Tonight, a classic Halloween special.

This was one of twelve Garfield specials created between 1982 and 1991, eventually morphing into the Garfield and Friends series. It was directed by the legendary Phil Roman, who animated How The Grinch Stole Christmas, directed most of the seventies Peanuts animated specials, and founded an animation studio that worked on something called The Simpsons. Much like the later Garfield: His 9 Lives this special takes a detour to somewhere unexpected; as Jim Davis said “I wanted to go somewhere that would at least scare 4-year-olds”.

The Mothership has two good articles about this special – an interview with Jim Davis, and a TV Roundtable where the writers argue (and I would agree) this special is as good as It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Have fun posting!