DVDizzy Forum

Well, I went to Wal-mart today hoping to find Danger Mouse on DVD there. Apparently the title's too obscure for a place like that so I'll have to look elsewhere.

But as I was browsing, I found the latest Garfield TV specials DVD and picked it up to give it a look.

As soon as I glanced at the back, I got so excited I was actually jumping up and down! Of course, this made the friend I was with back off and give me a funny look. . .

I wasn't aware that it was out already. . I guess I haven't been keeping up as well with non-Disney releases as I used to. I love the first two specials on the disc, but what really got me excited was seeing that Garfield's 9 Lives was included, something I've been dying to get on DVD ever since the format came out.

Has anyone here seen it? It's really cool because each life is animated in a different style. My favorites is of him as a lab animal trying to make his escape and of him as a female cat in love with piano music. The latter is one of my favorite animated segments ever.

Well, this has not only made my day, maybe my entire month?

I just picked this up myself.. There's 4 Garfield DVD's out now (Besides Garfield And Friends)

There's

Garfield Fantasies
Garfield As Himself
Garfield Holiday Celebrations
Garfield Travel Adventures

I've been holding off on the Saturday morning version (which I know I'll get eventually) but I've been extremely avid on collecting those TV specials I loved so much as a kid.

I just wish they'd throw in some bonus features once in a while.

Yeah, Me too.. Little bonus feature can go so far for a fan! But.. I'll take what I can get with Garfield.. My favorite special is the Christmas one.. I have it on VHS that I taped off TV years ago.. YEARS ago! ..

I'll eventually get the G&F sets too.. I've always been a fan of garfield's cartoons.. The live action movie.. I don't even want to think about that!

Yeah, the Christmas special is also one of my faves; I taped the very first airing and I noticed that at least one of the scenes was later reanimated. . . not sure why they did that. It's the latter scene on the DVD, but that's fine with me. It's probably my favorite Christmas special ever; I love how it's just about a family having Christmas together with none of the typical "how Christmas was saved" plotlines.

But my favorite special is the second one that aired in which Garfield is reunited with his mom, brother, and grandfather. I watched that so many times with my dad.

I'll stop complaining about the lack of bonus features if they put his tenth birthday special on DVD, as it has a lot of behind the scenes stuff on it.

I believe Garfield is the first cartoon character I really fell in love with. I can remember watching the very first special (before we even knew what a VCR was) and telling my brothers that the animators were "lazy" because his lips didn't move! I was only what, 5 or 6, and I didn't realize that we were supposed to be hearing his thoughts! He was also the first cartoon character I learned to draw; I drew him over and over repeatedly starting in kindergarten and all throughout grade school and that gave me some confidence that I was in desperate need of. I wonder if I would have remained so interested in drawing if I hadn't had him to latch on to.

I don't know what to make of that movie, except that I saw it in the theater and didn't care enough to buy the DVD. I wonder how much input Jim Davis really had with it. Jon is supposed to be a dork living in a crappy house, and Liz is rarely ever friendly with him. What the heck happened here? And since when is Nermal an adult? I guess Bill Murray did an ok job with the voice, and maybe it was easier to accept because his design was so different. Still, I know there's nothing we can do about missing Lorenzo Music except for treasure the old cartoons.

That's why I refuse to see the live action movie.. it's going to kill my love of garfield.. I remember drawing Garfrield and Odie all the time when I was a kid..

I always loved watching Garfield specials as a kid.....and Garfield and Friends(the TV series)....I have all of the specials on DVD(picked up Fantasies last week),and season 1 of Garfield and Friends(I'd like to eventually get season 2 and 3)...

My favorite on the "Fantasies" disc is "Garfeld:His 9 Lives"...of these shorts,I like "Diana's Piano" best(it usually makes me cry at the end,such a nice story....)

of the other specials,I also love "Garfield's Christmas" and "Garfield in Paradise"...

I have yet to pick up Garfield Fantasies but I have

Garfield As Himself
Garfield And Friends Vol.1
Garfield Holiday Celebrations
Garfield And Friends Vol.2
and
Garfield Travel Adventures (in that order).

The one I haven't picked up yet is Garfield's Travel Adventures. But you bet I've got Garfield As Himself and Garfield's Holiday Celebrations.

I finally watched this today and saw the credits for the first time.

Chris Sanders worked on the Diana Segment? Chris Sanders of Disney or someone else with the same name? I wonder. . . this was back in 1989 and I don't know where he was back then.

And Ralph Eggleston of Pixar also worked on that segment? Woah. . .

Sorry Sunset, but what do you mean by the Diana segment??

Lazario wrote:Sorry Sunset, but what do you mean by the Diana segment??

