Customer Reviews

Garfield and Friends, Volume One

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Finally!!!!! This is great!! I always wanted Garfield and Friends on DVD!! and now my dream has come true. I just got this and it's great. The way the show goes is,

Garfield show
U.S. Acres show
Garfield Show
Garfield or U.S Acres Quickie.

Wonderfully, I found what episodes are in the show!!! Here they are (This list does not list Quickies.)

Disc 1
:Show #1: Garfield's Moving Experience / Wade, You're Afraid / Good Mousekeeping
Show #2: Nighty Nightmare / Banana Nose / Ode To Odie
Show #3: Fraidy Cat / Shell Shocked Sheldon / Nothing To Sneeze At
Show #4: Garfield: Peace and Quiet / U.S. Acres Wanted: Wade! / Garfield Goes Hawaiian
Show #5: Box O'Fun / Unidentified Flying Orson / School Daze
Show #6: Identity Crisis / The Bad Sport / Up A Tree
Show #7: Weighty Problem / The Worm Turns / Good Cat, Bad Cat
Show #8: Cabin Fever / Return Of Power Pig / Fair Exchange
Disc 2:
Show #9: The Binky Show / Keeping Cool / Don't Move!
Show #10: Magic Mutt / Short Story / Monday Misery
Show #11: Best Of Breed / National Tapioca Pudding Day / All About Odie
Show #12: Caped Avenger / Shy Fly Guy / Green Thumbs Down
Show #13: Forget Me Not / I Like Having You Around / Sales Resistance
Show #14: Pest Of A Guest / The Impractical Joker / Fat And Furry
Show #15: Rip Van Kitty / Grabbity / The Big Catnap
Show #16: The Great Getaway / Scrambled Eggs / Hansel And Garfield
Disc 3:
Show #17: The Sludge Monster / Fortune Kooky / Heatwave Holiday
Show #18: One Good Fern Deserves Another / Goody Go-Round / The Black Book
Show #19: The Legend Of The Lake / Double Oh Orson / Health Feud
Show #20: Binky Gets Cancelled! / Show Stoppers / Cutie & The Beast
Show #21: The Lasagna Zone / Sleepytime Pig / Yojumbo
Show #22: Pros And Cons / Rooster Revenge / Lights! Camera! Garfield!
Show #23: The Legend of Polecat Flats / Hogcules / Brain Boy
Show #24: Maine Course / No Laughing Matter / Attack of the Mutant
Bonus Material: Trailer for Garfield Movie

This set has three DVD's and about 9 hours and 30 minutes of film time.

This Is great!! I would also suggest Garfield as himself,also Garfield's Holiday specials coming ou this October

Garfield and Friends was always one of the funniest cartoons on TV when I was a young kid. In fact, aside from your Looney Tunes, your Animaniacs and your Fairly Oddparents, I think it's one of the funniest cartoons ever.
There are a number of "Quickies" in this show that are short jokes, most of which are animated versions of actual comic strips, and at the show's midpoint, there is a cartoon originally called "Orson's Farm" and later called "U. S. Acres," featuring a number of unique and amusing characters. Orson; the pig voice of reason and the cultured one, Wade the eternal scaredy-cat duck, Roy the trick-playing rooster, Sheldon, the walking egg whose legs are the only part of him that are hatched, but who somehow has all manner of appliances in his shell, and so on and so forth. These characters each have their own unique behavior patterns, but are funniest when some running-gag is introduced to their lives or when making fun of public service announcements (which is what I choose to interpret large parts of this cartoon as.) However, virtually every time Orson and Friends come on, they wind up in a musical number, many of which are really quite trite. However, I'm going to dismiss even many of these for a reason I will later outline.
The real meat of the show is Garfield himself, and he, Odie and Jon (and occasionally a guest-character or several) occupy two thirds of the show's longer segments. Garfield and his supporting cast are quick with a joke and good at coming up with funny coincidences and/or well thought out cartoon gags a few times every minute, which may not seem like much where sheer volume is concerned, but when Garfield does it, it feels classy.
Many of Garfield's supporting characters get by largely on the strength of either a light-hearted parody (Cactus Jake,) a modified running-gag (Binky) or else an innocence that leads to them being funny in Garfield context or developing a funny joke without realizing it (Nermal.)
However, the most funny thing about Garfield and Friends is easily its tongue-in-cheek parodies of just about everything that occurred before and during the 80s. Garfield was the master of the tongue-in-cheek parody. His show showcased rather frequently concepts that were already very popular in animated cartoon shows (such as the public service announcement, the talent show, the cowboy episodes and so forth,) but these concepts, while only mildly interesting in something like The Flintstones or Scooby-Doo, are truly hilarious in Garfield because Garfield knows how trite these concepts are, smugly professes that, then uses them anyway and in some cases, even apologizes to the audience. One that really stands out in my mind is when a half-staggering man tells Garfield, Jon and Odie to "walk this way" (another popular cartoon cliche of the time,) and he responds by looking right at the screen and saying "Don't worry, folks. We're not gonna do that stupid joke." I laugh every time I think about that. Making fun of cliches is something I've always found wonderfully amusing. I loved it in MST3K, I loved it in the Simpsons, and I love it in Garfield.
The quiet cynicism with which Garfield pulls off this lost art of making fun of the cliches appearing in one's own animated series sets a beautiful mood for humor, and when you think about it, sort of reminds you of a real cat's attitude. This is Garfield's greatest strength and the reason I have excused so much of the Triteness of U. S. Acres.
"Garfield and Friends; Volume 1" contains slightly more than one season of this wonderful show and introduces many of the characters that made the series so funny. Garfield, Binky, Odie, Jon, Nermal, Cactus Jake, Liz and more all appear herein, perfectly faithful to the spirit of the comic strip, and in my opinion, way better than the movie.
I do have one gripe, however. During the first two seasons of this show, the theme song was rather annoying (amusing, but annoying if heard more than once in the same afternoon.) Still, it's worth it to get to see these great episodes again. I hope you like them as much as I did.

