As a kid one of the biggest joys of the Christmas season, other than the presents, was the holiday specials that aired on television through out December. The vast majority of these specials have fallen through the cracks, but there are a few that have become classics. A Garfield Christmas first aired on December 21, 1987 and it is one of those specials that my family still watches. The reason Garfield works to well is that humor appeals to both kids and adults; it also doesn’t have the patronizing tone that can be found in many children’s shows. Garfield, much like Charles M Schulz’s Peanuts, was a fairly popular comic strip that successfully transitioned to television. Garfield is a cynical cat who lives with his, slightly neurotic, owner Jon and Odie, Jon’s idiotic dog.
The premise to A Garfield is fairly
simple: Jon, with Garfield and Odie in tow, visits his family on the farm. While Jon and Odie are enthusiastic about
spending Christmas on the farm, Garfield is filled with absolute dread. He doesn’t want to leave the comfy confines of
his city home to visit a bunch of yokels in the middle of nowhere. However, much to his surprise, Garfield
actually enjoys himself and even gives a “heartfelt” speech at the end of the
episode.
Jon’s family is a rather colorful bunch:
Jon’s father is your stereotypical country bumpkin, whose enthusiasm for the
holiday has begun to wear thin. When it
is time to put the Christmas Star on top of the Christmas Tree, he asks “Why do
we always have to put the star on last? Why not put the star on first and then
put the tree up?” In his old age, it has
become too much of a hassle. When it is time for him to read the traditional
Christmas story, he gets annoyed and asks, “Do I have to?” His reaction here is
understandable given that both of his sons, Jon and Doc Boy, are now grown men.
Jon’s mother is a cheerful woman who is bit overzealous when it comes to the holidays. She has a tendency of making too much food; when Jon asks for a piece of pie, she asks, “Apple, peach, pumpkin, blue berry, cherry, or banana cream?”
Jon’s younger brother, Doc Boy, is immature and fairly sarcastic. When he wakes up on Christmas morning, he is wearing furry bunny themed pajamas. It’s also telling that one of his presents is a toy air plane; despite him being a grown man.
Jon’s grandmother is a cantankerous old lady who seems to be
at odds with everyone.
When Jon’s mom remakes, “This is going to be the happiest Christmas. I’m so
happy I could just burst.”
Grandma replies with, “Put a sock in it, deary!”
It’s not surprising that Garfield takes an immediate liking to grandma – they
are kindred spirits.
A Garfield Christmas moves at really rapid pace. It swiftly moves from one set piece to another without every missing a beat. While that may not seem like much of accomplishment given its short running time (23 minutes), there are plenty of other animated specials from that era that feel like an eternity, despite being less than half an hour log.
One of the funniest gags in the show is how the closer it gets to Christmas the more child-like Jon and Doc Boy become. There is a funny bit where Jon and Doc Boy wake up their dad early in the morning (1:30 AM) and ask, “Is it time to open presents?” When their dad says no, Jon rebuts that it is “technically Christmas morning.” Their father shouts for them to “GO TO BED” and they grudgingly obey him. There is also a rather poignant scene where Grandma reminisces to Garfield about her late husband, and how Christmas is when she misses him to the most. It is interesting to see this type of heartfelt moment in a children’s cartoon. The special takes a short break from all the insanity and allows for Grandma to her own moment. This also sets up the scene later where Garfield finds old love letters written by Grandpa, and then gives them to Grandma as Christmas presents. It’s one of the rare moments where Grandma, publicly, allows for her cynical mask to slip.
A Garfield Christmas is
one of the few 80s Christmas specials that actually holds up. This is in large
part due to the fact that it doesn’t scream “1980s” like most specials at the
time. Even the music score and songs feel like something from a different
era. The first number “Can’t Wait Til
Christmas” feels like something out of a Broadway musical, while the final
number “Good Old Fashioned Christmas” has a bluegrass type feel to it. The most important thing, however, is that
there is air of familiarity about the special
- there’s at least one thing that a viewer can relate to. Most of us had to get into the family car at
Christmas and visits are relatives, often with mixed results. It’s to the credit of Garfield creator, Jim
Davis, that he wrote a fairly low key special. He could have easily done
something crazy (like have Garfield team up with Santa) instead he went with
the more relatable approach.
Credits
Voices: Lorenzo Music (Garfield), Thom
Huge (Jon), Gregg Berger (Odie), Pat Carroll (Grandma), Pat Harrington, Jr.
(Dad), David L. Lander (Doc Boy), Julie Payne (Mom)
Writer: Jim Davis
Director: Phil Roman, George Singer
Running Time: 23 min.
