{"id":31310,"date":"2017-02-28T00:01:22","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T08:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=31310"},"modified":"2021-06-04T08:44:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:44:15","slug":"garfields-tv-specials-on-disney-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/garfields-tv-specials-on-disney-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Garfield\u2019s TV Specials on Disney Records"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Disney\u2019s Buena Vista Records produced the first three Garfield animated specials as read-along album sets, a unique approach was used for the adaptations.<\/p>\n\"HereComesGarfield-600\"\n

<\/p>\n

The Story of
\nHERE COMES GARFIELD<\/strong>
\nBuena Vista Records #260<\/em>
\n(7\u201d 33 1\/3 RPM with Book \/ Mono \/ 1984 \/ Also on Cassette) <\/p>\n

Produced for Records by Bambi Mo\u00e9<\/strong>. Based on the Comic Strip \u201cGarfield\u201d by Jim Davis. Writers: Jim Davis, Lorenzo Music. TV Executive Producer: Jay Poynor. TV Producers: Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez. TV Director: Phil Roman. Music: Ed Bogas, Desir\u00e9e Goyette. Running Time: 10 minutes.
\nVoices:<\/strong> Lorenzo Music (Garfield); Sandy Kenyon (Jon Arbuckle); Henry Corden (Hubert); Hal Smith (Reba, Skinny); Gregg Berger (Odie, Salesman); Angela Lee (Little Girl).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For over three decades, Garfield has been the star of numerous TV specials, two superb TV series, a feature film, advertising campaigns, car windows and office cubicles. There was a time, though, when the corpulent cat was the latest thing.<\/p>\n

\"garfield-here-comes250\"Here Comes Garfield<\/em> was eagerly awaited, as it not only was the first time Garfield, Jon and Odie came to animated life, it was also the work of Peanuts<\/em> animation greats Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez. It seemed as if it couldn\u2019t miss\u2014and fortunately, it didn\u2019t. The special was a huge success, as was the soundtrack album featuring Lou Rawls and Desir\u00e9e Goyette.<\/p>\n

For several years before Garfield\u2019s CBS premiere, Disneyland\/Vista Records had been expanding into non-Disney properties like Star Wars, Peanuts<\/em>, Rankin\/Bass, Little Golden Books and many others. Garfield<\/em> was a hot property in the early \u201880s and Disney producer Bambi Mo\u00e9 adapted the first three Garfield<\/em> specials as read-along book and record sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of effort went into making everything just right,\u201d Mo\u00e9 recalled. \u201cEven the cover art was especially done for the read-alongs.\u201d What made them stand apart–even from Disney and Buena Vista\u2019s other titles–was the special way each book was formatted. Rather than using either frame grabs from the films or single-image art for each page or spread, the stories are rendered as comic strips.<\/p>\n\"HereComesGarfieldInsideCover-600\"<\/a>\n

<\/p>\n

These comic strips never existed outside these three read-along sets. \u201cWe used the storyboards from the studio,\u201d says Mo\u00e9. \u201cThe art was adapted into comic strips with dialogue balloons to match the recording.\u201d Some of the panels have no dialogue at all.<\/p>\n

Except for announcer Chuck Riley\u2019s introduction, there is no narration on the records. Sound and vocal effects are used for the non-dialogue sections. <\/p>\n

This is a highly unique way to produce a read-along. Peter Pan Records had released a number of children\u2019s stories and superhero adventures (even Bible stories) with a comic book-read along book, but there was still narration. In the late\u201940s\/early\u201950s, Capitol occasionally produced an album in which numbered pictures had no text, but there was plenty of exposition on the record to cover the action. There may have been no other read-alongs quite like these Garfield sets. <\/p>\n

Here Comes Garfield<\/em> is also notable because of the presence of Henry Corden in the cast. The second voice of Fred Flintstone, as well as a familiar face on The Monkees, The Brady Bunch<\/em> and countless film and TV shows, this is his sole Disney recording.<\/p>\n\"GarfieidOnTheTownFrontCover-600\"\n

<\/p>\n

The Story of
\nGARFIELD ON THE TOWN<\/strong>
\nBuena Vista Records #261<\/em>
\n(7\u201d 33 1\/3 RPM with Book \/ Mono \/ 1984 \/ Also on Cassette) <\/p>\n