The fun never ends with the first installment of the long awaited release of "Garfield and Friends" Volume 1 on DVD. This is a show that has stood the test of time and is fun for all ages. I'm 31 and I still occasionally take out my Garfield and Friends VHS tapes from their secret vault for some laughs! I, like all fans of the big orange cat, am anxiously awaiting all episodes to be released on DVD. ...I met Jim Davis last year on the 25th Anniversary tour and he is a great guy - go out and buy this DVD!!

Episodes should include:

Disc 1:
Show #4: Garfield: Peace and Quiet / U.S. Acres Wanted: Wade! / Garfield Goes Hawaiian
Show #5: Box O'Fun / Unidentified Flying Orson / School Daze
Show #2: Nighty Nightmare / Banana Nose / Ode To Odie
Show #3: Fraidy Cat / Shell Shocked Sheldon / Nothing To Sneeze At
Show #1: Garfield's Moving Experience / Wade, You're Afraid / Good Mousekeeping
Show #6: Identity Crisis / The Bad Sport / Up A Tree
Show #7: Weighty Problem / The Worm Turns / Good Cat, Bad Cat
Show #8: Cabin Fever / Return Of Power Pig / Fair Exchange
Disc 2:
Show #9: The Binky Show / Keeping Cool / Don't Move!
Show #10: Magic Mutt / Short Story / Monday Misery
Show #11: Best Of Breed / National Tapioca Pudding Day / All About Odie
Show #12: Caped Avenger / Shy Fly Guy / Green Thumbs Down
Show #13: Forget Me Not / I Like Having You Around / Sales Resistance
Show #14: Pest Of A Guest / The Impractical Joker / Fat And Furry
Show #15: Rip Van Kitty / Grabbity / The Big Catnap
Show #16: The Great Getaway / Scrambled Eggs / Hansel And Garfield
Disc 3:
Show #17: The Sludge Monster / Fortune Kooky / Heatwave Holiday
Show #18: One Good Fern Deserves Another / Goody Go-Round / The Black Book
Show #19: The Legend Of The Lake / Double Oh Orson / Health Feud
Show #20: Binky Gets Cancelled! / Show Stoppers / Cutie & The Beast
Show #21: The Lasagna Zone / Sleepytime Pig / Yojumbo
Show #22: Pros And Cons / Rooster Revenge / Lights! Camera! Garfield!
Show #23: The Legend of Polecat Flats / Hogcules / Brain Boy
Show #24: Maine Course / No Laughing Matter / Attack of the Mutant
Bonus Material: Trailer for Garfield Movie

Note: this review is NOT an endorsement for the upcoming feature film, which I will NOT be seeing. (Despite my deep admiration for the talented Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield)

It's great seeing this on DVD. What's even better is that the DVDs are exactly how the show was originally when it aired on CBS! Forget about the syndicated run that jumps from channel to channel and is currently on Toon Disney. That is nowhere near complete.

