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Released by: Warner Brothers
Released on: 07/07/2009
Director: Various
Cast: Various
Year: Various
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The Movies:
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. Warner Brothers has collected all of the sixties specials in one handy two disc set and while some of them have received special editions of their own with more extras than appear here (completists will want to hold on to those) this is a great way to get the essentials at a good price.
The six cartoons are spread over two discs and presented in chronological order as so:
DISC ONE:
A Charlie Brown Christmas:
The charming and timeless tale begins with Charlie Brown confessing to his friend Linus that despite Christmas' impending arrival, he's feeling pretty down in the dumps. He knows he's going to get presents and that he's going to get to partake in all of the holiday fun, but he doesn't feel quite right about it all. Charlie Brown decides to pay a visit to Lucy's 'psychiatric help' booth where she encourages him to get involved with the school Christmas pageant, which he does, while Snoopy busies himself decorating his dog house with Christmas lights in hopes of winning the neighborhood Christmas lights contest.
Charlie Brown throws himself into the play, where he winds up directing. Hoping to set the right mood, he decides that they need a Christmas tree. Lucy takes over directing and Charlie and Linus head out to find the perfect tree but they've waited too late and the lots are all empty save for one, spare, lonely little tree - the one they have no choice but to come back with. Eventually the kids warm up to the tree as they realize the true meaning of the holiday spirit, culminating in a touching and humorous sing along to end the show on an uplifting and genuinely 'feel good' note.
From the comical opening where Snoopy shows Charlie Brown and Linus how to really skate, to the touching and sincerely sweet ending, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a whole lot of good clean fun. Underneath the gags and funny characters is a nice message that really hammers home the spirit of the season, playing up the concepts of peace on Earth and good will towards men with true sincerity. Surprisingly enough, the cartoon also makes a pretty bold statement against the crass commercialization and 'buy buy buy' mentality that has come to surround the holiday, where business and corporations encourage us to show our family and friends how much we care by spending more than anyone else and giving the biggest gift - fairly heavy topics for a cartoon that was aimed at a children's audience, but really, the Peanuts specials really can be enjoyed by young and old alike.
Supposedly when this special first aired, half of the television sets in the country tuned in to watch - remarkable, when you think about it. It wound up winning an Emmy Award and has gone on to be considered a true classic despite a fairly basic animation style and a very simple sound mix. Its low-fi origins may seem primitive by today's standards but there's no denying that Schulz's characters seem more alive to many of us than any three dimensionally rendered computerized creation because they have what many cartoons lack, and that's heart.
Charlie Brown's All-Stars:
In the first sports based special, we feel bad for Charlie Brown's baseball team because the fact of the matter is that they're horrible. Charlie himself is responsible for missing a couple of very simple catches that could have helped his team and he feels pretty lousy about it all. Eventually his team more or less just calls it quits and leaves him by himself so that they can forget their terrible track record and enjoy their summer vacation.
Of course, as soon as everyone quits, Chuck gets a call from the local hardware store owner who is looking to sponsor a little league team, uniforms and all. Charlie Brown gets the old team together to share his excitement which proves to be infectious and the gang decides to give baseball another shot. Charlie Brown's bad luck continues though, as the sponsor tells him that he's not allowed to have girls or beagles on his team. Charlie Brown is left wondering whether to go forward with his guys only team and take advantage of what the sponsor can offer or stay true to his friends and his dog…
As sweet as you'd expect and with a nice moral message to it, Charlie Brown's All-Stars isn't the best of the cartoons in this collection but it's still a very worthy addition to any Peanuts fan's video library. The style that Schulz made popular is retained very nicely here and the humor and pathos that make the characters so fun and so beloved runs rampant throughout. Even if you're not interested in baseball you can't help but feel for the kids here, while Snoopy's perpetual quirks and machismo supply most of the laughs.
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown:
For the one or two people reading this who haven't seen the cartoon by now, much of the story revolves around Linus who holds to the belief that each night on Halloween the Great Pumpkin will visit the nearby pumpkin patch. Though the other kids all make fun of him and plan to go trick or treating with or without him, Sally accompanies him to the patch that night where the two of them wait for the mythical Great Pumpkin's arrival with baited breath. As the night grows longer, Linus' faith in the Great Pumpkin starts to unravel.
