Sunday, October 23, 2016

Horrors of October - Garfield's Halloween Adventure



Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1985)

Realizing that Halloween Night allows him to get free candy, Garfield and his bud Odie dress up as pirates and go door to door. GARFIELD'S HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE was one of many TV specials centered around the popular orange fat cat but the very first one to be holiday-themed. Though it isn't my favorite of this specific lot (that would the Christmas one), it is a breezy and funny affair. Much of the short run time is focused around songs sung by famous crooner Lou Rawls and Garfield's own voice actor Lorenzo Music. They are all cute but the real highlights come from the always amazing performance by Music, who clearly had a lot of fun playing the role and quite often likes to improvise in the sound booth. The special had to have some kind of final act so a boat ride to a haunted island and the appearance of some ghostly pirates are rushed in for a spooky conclusion. Fun Fact: When this original program was later adapted by Jim Davis in comic form, this part was expanded upon and had the two pets constantly being stalked due to the pilfering of some hidden treasure. I know this because I once had the book, in all of its lopsided, vertically challenged glory. An enjoyable animated romp and a nice diversion from the annual airing of IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN. Seriously, can we get this back on broadcast television instead of overdosing on all things Charles Schulz?


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

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