In the nine lives special, we get see each of Garfield's nine lives (the one we are all familiar with is supposed to be #8). The special is based on a Garfield book, but some of the lives were altered or dropped for the animated version (it's also the book that spawned the idea for the Garfield's Babes and Bullets special).

In life #6, he was a beautiful white female cat named Diana and had an owner that took piano lessons. We follow her life from her owner's point of view from receiving Diana as a kitten in her childhood to the days she has a baby and Diana has become old and feeble. It's a beautiful and bittersweet segment.

Here's some screencaps:

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... diana0.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... diana1.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... diana2.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... diana3.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... diana4.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

It looks like they used some traditional painting on cels as well as colored pencils on frosted cels, but I'm not sure.

Oh, that damned ending still makes me cry.

And for those of you not familiar with the special, check out some of these shots. . .

Life #3:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... lives3.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
The look of this reminds me a lot of the UPA studio, which was so not used back in 1989. Very very cool. He has to help his master write a concerto so he literally won't lose his head!

Life #5:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... lives1.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
This short life is an homage to Krazy Kat, Ignatz, and Offissa Pup, some of the earliest cartoon stars form the teens and twenties.

Life #7
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... lives2.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Here he's an experimental lab animal. In this shot, the researcher is preparing to dissect him to "see if he's experienced any preliminary organ modification." Will he escape?

Life #8
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... lives4.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Garfield the newborn kitten has just been dropped off at the pet shop. Ahhhhhh, what the heck is that thing?!!! He'll find out when he gets older!

Like I said before, I think it's really cool that they tried out several diffent visual styles and stories. And as cheap as the DVD is (I got it for under $10) I think it's really wirth a look.

Garfield's Babes and Bullets special is also on here, a fantasy of him being a detective solving a murder as sort of an homage to the old detective films of the 1940's. Filmed in balck and white, it 's very tongue-in-cheek and is rather mature for being Garfield. Of course, that's what makes it so cool:

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/ ... dbabes.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

Garfield as Sam Spayed: "Now let's talk about you and me, baby."
Tanya: "It wouldn't work Sam, we're different."
Garfield: "That's the part I like."

Anyway, does anyone here know what Chris Sanders and Ralph Eggleston were up to in the late eighties?

Sunset Girl wrote:

Lazario wrote:Sorry Sunset, but what do you mean by the Diana segment??

In the nine lives special, we get see each of Garfield's nine lives (the one we are all familiar with is supposed to be #8).

In life #6, he was a beautiful white female cat named Diana and had an owner that took piano lessons. We follow her life from her owner's point of view from receiving Diana as a kitten in her childhood to the days she has a baby and Diana has become old and feeble. It's a beautiful and bittersweet segment.

Oh, that damned ending still makes me cry.

oh wow. i remember that part. I cryed when the kitty dies....

& I have the holiday specials dvd- LOVE it....u know its christmas when the arbuckle family light up the tree & their lips get all big & they go "OoOoOoOoOoh!!...."

You know what, Sunset Girl, I just didn't know that they had released another Garfield specials DVD. But I did a check on Amazon and sure enough they had Garfield Fantasies. I thought the last one was Garfield Travel Adventures, which I don't have yet.

Lazario wrote:You know what, Sunset Girl, I just didn't know that they had released another Garfield specials DVD. But I did a check on Amazon and sure enough they had Garfield Fantasies. I thought the last one was Garfield Travel Adventures, which I don't have yet.

Yeah, I was really caught by surprise when I found it. I usually keep up better with those release dates.

Not to turn the topic, but how about Heathcliff? Anyone a fan of his? I searched ebay, and found a few DVD's, but couldn't confirm they were US releases or not.. nothing to back it against.

Lightyear wrote:Not to turn the topic, but how about Heathcliff? Anyone a fan of his? I searched ebay, and found a few DVD's, but couldn't confirm they were US releases or not.. nothing to back it against.

I've seen one DVD of Heathcliff at Wal-mart, and a VHS of the movie. I'm holding out until I find the movie on DVD; I'm a huge Mel Blanc fan.

Sunset Girl wrote:

Lightyear wrote:Not to turn the topic, but how about Heathcliff? Anyone a fan of his? I searched ebay, and found a few DVD's, but couldn't confirm they were US releases or not.. nothing to back it against.

I've seen one DVD of Heathcliff at Wal-mart, and a VHS of the movie. I'm holding out until I find the movie on DVD; I'm a huge Mel Blanc fan.

Funny enough, on my trip to CVS tonight, They had a copy of Heathcliff cartoons, 9 episodes.. So of course, I had to pick it up 7 bucks..