It is directed by Phil Roman and written by Garfield creator Jim Davis, and features the voices of Lorenzo Music, Thom Huge, Gregg Berger and C. Lindsay Workman.

The special, a ghost story with a pirate theme, originally aired near Halloween and afterwards often played around the time of the holiday until the turn of the century.

It won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program and was also the subject of an illustrated children's book adaptation.

Garfield is woken up early one morning by Binky the Clown on TV, and learns that it is actually Halloween, causing him to become very excited about getting candy by trick-or-treating that night.

Garfield and Odie hide in an empty cupboard as the ghosts reclaim their buried treasure from the mansion's floorboards.

They go home happily, and Garfield repays Odie's rescue by reluctantly giving him his rightful share of the candy.

Workman's character was designed to emphasize his advanced age, with one staff artist urging the addition of warts and different-looking eyes.

[2] For the musical score, Ed Bogas and Desirée Goyette were employed, having previously worked on Garfield television specials.

The special was included on the DVD The Garfield Holiday Collection on November 4, 2014, and was also made available for digital download a week later.

[6] In 2015, Johnny Brayson of Bustle wrote "I may be in the minority, but I consider Garfield's Halloween Adventure to be on equal footing with Charlie Brown," citing its humor and horror.