Cast: Thom Huge, Gregg Berger, Lorenzo Music
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Thinking back to my childhood, one of my favorite cartoons was Garfield and Friends. It was one of the later airing shows in the Saturday Morning lineup. Of course, this was back when Saturday Morning Cartoons meant something. It was on around 11-12 and I would sit there the whole hour laughing at Garfield, Odie, Jon, and the barnyard animals that would air between the Garfield shorts. It was always one of my favorite hours of the day. Looking back now, having kids of my own, I am still a sucker for Garfield and his antics.
Garfield these days tends to be either hit or miss with me. I was not a fan of the pseudo-live action movies and I didn’t care for the recent stint into CGI with Garfield Gets Real. However, I have always adored the cartoons. This DVD just reminded me what I miss about cartoons. It is filled with laughs and should prove to be a great time for the whole family.
Release Information:
Garfield and Friends was a popular cartoon from the beginning of its run in 1988 until the end of the show in 1995. Now thanks to the power of DVDs it has the chance to become popular all over again to a whole new crowd of children. In recent years there have been a number of Garfield and Friends
Garfield was released on May 13, 2008. This should be available at most retail stores offering children’s DVDs or cartoons. You can pick this DVD up at Amazon for $12.99 or you can pick it up at Walmart, where A Cat And His Nerd retails for $12.98.
The Garfield: A Cat and His Nerd Plot
Before we get into the best parts of this DVD, of which there are many, I am going to mention one of the most disappointing aspects. While the episodes included in this DVD are from the show Garfield and Friends, the friends are not actually anywhere to be found on this DVD. If you’re a big fan of that wacky farm house, you may be slightly disappointed, as I was, to find that they were not included here. Garfield is excellent all on his own, but it was one of the few things worth complaining about.
Now that we have that out of the way, we can discuss all the good things that are offered here in this DVD. If you loved Garfield as a child, this will transport you back to those days. If you have kids, this is a great starter to get them into Garfield and all of his wild antics. There are 15 Garfield shorts, most of which are hilarious all in their own way. Garfield manages to get into trouble around every corner, in any possible way that he can.
The shorts include:
“Wedding Bell Blues”: Garfield mistakenly thinks that Jon is getting married, which sets his imagination to wander.
“Jukebox Jon”: Jon attempts to get rid of a nasty habit, but Garfield doesn’t prove to be too helpful.
“The Great Inventor”: Garfield explains how a cat invented lasagna.
“Jumping Jon”: Jon has plans to go skydiving, but Garfield doesn’t think that’s a good idea.
“Supersonic Seymour”: Jon hires on someone to help him do more things around the house.
“Jon the Barbarian”: Jon risks it all to win the love of his life, in this historical cartoon.
“Jailbird Jon”: During a visit to the prison where Jon teaches cartooning to the inmates, he is mistaken for a prisoner.
“Rolling Romance”: Garfield tries to convince Jon he’s getting a bad deal on a new car.
“Sit on It”: Garfield sits on one of Jon’s books and won’t get off.
“Model Behavior”: Jon runs into someone out of his league at the beach.
“Garfield Goes Hawaiian”: Garfield ends up on an animal talent show.
“The Black Book”: Jon can’t wait to go out with Heather, but wouldn’t you know, something goes wrong.
“Twice Told Tale”: The tale of frozen yogurt.
“D.J. Jon”: Jon and the gang go to visit Cousin George.
“Dream Date”: Jon goes on television in hopes of finding love.
Each episode lasts for less than 10 minutes, usually ending at about the 7-8 minute mark. The 8 minutes gives the plot enough time to develop (it’s a cartoon, after all) and gives Garfield loads of time to do all the damage he’s ever dreamed of doing. As I mentioned earlier, Garfield’s friends aren’t here or if they are the occurrence is not even worth mentioning. Most of the shorts deal with the Jon/Garfield or Odie/Garfield relationships. That being said, plenty of laughs are present here and the DVD is well worth watching. There are a couple of shorts that were not as funny; though the majority was laugh out loud entertainment.
The most annoying part of the DVD overall had to be the opening sequence. You can only hear the Garfield and Friends song so many times before you lose it. Luckily fast forward works well and I just skipped through the theme music after watching the first couple episodes. They really could have left the music out, but with the option of fast forward it wasn’t that big a deal that it was present. It did not mess with the viewing enjoyment and most kids will love the theme song, so it wasn’t much of a problem for them.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
is an older cartoon done with old fashioned methods, children of the 80s and before will feel right at home with these vividly colored drawings made into animations. Garfield looks as good as he always has. The transfer looks remarkable considering the age of the cartoon. It is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Overall, there are small problems, but nothing worth complaining about as it doesn’t ruin the video or your enjoyment level.
Audio is available in both English and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono. The audio was a little iffy at times. Some volume toggling was necessary due to the fact that the theme song could be a little bit louder than the actual cartoon. However, when it wasn’t necessary to play with the volume, things sounded better than you would expect from a low grade transfer for a cartoon of this age.
Visual: 
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Garfield and Friends is presented all on its own without the addition of any bonus features. This is pretty common for a lot of older cartoons, though I am certain that Garfield fans will be sad to hear this and would have liked some bonus options for this mix-matched DVD set.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Even with some minor faults, this is still an excellent Garfield DVD. If you want to spend time with Garfield’s friends you’re going to be better off getting one of the larger box sets, which does include them. Otherwise, if you’re looking for something on the more inexpensive side or you just want to introduce your child to Garfield to see if they like the show, this is going to be absolutely perfect. It is highly recommended for fans, kids, and of course, family viewing.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Movie, DVD Review, Garfield, A Cat and His Nerd, Cartoons, Odie, Jon, Arbuckle, Friends, Childrens DVD
Written by Ashtyn Evans – Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn attends Wright State where she is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.
