield Built: A Visit with Jim Davis [22:12]; Garfield Living Large app trailer; Image Gallery
Available on DVD on November 4th, VOD and iTunes on November 11th
Anderson Digital has compiled a collection of the Garfield holiday Specials.
A Garfield Christmas (1987) [30 min]
Jon takes Garfield and Odie home to the farm for Christmas where Garfield wants to find grandma (Pat Carroll – Ursula from The Little Mermaid) the perfect gift. Garfield learns that it’s not about the gifts, it’s the love.
Garfield’s Thanksgiving (1989) [24 min]
Jon invites Garfield’s veterinarian Liz over for Thanksgiving dinner. Garfield just wants to eat as much as possible, but Jon puts him on a diet.
Garfield’s Halloween Adventure (AKA Garfield in Disguise – 1985) [25 min]
Garfield and Odie dress up as pirates and go out trick-or-treating to ensure they get lots and lots of candy where they end up at a haunted house.
Garfield on the Town (1983) [30 min]
Jon decides Garfield needs a trip to the vet and during the car trip, Garfield ends up on the street. He runs into a tough alley cat while foraging a trash can for food and runs into an abandoned Italian restaurant where he reunites with his mom and extended family.
Garfield in Paradise (1986) [24 min]
Jon disguises Garfield as his son in order to take him on a plane to a tropical island for vacation. Odie stows away in Jon’s luggage. They cruise around the island in a classic car until they stall in a native village run by the High Rama Lama (Wolfman Jack), his daughter princess Owooda and her cat Mai-tai. All goes well until the island’s volcano starts to erupt and they must offer a sacrifice to the angry spirits.
The Good: I grew up watching these and I was surprised at what stuck with me all these years. I even remembered some of the dialogue. The songs were a little hokey, but nostalgia inducing. The featurette where Jim Davis gives a tour of the animation studio is fun to see him be such a big nerd.
The Bad: The sound quality is not great, especially on Garfield in Paradise. I have a pretty good sound system and the dialogue was drowned out by the music. Since they included 2 non-holiday specials, why not give us Here Comes Garfield (1982), Garfield in the Rough (1984), Garfield Goes Hollywood (1987), and Garfield Gets a Life (1991)?!
Little kids may not take to the old-style animation and watercolors. Kids today have little to no attention span and the drab colors may cause them to lose interest. Don’t feel bad millennials if your kids don’t get it, this is for us and the older generations that also love Garfield.
Acting: B
Story: A
Technical: C
Total Rating: B
Reviewed by: JM Willis
