Garfield in Paradise

I was never too keen on Garfield in Paradise, there is just something about it that doesn't gel. Garfield TV specials are always great but there's a couple of annoying things in this one.

Jon has taken Garfield (and a stowaway Odie) to Hawaii for a vacation, staying in a lousy hotel after a third class plane ride. Everything about their trip reeks of sleaze. Soon they happen upon a native village (containing a very irritating, gibberish-talking short guy showing asscrack that belongs in something like The Simpons) and have to drive their 1957 vintage rentacar into a volcano to plug the hole.

There's not much more to it than that I'm afraid. Though seeing as how I'm trying to plan a sunny beach holiday it did kinda put me off booking a cheap hotel and flight.

Garfield, Odie, and Jon Arbuckle are going on another vacation trip.

This time it's Hawaii for real! Jon Arbuckle and Garfield flew all the way on 3rd Class, along with Odie secretly strode away in the luggage. When they landed in Hawaii they went to their motel, which wasn't as promising as it said in the brochure. So they decide to rent a car and search for some real action.

As they explored the island, they come across a Hawaiian tribe that worships classic cars. As it's said according to legend that dropping a classic car into an erupting volcano can prevent havoc on the paradise. But will it really stop the eruption that's about to begin momentarily? This TV movie is funny and well thought up. What's cool is they have THE WolfMan Jack portraying the Hawaiian Chief which makes this Garifeld TV movie a memorable one. You're able to see it off of the Garifeld Travel Adventures DVD.

"Chrome........chrome........chrome............ Bop bop a re-bop! Chrome....." 30+years later and my Dad and I still chant that when we see a '57 or something equally chrome-esque.

We recorded this off the TV back in the 80's.

"Garfield" is one of the classic comic strips of all time, and it spawned several classic TV series and specials. This is one of them.

Okay, the idea of taking the usual gang of people and sending them to Hawaii for some fun in the sun is not a new idea for sequels. Not even the idea of having the gang get mixed up with a forgotten tribe of polynesians who worship the volcano god and want to toss people into the pit of lava as a sacrifice is new. Having the lost tribe of Polynesians be a bunch of neo-1950's beatniks and surfer dudes is possibly a new spin on the old premise, however, and the humor is up to the usual Garfield standards.

Yes, this is a bunch of corporate-created commercial fluff, but for what it is, it's still pretty darn funny.

I do actually believe that I have watched the 1986 animated movie "Garfield In Paradise" once before, because as I sat down to watch it here in 2024, the storyline seemed very familiar. However, I must admit that I have no recollection of this movie prior to watching it. So perhaps I had entirely forgotten about it and watching it sort of recalled parts of the storyline.

The storyline in "Garfield In Paradise" is pretty straightforward, and definitely is something you would expect from a classic "Garfield" story. So writer Jim Davis delivered here, especially if you enjoy the classic 1980s "Garfield" stuff.

The animation and art style in "Garfield In Paradise" is good, and certainly is tune with the other "Garfield" animated movies from that time. And it is also very much in tune with the comic strips.

If you enjoy the classic "Garfield" stuff, then "Garfield In Paradise" is well-worth watching.

My rating of director Phil Roman's 1986 "Garfield In Paradise" lands on a five out of ten stars.