Instead of the syndication run where you see this format:
generic "We're ready to party" theme
Garfield episode
US Acres episode
Garfield quickie
generic "We're ready to party" closing theme,

the ORIGINAL format is completely restored on the DVDs:
Garfield quickie
"Friends are there" opening theme song ("we're ready to party" didn't come until a couple seasons later, but is the only theme song that is in the syndication run, even when they are showing the older episodes!!!!)
Garfield Episode
Orson's Farm quicke (original title cards have also been restored)
Orson's Farm episode
Garfield episode
Garfield quickie (sometimes a "Screaming with Binky")
"friends are there" closing theme

So that's 3 quickies instead of 1, which means MUCH footage is lost on the syndicated run! Plus, the syndicated run apparantly often has the wrong credits, since there were a lot of guest voices on the show from time to time and they choose to use that same generic "we're ready to party" closing theme song for EVERY episode.

Instead of watching it this way, get the DVDs. You'll be glad you did!

Though labelled as a Saturday Morning show, Garfield and Friends was shown on weekday evenings over here. Obviously, as I've always been a Garfield fan, I loved the show when I was a kid but somehow I seemed to enjoy it more as a 24-year-old.

As proven before with the Garfield TV Specials, Jim Davis' big-eyed and colorful animation translates well to TV and it looks like his comic-strip has magically come to life. Lorenzo Music (sounding so much like Bill Murray) is brilliant as Garfield and acts out his boredom, deadpan humor and sarcasm perfectly.

U.S. Acres (or Orson's Farm as it was called here, as on this DVD) is also great, it's a shame there's no comic-strip of it. The characters, with the exception of the highly annoying Roy, are very cute and I just love Wade the cowardly duck. And, is it just me, or does Bo sound and behave exactly like Steve Zahn.

As you probably know, the show is a sandwich of two 8-minute Garfield shorts with an Orson's Farm in the middle. There are often a couple of 30-second 'quickies' to keep us that extra bit amused. Garfield and Friends is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious and it's easy to see where later TV shows like The Simpsons or Family Guy take their cue from. It may not have been made for Prime Time but Garfield and Friends set some kind of standard for exactly how funny a 30-minute animated show should be.

I must also mention that the show has a constant musical score from beginning to end that is loads of fun and there is at least one song per episode too.

The DVDs are in 1.33:1 full frame, as originally drawn with Dolby Mono sound. But don't be fooled, the show looks and sounds great. The single extra feature in the whole set is a trailer for the (absolutely awful) Garfield movie that runs for less than a minute.

Now we can see how it all began with the 1st season of Garfield and friends.
Garfield is very good! This is the first season. Of Garfield, and Orsons farm. Here is an episode list.

Disc 1:

Episode 1: Peace and Quiet/Wanted: Wade/Garfield Goes Hawaiian
Episode 2: Box 'O Fun/Unidentified Flying Orson/School Daze
Episode 3: Nighty Nightmare/Banana Nose/Ode to Odie
Episode 4: Fraidy Cat/Shell Shocked Sheldon/Nothing to Sneeze At
Episode 5: Garfield's Moving Experience/Wade: You're Afraid/Good Mousekeeping
Episode 6: Identity Crisis/The Bad Sport/Up A Tree
Episode 7: Weighty Problem/The Worm Turns/Good Cat, Bad Cat
Episode 8: Cabin Fever/Return of Power Pig/Fair Exchange

Disc 2:

Episode 9: The Binky Show/Keeping Cool/Don't Move!
Episode 10: Magic Mutt/Short Story/Monday Misery
Episode 11: Best of Breed/National Tapioca Pudding Day/All About Odie
Episode 12: Caped Avenger/Shy Fly Guy/Green Thumbs Down
Episode 13: Forget Me Not/I Like Having You Around!/Sales Resistance(This was when season 1 ended and then there was a special)
(Start of season 2)Episode 14: Pest of A Guest/The Impractical Joker/Fat and Furry
Episode 15: Rip Van Kitty/Grabbity/The Big Catnap

Disc 3:

Episode 17: The Sludge Monster/Fortune Kooky/Heatwave Holiday
Episode 18: One Good Fern Deserves Another/Goody-Go-Round/The Black Book
Episode 19: The Legend of The Lake/Double Oh Orson/Health Feud
Episode 20: Binky Gets Cancelled!/Show Stoppers/Cutie and The Beast
Episode 21: The Lasagna Zone/Sleepytime Pig/Yojumbo
Episode 22: Pros and Cons/Rooster Revenge/Lights! Camera! Garfield!
Episode 23: Polecat Flats/Hogules/Brain Boy
Episode 24: Maine Course/No Laughing Matter/Attack of The Mutant Guppies
Some have quickies of the most recent comics!
I hope you enjoy it as well. Don't panic there is more to come!
Overall it is well done. It is like going back in time to the late 1980s.