Produced for Records by Bambi Mo\u00e9.<\/strong> Based on the Comic Strip \u201cGarfield\u201d by Jim Davis. Writer: Jim Davis. TV Executive Producer: Jay Poynor. TV Producers: Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez. TV Director: Phil Roman. Music: Ed Bogas, Desir\u00e9e Goyette. Running Time: 11 minutes.
\nVoices:<\/strong> Lorenzo Music (Garfield); Thom Huge (Jon Arbuckle); Gregg Berger (Odie; Ali Cat); George Wendt (Raoul); Sandi Huge (Garfield\u2019s Mom); Julie Payne (Dr. Liz Wilson); C. Lindsay Workman (Garfield\u2019s Grandfather); Allyce Beasley (Lady Cats); Desir\u00e9e Goyette (Lady Cat).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because Here Comes Garfield<\/em> was the strip\u2019s TV debut, it contained some classic moments and well-known Garfield quotes, such as \u201cShow me a good mouser, and I\u2019ll show you a cat with bad breath.\u201d The mission accomplished, it was time to take the stories out into new territory.<\/p>\n

Garfield on the Town doesn\u2019t take place on Broadway as the title and the signature art suggests, but instead reunites the feline with his less-fortunate family. It also introduces Thom Huge as the voice of Jon, replacing Sandy Kenyon, who was also an Entertainment Tonight<\/em> correspondent at the time.<\/p>\n

Cheers<\/em> star George Wendt makes his second Garfield cartoon voice appearance, this time as Raoul, a relative of Garfield. Julie Payne would go on to voice several characters in the acclaimed Garfield and Friends<\/em> series, including Lanolin the sheep in the U.S. Acres segments. <\/p>\n\"GarfieldinTheRoughFront-600\"\n

<\/p>\n

The Story of
\nGARFIELD IN THE ROUGH<\/strong>
\nBuena Vista Records #262<\/em>
\n(7\u201d 33 1\/3 RPM with Book \/ Mono \/ 1984 \/ Also on Cassette) <\/p>\n

Produced for Records by Bambi Mo\u00e9<\/strong>. Based on the Comic Strip \u201cGarfield\u201d by Jim Davis. Writer: Jim Davis. TV Producers: Jay Poynor, Phil Roman. TV Director: Phil Roman. Music: Ed Bogas, Desir\u00e9e Goyette. Running Time: 13 minutes.
\nVoices:<\/strong> Lorenzo Music (Garfield); Thom Huge (Jon Arbuckle); Gregg Berger (Odie; Ranger); George Wendt (Ranger); Hal Smith (Ranger); Orson Bean (Bill Rabbit); Desir\u00e9e Goyette (Lady Cats).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Garfield, Jon and Odie venture into the wilderness and encounter danger in the third special (all three have been released on DVD). This would be Orson Bean\u2019s second Disneyland\/Vista recording, as he voiced Bilbo Baggins in the Rankin\/Bass Production of The Hobbit<\/em>, a best-selling Grammy nominee for the label.<\/p>\n

\"garfield-rough225\"The music for all three read-alongs is performed on solo piano, presumably by Ed Bogas, replacing the more orchestrated music in the specials. All the voices are the genuine actors and are not studio sound-alikes, which was not always standard practice for read-alongs. Perhaps Disneyland\/Vista\u2019s partnership with Lee Mendelson on the Peanuts records was part of the reason.<\/p>\n

The Garfield series was just a part of Bambi Mo\u00e9\u2019s creative influence on Disneyland\/Vista Records, which included bringing artists such as Edwin Starr and Patty and Michael Silversher to the label, as well as numerous albums and read-alongs. Like writer\/producer Jymn Magon, Mo\u00e9 migrated to Disney TV Animation after Gary Krisel (who had been president of the label), helped start the division. Among her credits were music production on A Goofy Movie<\/em> and the series versions of The Little Mermaid<\/em> and Aladdin<\/em>.<\/p>\n

GIVE A LITTLE LISTEN<\/strong>
\nExcerpt of \u201cHere Comes Garfield\u201d Read-Along<\/p>\n

This short clip provides an idea of how the comic panel-style read along progressed. There was no narration and sometimes a dialogue-free frame. The reader\u2019s eyes simply followed at the pace of the recording. Sometimes a panel might only require a split second glance.<\/p>\n