Have you ever had one of those office jobs where everyone is stuck in those half-cubicles, where you can still see over into your neighbor's space? And there's this one lady who has clippings of her favorite cartoon tacked up all over her dividers? I had one like that. Her favorite daily chuckle was Garfield the Cat. I never heard the end of him. She also had little toy Garfields stuck to her computer, to her file cabinet, and to her chair. So forgive me if I've never been a big fan of the flabby tabby. As a result, I never caught one of his animated specials, nor his long-running Saturday morning cartoon, Garfield and Friends.

So it came as a nice surprise when I found myself laughing along with Garfield's laid-back, almost comatose antics in Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie. This thirteen episode, two hour collection from the long-running CBS Saturday morning Garfield and Friends is a fun way to get reacquainted with the lasagna-eating, Mondays and February-hating grump and his pal, the totally idiotic puppy Odie. Created and written by Jim Davis, Garfield made his debut in newspaper comic strips in 1978, and within ten years was the single most popular comic strip in the world (today it's claimed that Garfield is syndicated in more newspapers than any other strip). For those of you who may never have seen it, the strip focuses on Garfield, a lazy, do-nothing mess of a cat who's overweight and likes it that way. He's rarely happy with anyone or anything, and barely tolerates his owner, dorky cartoonist Jon Arbuckle, whose entire character may well be summed up by a line from Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie: "I don't understand the cat. I don't understand the dog. I don't understand anything." Complicating matters for the touchy cat is Odie, a "stupid puppy" whose enthusiasm and dim-wittedness drives Garfield crazy.

I never saw it during its original run, but Garfield and Friends must have been quite a popular Saturday morning cartoon; it ran on CBS for seven years of original episodes, from 1988 to 1995, which is rather unusual for that genre. After watching Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie, I can see why it lasted so long. It was produced by animation legend Phil Roman, who, among hundreds of other projects, worked as an animator on How the Grinch Stole Christmas, directed A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and who executive produces The Simpsons. The series was almost exclusively written by comic book and TV veteran Mark Evanier, who worked under the legendary Jack Kirby, wrote for series like Welcome Back, Kotter and Scooby-Doo, and who co-created and co-wrote the popular cult comic book Groo the Wanderer with Sergio Aragones. So you can expect that the scripts for Garfield and Friends are quite amusing, with funny puns, topical humor, inside jokes, and clever throw-aways that will appeal to adults who may be watching with their kids. Also lending his singular appeal to the series was legendary voice talent Lorenzo Music, who, along with doing the voice of Garfield, many of you will remember as the hilariously zoned-out, never-seen Carlton the Doorman on the television series Rhoda. Funny lines aren't funny if they're delivered poorly, and Music has a way with Garfield's deadpan delivery that's delightfully dull - and I don't mean that in a bad way. It's not an obvious, uninteresting dullness, and it's not a grouchy, mean grumpiness, either. It's more of an "I simply can not get through another minute of this world" attitude that exactly embodies the essence of Garfield's humor. It's a perfect match between voice talent and character, and it makes or breaks Garfield and Friends.

I also enjoyed the design work on Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie. With its bright, almost watercolor look to the backgrounds, Garfield and Friends at times reminded me of the DePatie-Freleng studio style, while the rather crude animation had a nice nostalgic feel to it. Most importantly, Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie still makes kids laugh. All of the Garfield and Friends episodes have already been released on DVD; Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie is an amusing collection of thirteen of those episodes, and a fun way for you and your child to get reintroduced to Garfield.

The Fairy Dogmother

Dogmother 2

Canine Conspiracy

Odie the Amazing

Truckin' Odie

Airborne Odie

Odielocks and the Three Cats

Moo Cow Mutt

Robodie

Robodie II

Arivederci, Odie

All About Odie

Ode to Odie

The DVD:

The Video:
The full screen video image for Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie looks a little rough, with the DVD transfer obviously coming from video dupes. Still, it's reasonably bright and colorful, and honestly, little kids don't care about picture quality -- they just want to laugh at Garfield over and over again.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 1.0 mono track accurately reflects the original broadcast presentation. An optional Spanish mono track is available, as well as English and Spanish subtitles. Close-captioning is also available.

The Extras:
There are no extras for Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie.

Final Thoughts:
At one point in the collection, Garfield deadpans, "I wish this cartoon was over," as he looks balefully at the viewer. It's a funny moment out of quite a few in Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie, so even if you're a little leery of the ubiquitous, fat slob of a cat Garfield, I recommend you catch Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie. It's surprisingly clever, and smartly executed, and the kids will love Garfield's snotty demeanor and Odie's obsessive need to be stupid. I recommend Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie.