Garfield's Halloween Adventure
Encyclopedia
Garfield's Halloween Adventure (originally titled Garfield in Disguise) is a 1985 American animated
television special
based on the Garfield
comic strip. It features Lorenzo Music
, who later voiced the character in the animated series Garfield and Friends
, as the voice of Garfield. The special's plot is one of the most darkiest stories of Garfield adaptation to television
. Garfield gets out of bed a few hours later in a good mood. He puts on his blanket and scares Jon (voiced by Thom Huge), who is busy carving a jack-o'-lantern
. Garfield then scares Odie (voiced by Gregg Berger
), but then he then gets an idea and asks Odie to help in Trick-or-treating
, in order to get twice as much candy
for himself. The two of them head for the attic
to find costumes. After trying on old clothes in a trunk, they settle on pirate costume
s.
Jon gives them sacks, tells them to have a good time and not to be out to late. They head out trick-or-treating amongst other children in the neighborhood. They visit every house in the neighborhood and Garfield declares they have had a successful evening. They step out on a dock
and Garfield notices more houses across the river, so he and Odie take a row boat to get to the other side (because the river ferry does not run at night and that is why children on either side are not able to cross the river for more candy). Garfield notices they are drifting downstream and tells Odie to put out the oar
s, but Odie misunderstands Garfield's command and throws the oars overboard, leaving the boat adrift as the current takes it down the river.
Soon the boat arrives at an abandoned dock
near a run-down mansion
. Garfield and Odie notice a light in the window and see that it is coming from a fire
in the fire place. They venture inside the home, thinking it is empty, to warm next to the fire and are startled to find an old man sitting in a nearby armchair
. The man tells the duo a story that only he knows - 100 years ago that very night, pirates, pursued by government troops, buried their treasure
in the floor of the mansion and signed a blood oath to return for the treasure at midnight
100 years later, even if it meant rising from the grave. - Garfield notices it is almost midnight and is skeptical but the man tells him to believe it. The old man then tells them the pirates had a 10 year old cabin boy
, and that he was that boy, who was with the pirates and that he never took the treasure for himself because the pirates would have tracked him down. Garfield and Odie start to leave and Garfield asks the man if he wants to come too, but the old man has disappeared. The man steals their boat and leaves the two behind.
The longcase clock
chimes midnight and Garfield and Odie watch as a ghostly ship materializes on the river and pirate ghosts emerge from the water. Garfield and Odie hide in an empty cupboard
as the ghosts reclaim their buried treasure from the floorboards of the house. As the cat and dog stay where they are, Odie sneeze
s and it alerts the ghosts to their whereabouts. Making a run for it, Garfield and Odie jump into the river to escape, where Odie has to save Garfield as he cannot swim. Garfield and Odie wash ashore and find their boat with the candy still inside and untouched. They go home happy and Garfield rewards Odie's rescue by (reluctantly) giving him his rightful share of the candy for saving his life. Garfield then turns on the television
and sees the old man, hosting an all-night pirate movie festival. Garfield abruptly turns off the television and goes to bed.
festival celebrating the day of Samhain
, Lord of Death
. After the old man disappears, Garfield and Odie notice that their boat has been pulled away by the current. The old man is not depicted rowing the boat away in the book, implying that he is a ghost who has simply vanished. Before leaving the old house, Garfield grabs a ring from the treasure, making the pirate ghosts chase the cat and the dog all the way to Garfield's house. Garfield gives the ring back and the ghosts disappear .
for Outstanding Animated Program
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
based on the Garfield
Garfield
Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
comic strip. It features Lorenzo Music
Lorenzo Music
Lorenzo Music was an American actor, voice actor, writer, television producer and musician. His best-known roles include voicing the animated cartoon cat Garfield, and Carlton the doorman on the CBS sitcom Rhoda...
, who later voiced the character in the animated series Garfield and Friends
Garfield and Friends
Garfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994, with...
, as the voice of Garfield. The special's plot is one of the most darkiest stories of Garfield adaptation to television
Plot
Garfield is awakened early in the morning by the Binky The Clown Show and learns that it is HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. Garfield gets out of bed a few hours later in a good mood. He puts on his blanket and scares Jon (voiced by Thom Huge), who is busy carving a jack-o'-lantern
Jack-o'-lantern
A jack-o'-lantern is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o'-lantern...
. Garfield then scares Odie (voiced by Gregg Berger
Gregg Berger
Greggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
), but then he then gets an idea and asks Odie to help in Trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating or "Guising", is a customary practice for children on Halloween in many countries. Children in costumes travel from house to house in order to ask for treats such as candy with the question "Trick or treat?"...
, in order to get twice as much candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
for himself. The two of them head for the attic
Attic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
to find costumes. After trying on old clothes in a trunk, they settle on pirate costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
s.
Jon gives them sacks, tells them to have a good time and not to be out to late. They head out trick-or-treating amongst other children in the neighborhood. They visit every house in the neighborhood and Garfield declares they have had a successful evening. They step out on a dock
Dock
-In transportation:*Dock , a structure for handling ships**Drydock, a basin that can be flooded and drained to allow a load to come to rest on a dry platform**Ferry slip, a docking facility that receives a ferryboat...
and Garfield notices more houses across the river, so he and Odie take a row boat to get to the other side (because the river ferry does not run at night and that is why children on either side are not able to cross the river for more candy). Garfield notices they are drifting downstream and tells Odie to put out the oar
Oar
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles are that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...
s, but Odie misunderstands Garfield's command and throws the oars overboard, leaving the boat adrift as the current takes it down the river.
Soon the boat arrives at an abandoned dock
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
near a run-down mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
. Garfield and Odie notice a light in the window and see that it is coming from a fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
in the fire place. They venture inside the home, thinking it is empty, to warm next to the fire and are startled to find an old man sitting in a nearby armchair
Armchair
An armchair is a chair with arm rests.Armchair may also refer to:*Armchair nanotube, a carbon nanotube with chiral symmetry*Armchair, a sitting sex position*Armchair , a bus operator in London...
. The man tells the duo a story that only he knows - 100 years ago that very night, pirates, pursued by government troops, buried their treasure
Buried treasure
A buried treasure is an important part of the popular beliefs surrounding pirates and Old West outlaws. According to popular conception, criminals and others often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return for them later, often with the use of treasure maps.-Pirate...
in the floor of the mansion and signed a blood oath to return for the treasure at midnight
Midnight
Midnight is the transition time period from one day to the next: the moment when the date changes. In the Roman time system, midnight was halfway between sunset and sunrise, varying according to the seasons....
100 years later, even if it meant rising from the grave. - Garfield notices it is almost midnight and is skeptical but the man tells him to believe it. The old man then tells them the pirates had a 10 year old cabin boy
Cabin boy
A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....
, and that he was that boy, who was with the pirates and that he never took the treasure for himself because the pirates would have tracked him down. Garfield and Odie start to leave and Garfield asks the man if he wants to come too, but the old man has disappeared. The man steals their boat and leaves the two behind.
The longcase clock
Longcase clock
A longcase clock, also tall-case clock, floor clock, or grandfather clock, is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower, or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are commonly 1.8–2.4 metres tall...
chimes midnight and Garfield and Odie watch as a ghostly ship materializes on the river and pirate ghosts emerge from the water. Garfield and Odie hide in an empty cupboard
Cupboard
A cupboard or press is a type of cabinet, often made of wood, used indoors to store household objects such as food, crockery, textiles and liquor, and protect them from dust,vermin and dirt....
as the ghosts reclaim their buried treasure from the floorboards of the house. As the cat and dog stay where they are, Odie sneeze
Sneeze
A sneeze is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa...
s and it alerts the ghosts to their whereabouts. Making a run for it, Garfield and Odie jump into the river to escape, where Odie has to save Garfield as he cannot swim. Garfield and Odie wash ashore and find their boat with the candy still inside and untouched. They go home happy and Garfield rewards Odie's rescue by (reluctantly) giving him his rightful share of the candy for saving his life. Garfield then turns on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and sees the old man, hosting an all-night pirate movie festival. Garfield abruptly turns off the television and goes to bed.
Book adaptation
There are some differences between the TV special and its book adaptation. While they are trick-or-treating, Garfield tells Odie a little of Halloween's history, with its origins as a seventh-century druidDruid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
festival celebrating the day of Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
, Lord of Death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. After the old man disappears, Garfield and Odie notice that their boat has been pulled away by the current. The old man is not depicted rowing the boat away in the book, implying that he is a ghost who has simply vanished. Before leaving the old house, Garfield grabs a ring from the treasure, making the pirate ghosts chase the cat and the dog all the way to Garfield's house. Garfield gives the ring back and the ghosts disappear .
Awards
In 1986, Garfield's Halloween Adventure won a Primetime Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Animated Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...