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Released by: Warner Brothers
Released on: September 21, 2010.
Director: Bill Melendez
Cast: Michael Mandy, Brent Hauer, Casey Carlson, Rocky Reilly, Kristen Fullerton
Year: 1968
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The Movie:
One of the most enduringly popular series of animated specials of all time, the many Peanuts specials originally aired on CBS over forty-years ago back in the 1960s. The fact these are just as well known now as they were back then is testament to the incredible popularity of Charles Schulz's comic strip and the various spin-off cartoons that have been created over the years.
Snoopy pushes things too far with his constant pranking and practical joking and eventually the whole Peanuts gang resulting in a backlash where Charlie Brown has no choice but to send his mischievous beloved beagle back to the puppy farm from whence he came for some dreaded obedience training. Snoopy, being Snoopy and all, is not in the least bit excited about this prospect, in fact, he's pretty annoyed about it all. Rather than actually make the journey to the farm, he instead makes it only as far as Peppermint Patty's house. Taking pity on him, Patty decides to let him spend the night.
Snoopy gets too much of a good thing with Patty, however, and soon he's overstayed his welcome. Patty has Chuck come to take him back to his home but Snoopy doesn't want the leash and so he runs away, heading back to Peppermint Patty's place. Snoopy's in for a rude awakening though, as Patty's not going to be nearly as pleasant a host this time around…
Another morality play of sorts, this one is entertaining enough and focus' a bit more on Snoopy than on Charlie Brown. This makes for more laughs but a bit less sympathy as Snoopy more or less brings this misfortunate upon himself. That said, there are still enough of those seemingly sincere and touching moments here that you can't help but get into the story. It's amazing how the original run of Peanuts specials never felt corny, overly sugar coated or forced despite their blatant sentimentality.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Everything set shows up in 1.33.1 fullframe, just as it should be. The quality is pretty good and it appears that the special has been restored to a certain extent as it's cleaner and better looking than it previously was on DVD. Colors look nice and bright without appearing overcooked and there are only minor instances of any noticeable serious print damage (just specks here and there). Some mild grain is visible in some spots but that's completely forgivable, it just looks more film like. There aren't any problems with compression artifacts or edge enhancement to complain about and overall the material looks quite good.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack is clean and clear and as simple as it's always been. Dialogue is always nice and easy to understand and there aren't any problems with hiss or distortion. Levels are properly balanced and everything sounds fine. Optional 2.0 Mono dubs are available Dolby in Portuguese and Spanish while optional subtitles are supplied in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
Aside from some trailers, menus and chapter selection there are two extras, the first of which is the inclusion of a bonus episode, Life Is A Circus, Charlie Brown. Here Snoopy runs away to join up with a travelling circus and learns the hard way that life outside of the cozy Brown household isn't as exciting or as much fun as he'd thought it would be. But what to do about Fifi, the dog who has stolen his heart? It's not a bad cartoon, though it doesn't have the genuine sense of character that the main attraction does (which is likely why it's here in bonus feature land and not on its own disc).
Warner Brothers have also included a featurette entitled Snoopy's Home Ice: The Story Of The Redwood Empire Ice Arena (22:01). This is a fairly interesting look at the impact of Schulz's work on, as the title implies, an ice skating arena. Aside from that, there's a trailer for You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and for the Lego Harry Potter video game, some menus, and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Not the best of the Peanuts specials to come out of the sixties, He's Your Dog Charlie Brown is still pretty great stuff. The story and characters hold up really well and WB has done a fine job remastering the special for DVD.