20th Century Fox’s (now just 20th Century Films) CG-based Garfield flicks Garfield Gets Real and Garfield’s Fun Fest are unquestionably among the worst of any of the flabby feline’s movies. Released direct to DVD in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the “movies” flopped with scores of 34 percent and 40 percent respectively from Rotten Tomatoes. To that end, it leaves one wondering why any studio would even begin to consider re-issuing them. 9 Story Media Group however – which was responsible for the release of the first three seasons of Garfield and Friends (those collections had their fair share of negatives, too) – has taken it on itself to re-issue the movies in a single DVD collection dubbed Garfield Cartoon World: Two Movie Collection. For those who may actually like these movies, the collection’s primary positive is that they are presented together. Though for the appeal that this will generate for those audiences, it should also be noted that the set has at least one notable negative, the lack of the bonus content featured in the movies’ initial releases. Given, the bonus content featured in the noted DVD releases is not that significant, its absence from this collection does detract from its presentation. Perhaps the one remaining positive to the set is its average price point. Together with the general packaging, the two items make the presentation slightly positive at best.
9 Story Media Group’s recent re-issue of Garfield Gets Real and Garfield’s Fun Fest is an intriguing new offering from the company, which was also responsible for the releases of the first three seasons of Garfield & Friends. Originally released direct to DVD in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the movies proved largely unsuccessful offerings save for perhaps a specific group of viewers. Now released together for the first time, the two movies are available in this collection together. This is important because of the fact that it will save space on viewers’ DVD/BD racks. Packaging the two movies on one disc means that it saves at least one space on those noted racks. That is a minimal impact, but an impact nonetheless.
Of course, on another hand, one could also note that the movies were not the only CG-based Garfield features released by then 20th Century Fox. A third movie, Garfield’s Pet Force, a spoof of all of the superhero movies that had been released to that point, followed Garfield’s Fun Fest in 2009. So had that movie been included in this collection on perhaps a second disc and standard dual disc cases being what they are, the packaging would have been even more of a positive. Sadly though, the impact is minimal at best here. Though at least it is something of a positive.
While the general packaging of Garfield Cartoon World: Two Movie Collection is at least something of a positive for the collection’s presentation, it is not without one notable negative, that being its lack of bonus content. Those who already own the movies’ initial releases will note that those DVDs each come with bonus content. The latter of the pair only has one bonus, a pair of DVD-rom games while the prior offers audiences, two games, interviews, bloopers, and a display of how Garfield is drawn. None of that bonus content was carried over to this collection from the two standalone DVDs. As a result, audiences who might actually want to watch the bonus content will now have to hold onto the standalone DVDs and make the choice of keeping them and avoiding this collection or owning both. In that case, the smarter choice is to just avoid this set and keep the standalone DVDs.
The lack of bonus content with Garfield Cartoon World: Two Movie Collection detracts considerably from the set’s presentation. Though, it is not enough to make the set a complete failure. The collection’s average price point pairs with the collection’s general packaging to add at least some more appeal to its presentation. The collection’s average price point – using listings at Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and PBS’ online store – is $6.32. It was not listed at Books-A-Million at the time of this review’s posting. PBS and Barnes & Noble each listed the collection at $6.99 while each of the other major retailers listed it at $5.99. Keeping that in min, the collection’s average price listings are relatively affordable to say the least. The $6.99 listings are in themselves barely over the average price point. None of the listings even reaches the $10 mark, so audiences will not break the bank for any viewer, regardless of which retailer viewers choose. Keeping this in mind along with the collection’s packaging (imperfect as even it is), the collection will find appeal at least to some viewers, limited as that number is.
9 Story Media Group’s recently released Garfield CG movie collection Garfield Cartoon World: Two Movie Collection is a moderate success at best. It is a presentation that will appeal only to the most devoted Garfield fans. That is due in large part to its packaging. The packaging places two of 20th Century Fox’s three CG Garfield movies — Garfield Gets Real and Garfield’s Fun Fest – on one single disc. This saves at least one space on any viewer’s DVD/BD rack. The issue here though, is that the third movie – Garfield’s Pet Force, which was released in 2009 – is not featured in the collection to make it a full three-movie set. Even despite that, the packaging does save at least a minimal amount of space on the noted racks. While that serves as at least something of a positive for viewers, the fact that the collection does not carry over the bonus content featured in the movies’ original releases. This will lead viewers who already own the movies’ standalone DVD releases to find them more worth owning. The collection’s average price point pairs with its packaging to make for at least some more appeal. Keeping this in mind, this collection proves an appealing presentation primarily for the most devoted Garfield fans. Garfield Cartoon World: Two Movie Collection is available now.
More information on this and more from 9 Story Media Group is available at:
Website: http://9story.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/9StoryMediaGroup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/9StoryMG
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