First Things First…
This was an absolute staple of my childhood. But I think they stopped airing it on TV much sooner than the Garfield Christmas and Thanksgiving specials, so I had to rediscover it on DVD.
Old-school Garfield is always funny, but this isn’t quite as funny as those other two specials. But it’s genuinely spooky for a kids’ special. It premiered on October 30, 1985, when I was 4 ½ years old—and the ghosts and the old man definitely got to me!
6 Things I Like
6. Binky Doesn’t Want You to Be Worthless
“Remember, kids, if you don’t exercise with Binky, you’re gonna grow up to be worthless!”
Binky the Clown
The irreverence of old-school Garfield is something to behold.
Garfield is woken up on Halloween morning by Binky the Clown on TV, who’s doing his best drill sergeant motivation to get kids—and Garfield himself—to exercise.
Why?
So they’re in shape to get as much candy as possible when they go trick-or-treating that night…
… and because—according to Binky—if you don’t exercise, you’re lazy and worthless!
5. “Alabama Song” Redux
Since there’s a pirate motif throughout the special, there’s also a pirate song that plays a few times. Sometimes it’s just the music and sometimes it has lyrics, too. But either way, it’s always reminded me of my favorite song by The Doors, “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar).” I can almost hear, “Show me the way to the next whiskey bar” as Garfield sings “60 men all lost at sea, all of them drunk except for me.”
4. Odie’s Unbridled Enthusiasm
This could be a positive point in every Garfield cartoon. Enthusiasm is Odie’s dominant trait, and it’s so endearing.
When Garfield tells Odie Halloween is the night when it’s dogs’ job to help cats get as much candy as possible, Odie gives a little side eye.
But the promise of a single piece of candy for himself if he does a good job is all it takes to get Odie jumping up and down, panting in excitement. That eagerness is just who Odie is.
3. The Finer Points of Trick or Treating
“Gimme.”
Garfield
Garfield makes a cute pirate as Orange Beard, alongside his first mate, Odie the Stupid. And he’s not kidding when he tells Odie he’s gonna show him the finer points of trick or treating. At the very first house they go to, the woman who answers isn’t generous enough for Garfield’s liking, so he tells her…
“Methinks you be a mite stingy with your candy, miss. If you don’t reconsider your contribution, I’ll give your living room drapes a taste of me broadsword.”
2. “What Should I Be?”
There are a few good musical numbers in the special, but my favorite is this one, which is when Garfield and Odie find an old trunk in the attic filled with items they can use to make fun Halloween costumes.
Garfield runs through a bunch—king, vampire, black cat, even an astronaut/robot/hobo/clown all combined in one—but my favorite is the alien dressed for a night on the town.
1. Ghost Pirates and the 110-Year-Old Cabin Boy
“You’ve picked a poor night to come visiting, my friends. This could be the worst night of your lives.”
Old Man
Like I said at the top, I was only 4 ½ when this special came out in 1985. I can’t say for sure if I saw it when it premiered, but I know I was very young when I first saw it. And I loved it from the start, but I was definitely a little scared of it. It’s actually spooky!
For starters, the decrepit-looking old man is scary, with his warts and wrinkles and angry eyebrows.
He also has an incredible knack for storytelling, kicking off his story with an amazing opening line…
“What I am about to tell you has never been told to another living soul.”
And after explaining the pirates’ blood pact, and that they’re going to return at midnight that night, 100 years to the day after burying their treasure, he says…
“There’s no escaping them. They know we’re here! They know who we are!”
And the best—and spookiest—part is that his story is true!
This isn’t a Scooby-Doo situation, with a logical explanation and a real person behind the apparitions. These are actual pirate ghosts whose ghost ship appears out of thin air, and who enter the house, disappear through the floor boards, and reappear with their “ill-gotten gains.”
They also scare the shit out of Garfield and Odie. They chase them off the dock, so they’re forced to float downstream, with Garfield practically drowning in the process.
The ambiance is amazing here, too. The thunder and lightning, the ticking grandfather clock, the fire, the man disappearing… I love this part of the special.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. The Neighborhood River
In no way does this affect my enjoyment of the show, but I have to ask: where does this river come from?
Aren’t they just trick or treating in a neighborhood?
Yet suddenly, there’s a river and a little rowboat, and it goes to an island with a big haunted looking house?
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Breaking and Entering
They spot the house… they peer through a front window and see there’s a fire going in the fireplace… not to mention a chair in front of the fire with its back to them, which could easily have a person sitting in it… and they just spent all night knocking on strangers’ doors asking for candy…
… but now they decide they’re going to try to kick the door in?
Aside from being a crime, isn’t this just stupid?
Just knock, my guys… and then, assuming the old man doesn’t get off his ass to answer the door, you can try the knob.
Tim Matassa
