[7.1/10] A mostly cute bit of Halloween fun. The first half of the special is the kind of low stakes gag work you’d expect from the Garfield comic strip, and with Jim Davis writing the script, that makes sense. There’s nothing over the top hilarious about it, but it’s a heap of cute gags, and Garfield’s sardonic wit carries the day (with a big boost from Lorenzo Music). The songs aren’t much to write home about, but they’re pleasant enough and the jazzy tone to them is pleasant.

But then the special turns into a legitimate ghost story (albeit one with more than a few additional goofy gags to keep the tots from fretting too much), and it’s an interesting pivot. The animation on the gnarled old cabin boy is strikingly different from everything else in the special, which gives him a spooky quality in design alone. And the chalky, wispy animation on the ghosts is eye-catching as well, adding an ethereal quality to what’s otherwise a silly goof-fest.

It’s funny, I watched *Garfield and Friends* growing up, and never really thought much of the animation. But watching this special, you can see the animators and director Phil Roman really going for something! A pleasant surprise in an entertaining but generally pretty gentle dose of Halloween humor.