Garfield: As Himself (Garfield on the Town / Garfield Gets a Life / Here Comes Garfield)

Customer reviews:

Three Classic, Must-Own Garfield TV Specials!, 2008-05-26
"Garfield as Himself" brings together Garfield's first two television specials from the early '80's, plus one more from the early '90's, on one DVD! It's a must have for the Garfield fan of any age!

First, it's "Here Comes Garfield", Garfield's 1982 television debut! In this story, which stars the late, great Lorenzo Music as the fat cat he voiced to fame and Sandy Kenyon as the original voice of Jon Arbuckle, Garfield's "pal" Odie gets hauled off to the pound thanks to a cranky neighbor. Soon, it's Garfield to the rescue! One can easily see where the live-action Garfield film of 2004 borrowed some of its truest moments from this television classic! This one was nominated for 2 Primetime Emmy awards. I'm amazed that while this one didn't win one, the next special did.

That next special is 1983's "Garfield on the Town", and don't get me wrong, it's good, but I prefer the former. This one is a bit sappier, like the Garfield Christmas Special was, with a truly sappy song I find a little irritating, ha. But it's an enjoyable adventure anyway, as Garfield gets lost in town and discovers the Italian restaurant where he was born, not to mention his long lost family! Thom Huge taking over as the voice of Jon is another plus for this one.

Finally, we pick up with Garfield many TV specials later with his only post '80's special, "Garfield Gets a Life". Actually, this one turns out to be more about Jon getting a life, or more specifically, a date. More in the spirit of the "Garfield and Friends" TV series of the time, this one has the most laughs of them all and is still a nice little story, though a very simple one.

"Garfield as Himself" features cover art of modern Garfield viewing his earlier, and frankly, uglier incarnation in a mirror. It's a great image for the cover of this DVD. There's one extra, a behind the scenes look at the first live-action Garfield movie. If you're a fan of Garfield, you'll definitely want to pick it up along with the famous "Garfield Holiday Celebrations". You'll also need "Garfield Fantasies", "Garfield Travel Adventures", the "Garfield and Friends" TV show, and I also recommend the two live-action films. The live-action films are flawed, but I feel they are mostly good. Garfield and Odie are well done in them, but while I liked the casting, Jon and Liz aren't written as they were for the comics and cartoons (Nermal and Arlene weren't done right either, but they're not even in "A Tale of Two Kitties"). Whatever you pick up though, you'll definitely want this one and the holiday DVD! Oh, how I miss the days of the primetime cartoon special!

Great, great movie, a must for an original gift!, 2005-09-04
What a great dvd this is! We checked some of these on video out of the library for our little one to watch and I was just thrilled to find they were combined on a dvd here on amazon. Here Comes Garfield is really funny - I love how he harasses his neighbor's dog but Odie winds up in the pound as a result. The one-liners that Garfield says in this dvd is just priceless. I particularly like the last one where he's trying to interfere with Jon's love life. Garfield finally relents to Jon dating someone but gets a little sad when she discovers that she is allergic to him. Garfield on the town is quite neat - he finds his mother and was actually born in an Italian kitchen in a lasagna pan (go figure!). It's very, very cute and well done. Wish there were more out there. Be sure you introduce these cartoons to the younger crowd - kids still love them as much as we did when we were young. They're quite a hit in our house!

Hey, how about getting Eddie Murphy or Will Smith to do Garfield's voice now and make a few more of these? Hope someone's listening out there in California land. These dvd's are just classics. Highly recommend!