I watched this a long time ago. So I need to catch up on this show. I took the librety of looking to find what episodes there are going to be. There will be 24 episodes in 576 minutes:). Here are the episodes.

Disc 1:
Show #4: Garfield: Peace and Quiet / U.S. Acres Wanted: Wade! / Garfield Goes Hawaiian
Show #5: Box O'Fun / Unidentified Flying Orson / School Daze
Show #2: Nighty Nightmare / Banana Nose / Ode To Odie
Show #3: Fraidy Cat / Shell Shocked Sheldon / Nothing To Sneeze At
Show #1: Garfield's Moving Experience / Wade, You're Afraid / Good Mousekeeping
Show #6: Identity Crisis / The Bad Sport / Up A Tree
Show #7: Weighty Problem / The Worm Turns / Good Cat, Bad Cat
Show #8: Cabin Fever / Return Of Power Pig / Fair Exchange
Disc 2:
Show #9: The Binky Show / Keeping Cool / Don't Move!
Show #10: Magic Mutt / Short Story / Monday Misery
Show #11: Best Of Breed / National Tapioca Pudding Day / All About Odie
Show #12: Caped Avenger / Shy Fly Guy / Green Thumbs Down
Show #13: Forget Me Not / I Like Having You Around / Sales Resistance
Show #14: Pest Of A Guest / The Impractical Joker / Fat And Furry
Show #15: Rip Van Kitty / Grabbity / The Big Catnap
Show #16: The Great Getaway / Scrambled Eggs / Hansel And Garfield
Disc 3:
Show #17: The Sludge Monster / Fortune Kooky / Heatwave Holiday
Show #18: One Good Fern Deserves Another / Goody Go-Round / The Black Book
Show #19: The Legend Of The Lake / Double Oh Orson / Health Feud
Show #20: Binky Gets Cancelled! / Show Stoppers / Cutie & The Beast
Show #21: The Lasagna Zone / Sleepytime Pig / Yojumbo
Show #22: Pros And Cons / Rooster Revenge / Lights! Camera! Garfield!
Show #23: The Legend of Polecat Flats / Hogcules / Brain Boy
Show #24: Maine Course / No Laughing Matter / Attack of the Mutant
Bonus Material: Trailer for Garfield Movie

So that is what is going to be on the 3 Dvd's. I suggest that you get the DVD the day it comes out

This IS Garfield. From the dull (in a good way) voice to the exceptional storylines, this is the Garfield that made the comic strip popular again. I give credit to Bill Murray for voicing the movie version of the fat cat, but NOBODY can top Lorenzo Music's voice work in the animated cartoon.

Each episode is comprised of one 10 minute Garfield toon, followed by a 10 minute toon consisting of Garfield's Farm Animal Friends, and topped off by a 3-5 minute Garfield "quickie". All of which are very funny and with some hidden, and more "adult" humor, grown-ups can enjoy this as well.

I recommend anyone who liked this show in their youth to at least rent it to see if they like it. I'm sure you will, if you loved the show when it was in syndication.

Whether you grew up watching the Saturday morning cartoon like I did, or you just jumped in the Garfield lovers bandwagon...this dvd will NOT disappoint. Maybe except the theme song. I used to watch Garfield and Friends faithfully every Saturday morning, now my 4 year old son watches it EVERY morning. It doesn't bother me one bit. I just pull up a chair and start laughing!

This is a classic cartoon series with unusually clever comedy for a saturday morning kids show. Garfield has this nonshalant casual charm, which is an uncommon source for comedy even among more mature t.v. programs and movies. Unlike a lot of popular kids cartoons that are built to provide drama for children (e.g. Pokemon and its battles, Yu-Gi-Oh and its battles), this cartoon is about the sutle comedic muse of Garfield the cat.
I used to watch this cartoon every morning while I ate breakfast. I have to get to work so much earlier now so there is nothing on except for those both surprisly hypnotic and lame infomercials while I'm eating breakfast. The dvd's let me enjoy a quick smile anytime I want.
I'm looking forward to the release of the release of the other seasons.