Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1985)

AKA: Garfield in Disguise

The fat orange cat loves Halloween. What's not to love? You get to dress up like a pirate and demand free candy from strangers. This one used to spook me when I was a kid because there was an actual element of danger to it. That's what used to make Halloween fun. Specials like this, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown still occupy a part of the brain I long associate with childhood. This is still worth revisiting nearly 40 years later.

5 HEEEEEEEYYY KIDS!!!!!! out of 5

Garfield's Thanksgiving Special (1989)

The eleventh TV Special for the self-important, self-indulgent, sarcastic fat cat takes place on Thanksgiving (obviously), a day of traditional gorging and belts under stress. But, worst luck, the food situation in the Arbuckle house isn't entirely Garfield-friendly.
There’s not a single second of wasted dialogue or unnecessary footage weighing the story down, And the parts that seemed schmaltzy to me as a kid now resonate a lot more agreeably as an adult.

4 cruel streaks out of 5

A Garfield Christmas Special (1987)

A Garfield Christmas Special is one of those rare treats that I look forward to all year long. Like A Charlie Brown Christmas, it's become a holiday tradition as well as a defining part of my childhood. Garfield, Odie and Jon head to the farm to spend the season with mom, dad, Doc Boy and dear old grandma (a colorful cast if ever there was one). Meanwhile, Odie's up to something strange and mysterious. It's fun and heartwarming and never fails to put a smile on this poor, jaded, disillusioned boy's face.

5 Binky, The Clown That Saves Christmas's out of 5