This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008)

A Garfield Christmas is the sixth half-hour animated special based on the Garfield comic strip. It features the voice and music talent that is common in Garfield animated specials including Lorenzo Music (the voice of Garfield) and Lou Rawls (provides the songs). The special was first broadcast on CBS on December 21, 1987. A Garfield Christmas has earned a place in the Christmas television special canon and has enjoyed traditional holiday-time airings on the network since its premiere, until 2000. For most of its time on CBS it was paired back-to-back with A Charlie Brown Christmas, which, like the Garfield specials, was produced by Lee Mendelson.

CBS, which aired a wide variety of Christmas specials including Garfield through the 1990s, dropped the rights to the special in 2000 (along with many others). The rights were picked up by Fox (as part of the deal that allowed for the production of the Garfield feature film), but that network did not air the special. However, they did release the special on DVD.

ABC Family purchased the rights to A Garfield Christmas in 2008; the special aired on cable television for the first time that year as a part of the network's annual 25 Days of Christmas marathon. However, the special has not aired on ABC Family's co-owned broadcast network, ABC.

Contents 1 Storyline 2 Songs in A Garfield Christmas 3 Edits 4 External links

[edit] Storyline

Garfield wakes up to see Jon dressed as an elf, who says it is Christmas and Garfield must be treated to a large amount of lasanga and get his gift, which consists of a robotic Santa which reads minds and produces whatever Garfield wants, pleasing him until he actually wakes up and sees Jon say it is Christmas Eve and that Garfield, Jon, and Odie are going to the countryside to celebrate Christmas with Jon's family on their farm. Making their animated debuts are the sweet and always cooking Mom, hard working farmer Dad, mischievous younger brother Doc Boy, and the tough as nails Grandma. As we get to know the wacky members of Jon's family, Odie is busy working on something secretive. Grandma and Garfield eventually grow a special bond. That night Garfield finds out about Odie's suspicious activity and follows him into the barn. While there he stumbles upon some old letters. The next morning is Christmas and just when it seems like all the presents have been opened, Garfield gives Grandma the letters he found in the barn. These letters were love notes written to Grandma by her late husband from when they first met and courted. Garfield finds out that Odie had been busy making Garfield the ultimate Christmas gift: a homemade back scratcher. This is a rare glimpse at Garfield's other side, as he learns one of the true meanings of Christmas.

[edit] Songs in A Garfield Christmas

• "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" performed by Lou Rawls
• "Can't Wait Till Christmas" performed by Thom Huge and Lorenzo Music
• "O Christmas Tree" performed by Pat Carroll
• "Christmas in Your Heart" performed by ensemble and Desirée Goyette
• "You Can Never Find an Elf When You Need One" performed by Lou Rawls and Desirée Goyette
• "A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas" (ending song) performed by ensemble

This special is available on the DVD Garfield's Holiday Celebrations.

[edit] Edits

• When this special first aired in 1987, the piano gathering scene was not featured (like it was in the book version). In 1989, that scene was added to the special. Doc Boy attempts to play the piano and sing O Christmas Tree (which he does poorly), until Grandma knocks him off the piano bench. She then plays a jazzy, boogie-woogie rendition of the carol, ending it with scat singing ("Boop-boop-dee-boop!"). This version of the special appears on the DVD.
• Also, there is a scene where Jon is seen leaving his driveway and then driving down the road, before the scene where he reaches the city limits. This scene is not shown in the video or the DVD.
• There is an alternate scene. After reading Binky Saves Christmas to Jon and Doc Boy, they bowl him over in his chair when they go to bed. The father is shown with a dizzy look on his face. In the video and DVD versions, the father rests his head in his hand, as if to say, "I had to read this book again?"
• Four scenes that only appear in the comic adaptation:
  • Garfield attempts to give Odie away to Jon's parents as a Christmas present
  • Jon attempts to help out his dad and Doc Boy with bailing hay.
  • After trimming the tree, when Mom says, "It just wouldn't be Christmas if we put the star on first, honey," Dad responds by saying, "One more remark like that and you'll see stars, woman." This was edited from TV as well.
  • In the barn, Garfield finds that Odie is having trouble finishing his present, so while Odie isn't looking, he helps him.
• At the end of the revised version, the copyright is dated 1991.

[edit] External links

• A Garfield Christmas Special at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Garfield by Jim Davis Characters Garfield · Jon Arbuckle · Odie  · List of characters in Garfield Television Here Comes Garfield · Garfield on the Town · Garfield in the Rough · Garfield's Halloween Adventure · Garfield in Paradise · Garfield Goes Hollywood · A Garfield Christmas · Happy Birthday, Garfield · Garfield: His 9 Lives · Garfield and Friends (Episodes) · Garfield's Babes and Bullets · Garfield's Thanksgiving · Garfield's Feline Fantasies · Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue · Garfield Gets a Life · The Garfield Show Video games Garfield · Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal · Garfield: A Winter's Tail · Garfield: A Week of Garfield · Garfield Labyrinth · Garfield: Caught in the Act · Garfield's Mad About Cats · Garfield: The Search for Pooky · Garfield and His Nine Lives · Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties · Garfield's Nightmare · Garfield Gets Real · Garfield's Fun Fest Films and DVDs Garfield as Himself · Garfield's Holiday Celebrations · Garfield's Travel Adventures · Garfield's Fantasies · Garfield Cat Tales · Garfield: The Movie · Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties · Garfield Gets Real · Garfield's Fun Fest · Garfield's Pet Force Books Garfield At Large: His First Book · Garfield Gains Weight: His Second Book · Pet Force · Garfield's Judgment Day  · Garfield at 25: In Dog Years I'd Be Dead Other U.S. Acres · Gnorm Gnat · Mr. Potato Head · Comic strip switcheroo · Klopman diamond · Garfield Minus Garfield  · Am I Cool or What?  · Paws, Inc.  · Professor Garfield