For a Halloween special, "Garfield in Disguise" (or "Garfield's Halloween Adventure") practically has it all: comedy, adventure, peril, and a scary-looking old man who tells of pirate ghosts that return every Halloween. As a Garfield holiday special, it does very well in conveying the spirit of the holiday--better, I think, than either "Garfield's Thanksgiving" or "A Garfield Christmas," which are also good. For Halloween, this means spooky stories and "candy, candy, candy." This special captures the best of the comic strip's humor and combines it with a frightening Halloween experience for Garfield and Odie, who put themselves in jeopardy while they are out trick-or-treating. The moments that could be scary for kids are very well offset with humor to keep things from getting too tense. There are even a few original songs that are pretty good (even catchy) and well-suited to the moments when they occur. Garfield also manages to show a bit of his kinder side in the end, however reluctantly. In my opinion, this is the quintessential Garfield special, and one of the best ever Halloween specials.
