Monday, January 6, 2020

Here Comes Garfield (1982)



Welcome back everyone! I hope your holiday season was a great one! Mine was good, if a bit rushed, with the late start and too many non-related activities getting in the way, but even a less than stellar holiday season is better than no season at all.

But enough of that; we have a whole new year ahead of us. New opportunities, new challenges, and new resolve to take life on. Let's do it!

My first new article of the year features someone who does just that--in his own lazy, selfish way. Today I present the TV special Here Comes Garfield, the first animated special for the famous fat cat. Debuting October 25, 1982, the special finds Garfield unwittingly getting Odie captured by the local dog catcher, leading Garfield to break him out and get him home. It's interesting to see him actually care about Odie, whom he usually tortures, showing his true affections for the slow-witted canine.

Although nearly forgotten now, this special paved the way for his other specials, most notably his beloved Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials. It all started here.

Enjoy! Stay tuned all year long!

4 comments:

Bob Johns said...

Oh, it took me a bit but I do remember this one! Adding to my watch later list thanks.

Phillyradiogeek said...

The non-holiday specials tend to get forgotten, but they're pretty good.

The Retro Dad said...

I Absolutely LOVED Garfield as a kid. Had every one of his books up until like the 17th book. However, I dug the Heathcliff cartoon more. Weird right? I had just read the books for so long, it was really weird hearing a voice put to the character. I never took to it for some reason. Watching Heathcliff was also part of my afternoon ritual as soon as I walked in the house from. Good times. Simpler times!

Phillyradiogeek said...

Thanks Retro Dad! Although the two cats had their similarities, Garfield was a bit more acerbic, while Heathcliff got into mischief with more of a twinkle in his eye :)