Meanwhile, the rest of the gang don their costumes and head out to get some door to door candy action. Charlie Brown, dressed as a ghost with eyeholes cut out all over this sheet and looking ridiculous, continually gets rocks instead of candy. After some trick or treating, the kids head to Violets place for a party. During all of this, Snoopy imagines himself once again as a WWI flying ace, only this time he's shot down over France where he has to find safe haven from the German pilot, The Red Baron, who is in the area looking for him.
Interesting in the way that it so obviously compares Linus' belief in the Great Pumpkin to the normal children's belief in creatures like the Easter Bunny or to a larger extent, Santa Claus, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is something that everyone can relate to. While Linus is continually ribbed about his steadfast belief in a creature no one else believes in, even going so far as to give up trick or treating all together to spot a glimpse of the Great Pumpkin, it's easily compared to that one kid we all knew who just didn't want to stop believing in Santa Claus even if the other kids in the class would make fun of him or her for it. It's all the more touching if you happened to be that kid!
The third Peanuts cartoon special to have been shown on TV (it was preceded by 1966's Charlie Brown's All-Stars and 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas), it's as fun and enjoyable now as it must have been back then. Kids have a lot more options for holiday viewing these days than ever before and the fact that kids (of all ages) go back to this one time and time again really does attest to its timelessness.
DISC TWO:
You're In Love Charlie Brown:
Valentine's Day specials are usually crappy, but this isn't quite a Valentine's Day special so much as it is simply an ode to pre-pubescent crushes. That said, You're In Love Charlie Brown is far stronger than your average V-day kids cartoon and almost as good as the monolithic Halloween and Christmas specials that are universally enjoyed.
When the cartoon begins, the school year coming to an end and like most boys Charlie Brown is crushing on a girl in his class. Shy to a fault, Charlie just can't seem to muster up the cahonies to actually talk to the object of his affection, in fact, he never even refers to her by her name, instead, she's known only as "The Little Red Haired Girl." He tries a few veiled attempts to impress her over the last few days of class but like most of Chuck's plans, these efforts don't do him any favors, rather, he winds up making a fool out of himself. Eventually, the well intentioned Linus and Peppermint Patty decide that he needs their help, but as luck would have it, they're no better at this type of thing than Charlie Brown is. Will he ever get a shot with the girl he likes or will he be doomed to spend the summer never knowing what could have been?
Anyone who has ever been too shy to talk to the girl or boy they liked in school will instantly relate to this one. It's an all too real situation for most of us growing up, particularly those of us who never really fit in with the cool kids in class. Charlie's social awkwardness, an important part of growing up, is played very realistically here and the efforts from his friends are just as juvenile and silly even if they are attempted with the best of intentions. This one doesn't have quite the cultural resonance as the Christmas and Halloween specials but it's hard not to get sucked into it regardless.
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown:
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.
It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown:
Appearing on DVD for the first time, this special from 1969 finds the gang off at camp for the summer, well, sort of. Actually the kids are back at school and asked to write about what they did over the summer so we see this all happen in flashback. Regardless, when they kids are off at summer camp there's a bit of a battle of the sexes going on as the guys rally against the girls and find themselves losing the fight.
Shot on plot and heavier on gags than the others in this set, this is the weakest entry in the collection but it's still fun to see it again. The characters stay true to themselves and as usual there's a nice moral presented in a subtle way. There's some clever dialogue and a few memorable one liners but it doesn't quite fire on all cylinders the way a lot of the other specials do. Regardless, fans will appreciate having it and kids of all ages will definitely find it worth a watch.
The Video:
Everything in this set shows up in 1.33.1 fullframe, just as it should be. The quality is pretty good and it appears that the specials have been restored to a certain extent as they're cleaner and better looking than they previously were 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 Audio:
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtracks are clean and clear and as simple as they've 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 Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish while optional subtitles are supplied in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai.
The Extras:
Aside from some trailers, menus and chapter selection the only extra is a quick featurette entitled The Maestro Of Menlo Park which is an enjoyable retrospective tribute to Peanuts composer Vince Guaraldi who is rightfully lauded over for over half an hour about his work on the series. There are some fun stories here that talk about what he brought to the series and what he was like as a person and about how he introduced jazz to an audience that would probably have never discovered it had it not been for his efforts.
Overall:
A fantastic collection of cartoons, Peanuts: The 1960s Collection is a great trip through a seemingly more innocent time. It's funny, it's touching, it's heartfelt and it's just really good. It would have been nice to see more extras but the audio and video quality is very strong and it's hard to resist this excellent set.
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Director: Various
Writer: Various
Year: 1960s
Cast: Various