Here Comes Garfield

I'm 46 and have seen tons of show. This is the only show/movie that ever made me cry.

As you may know, Garfield movies are animated frame-by-frame adaptations of the Garfield mini-books (the story specials, not the numbered books), with a few songs thrown in. Here Comes Garfield was the first movie, with nine more to follow.

OK, maybe it's just a cheesy 25-minute cartoon translation of a comic book, but I found it to be done remarkably well. I was embarrassingly moved by the tear-jerking "Goodbye My Friend" song that played around the time of Odie's impending execution. That was at age 7. Well, now that this just came out on the new "Garfield As Himself" DVD (which also contains the 2nd and 10th movies), I watched it last night at freaking 23, and damnit, I STILL almost cried. Then I felt like cheering when the "Together Again" reunion song got me all roused up during the big city pound breakout.

If you're a Garfield fan, prone to being moved by music, and have any problem admitting what a sensitive wuss you are, don't see this.

Most feature-length movies achieve only half of what Here Comes Garfield does. Even though it's only 24 minutes long. Garfield and Odie may have a love/hate relationship but deep down they need each other.

The feline and the canine torment an old neighbor, who promptly calls the animal pound, who takes Odie away. Garfield bids good riddance but later at night the guilt and dread of a missing Odie overpowers him and he sets about rescuing him from the pound.

Garfield may have come from a simple comic strip but there are some touching moments in this TV Special that prove why he has been so consistently popular for the past 25 years.

The animation mimics Jim Davis' early incarnation of Garfield (this was made in 1982) and although it's not as refined as the modern Garfield he's still the same great, fat cat. The late Lorenzo Music is his voice (or thoughts), though Thom Huge is not the voice of John, he would appear in the further TV Specials and the later TV Series.

A genuine classic.

I would have rated this attempt by Jim Davis and Co. about a five because I felt as though it wasn't creative and didn't seem to show that true Garfield spark we saw later on, but I changed my mind and gave it brownie points for the musical talent. The Song we hear as Odie is taken away to be put to sleep is soulful and beautifully sung (by who I'm not sure) and it captures the thoughts Garfield was having as he contemplated life without his best friend... I say CLOSE but not QUITE what I'll call a Jim Davis triumph- for that you'll have to watch, Garfield Goes to Hollywood and A Garfield Christmas.

Chances are that at least once throughout your life, you've read a Garfield comic, watched one of the specials, or even some of the tv show adaptations. You can say what you want about how popular Jim Davis' big orange cat is, but you can't deny how much his fame made an impact in both comics and television animation. Well, if we're to go back to his roots in animation, then why not check out the special that started it all, Here Comes Garfield. Released in 1982, the special proved to be such a hit that more specials and the beloved Garfield & Friends would come out later on. But how does this one age?

The general storyline revolves around Garfield and Odie's mischief getting to the point of Odie being sent to the pound, leaving Garfield to save his friend. Yeah, the storyline is really basic, especially when most of the humor is taken directly from certain comic strips. However, what makes this special work well is the genuine heart. Garfield may mess with Odie a lot, but it is made clear how much he cares for him as a friend. He may go through the same routine of playing and eating as much food as possible, but without a friend, he becomes quite lonely. Add in a very emotional tearjerker of a song "So Long Old Friend" and you've got the heartfelt relationship that made Garfield and Odie so lovable.

So as simple as the special is, in addition to the low budget animation mind you, Here Comes Garfield still succeeds in representing the charm and even heart of Garfield that has been lost for so long. Many incarnations of the cat have come and gone, but not many of them have quite the amount of sweetness that this adaptation offers. In a way, it's possibly one of the most faithful out of all the Garfield franchise in terms of respecting the source material. I think it's safe to safe to say that Garfield won the attention of others out of his cynical albeit soft and charismatic charm more than any other comic cat ever could have, and this special understood that dearly.