Gar-Halloween-field
If you grew up in the 80′s surely you remember Garfield. From the Sunday morning comics to the cartoons, he was everywhere. And like any popular character, they tried tying his image in to anything the ad wizards could think of….anyone remember those suction-cup plush dolls hanging on people’s car windows? Yeah, my mom sported one on her ’86 Bonneville.
I wasn’t the biggest Garfield fan, but I did enjoy the prime time cartoons they would air once and awhile, usually on holidays (this is before he had his own Saturday morning cartoon). And there was one special in particular that I remember very well…Garfield’s Halloween Adventure!
Garfield’s Halloween Adventure first aired on CBS on October 30, 1985 and – according to Wikipedia – reran on the network annually until 2000. But once a year just wasn’t enough for me… I remember taping it on our BetaMax (if you don’t know what that is, you’re too young) and watching dozens of times throughout the year. Like anything else Halloween related, it didn’t need to be autumn for me to get in the Halloween spirit. So needless to say, the Garfield Halloween Special became a staple of my regular tv viewing (in between Looney Tunes, He-Man, Transformers, GI Joe, and various horror films and action movies).
However, by the end of the 80′s our family had finally entered the modern day world of VHS and our BetaMax was relegated to the basement. And while I still continued to enjoy the tapes I had collected over the years, I spent more of my time renting and watching things on our new machine. Then, a few years later, our BetaMax bit the dust for good.
After that, I would always think back to that Garfield Halloween Special with fond memories, but never really thought to look for it on VHS or now, DVD. I guess it was an “out of sight, out of mind” type of thing.
But this morning, as I sat at the breakfast table with my 3 year old daughter, I got to thinking about that old special again. She asked me to “watch something special” – which means to look up something on YouTube for her to see, a regular ritual when she sees me on my laptop. We usually end up watching M&Ms commercials, or the opening credits to The Munsters or The Addams Family. But this morning I decided to look up something else…
And so we sat there for 25 minutes as we watched the entire Garfield Halloween Special…the first for me in probably 8-9 years. And although that much time had passed, I still remembered every line, every song, every little beat. So much so that I realized some of them had entered my daily vernacular without even realizing it.
Sure, the animation is a little choppy, the sound slightly warbly…but it made me feel 10 years old again. And my daughter liked it too…something else to add to our October traditions, for sure.
So I thought I would repost the special below. So sit back, grab some milk and cookies, and be prepared to get transported back in time before life got so, well, complicated. And before you know it, you too will be saying “candy, candy, candy, candy, candy”!
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Yes Ben!! I absolutely remember this from my own childhood!! A few years ago, I was in a local store’s dvd section when I ran across one titled “Garfield’ Holiday Celebrations”. Flipping it over (and keeping my fingers crossed), there it was! Garfield’s Halloween Adventure”! And you are right, I could sing every song just as if I had watched it the day before! My favorite part of the show for me was the old man telling the pirate ghost story. For a kid, it was pretty scary. Now, it always reminds me of John Carpenter’s The Fog. My sons, just like your daughter, have really liked this cartoon and we watch it every year! It is a tradition of ours just like “It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!” It was great to hear I wasn’t the only one that remembered “The one thing I’m not is a scar-d-cat!”
Thanks for sharing this awesome treat! Its unfortunate that they don’t make these sorts of specials anymore. I think its been over too long since any major network has aired an original Halloween special that could be shared by both adults and children.
I was born in the late 80′s but with an older sister I had compilation tapes my dad made. One had Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein and also on the tape was this halloween special. Needless to say, I get excited whenever I hear about it running on tv these days. The old man was terrifying but had a voice you’d want to listen to narrating horror books.
I grew up with Garfield also.I remember as a child I wrote Jim Davis a letter.He sent me a autograph picture.I wish I still had that.Thanks for posting that.
Ben,
I am still a big Garfield fan to this day and my sister and I both watched the special on DVD just last week. We make it an annual tradition too. And my sister is 26 and I’ll be 32 later this year, but it still makes us laugh and we really enjoy watching it as part of our Halloween celebrations.
Ben Scrivens, you make me smile
This brings back memories!
“Boom. Ya go out, ya get candy.”
Such a huge part of my childhood. Thanks for sharing the memories!
i absolutely love this special i’ve watched this special every year since i was a child it’s a fav for me and my family that and other greats like charlie brown, the worst witch, mr. boogedy and bride of boogedy, the night dracula saved the world, witchs night out and mad monster party to name a few…. but i just wanted to let everyone know that you don’t have to watch any of these classics on youtube you can get them on dvd to have as a permanent fixture for your holiday needs…garfield is on a holiday disc with halloween, thanksgiving and christmas. and i found boogedy and witchs night out plus dracula saved the world from a ebay seller named meatfield hopefully this helps anyone whose looking for nostalgic pieces from their holiday childhood!
i love watching GI Joe, both the cartoon series and the movie. I am hoping that they would make a sequel. :
i am one of the biggest fans of both GI Joe animated version and movie. GI Joe is the best,`”
GI JOE cartoons and the GI JOE Movie are all great stuff “‘,
Awww Ben, We watch A Halloween Garfield every single year since i have been a little girl. Its a tradition. We Also watch Christmas and Thanksgiving Garfield as well! Our family is very big on traditions! Great Memories!
Make a shirt based on the special. I’ve had fond memories of watching it too, and I did again a few weeks ago.
So glad your daughter liked it!
I often wonder if the Halloween specials we grew up on appeal to the young-uns of today. Glad to see that they do.