What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?

 Premiered May 30, 1983.

Charlie Brown (Brad Kesten) is adding new pictures to his photo album, including photos from his time as an exchange student in France (as seen in the movie Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!)).  His sister Sally (Stacy Heather Tolkin) mentions that he never told her what happened after he and his friends left the chateau.  Chuck decides it's time to tell Sally about the last part of the trip:

After leaving the chateau, their rental car is involved in a collision and the car falls apart when it reaches the next town.

Snoopy (Bill Melendez) is able to trade it for another car because Marcie tells the rental agent (Monica Parker) that Snoopy is a World War I Flying Ace.  

Unfortunately, the only car available is an old one with a crank-starter.  This leads to Charlie Brown getting injured every time he has to crank the starter.

After a few miles, the gang checks their roadmap and realizes they've taken a wrong turn somewhere.  At nighttime, they stop and camp by the side of the road.  Linus (Jeremy Schoenenberg) feels that there's something familiar about the place and walks down to a nearby beach.  

He realizes it's Omaha Beach in Normandy, site of the famous D-Day allied invasion during World War II!  Linus imagines that he's watching soldiers and planes fight on the beach.

Later on, Linus brings his friends to the beach and tells them of its historical significance.  He leads them to the American cemetery and recalls comments by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The general stated that the soldiers who stormed the beach did so "not to gain anything for ourselves, not to fulfill any ambitions that America had for conquest, but just to preserve freedom, systems of self-government in the world."  

The gang sees white crosses for miles around them, each cross marking the resting place of someone who died during the invasion.  Since it starts to rain, Linus says they should return to their car.

Sometime later, they are lost again and ask a boy for directions.  He says they're on "the road to Ypres." Linus says that Ypres, Belgium is the site of a famous World War I battle.  They drive to a field of poppy flowers and Linus talks about their significance.  A legend says that when battles are fought, all white poppies turn red, and a white cross can be found at the center of every poppy.

They wander through the field and see WWI-era trenches and the British field dressing station, where Lt. Col. J.M. McCrae wrote the famous war poem "In Flanders Field."   Linus then recites the poem, which begins with these lines:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

When Charlie Brown has finished recounting this story to Sally, he says Linus asked "what have we learned, Charlie Brown?"  

Review:
Charles Schulz and his collaborators Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez were particularly proud of What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown, since it paid tribute to fallen soldiers and because it's so beautifully animated.  The special won a Peabody award for "distinguished achievement and meritorious public service."  If it's not obvious from my summary, the question "what have we learned" is also asking all of human kind what it has learned from fighting two world wars.  

It's worth noting that this is the only true sequel to any Peanuts animated film or TV special.  There is very little "continuity" from one special to the next, but What Have We Learned picks up right where Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!) left off.  

I should mention that I had not seen What Have We Learned until a few years ago, so I bring no nostalgia to this review.  I have a degree in history and I've been interested in events that shape the world and boundaries of nations for my whole life.

Marcie (Michael Docker) translates a French inscription at the D-Day memorial.

As a Peanuts fan and a historian, I consider this a good introduction for children of a very serious topic.  I can imagine children watching this special and asking their parents and grandparents about D-Day and the Battle Of Ypres.  If I'd seen this special as a kid, I definitely would've hit the library in search of more information. 

This special contains very serious subject matter for a special aimed at kids.  Schulz and company show that they were up to the task, since the discussion of war never gets heavy-handed and strikes all the right tones.

It's appropriate that Linus is the kid who tells his friends about the battlefields.  He's always been the "emotional center" of animated Peanuts specials, ever since A Charlie Brown Christmas.  When Linus quotes Eisenhower's comments about D-Day, we hear audio of the real Eisenhower's voice (recorded during a 1964 CBS News interview at Normandy).  This adds more weight and depth to the special than simply having Linus speak the words.    

On a lighter note, there's a running gag involving a gaggle of ducks that swarms their car, much to Snoopy's consternation.  The ducks are funny (and funny looking) and provide a nice contrast to the more serious material.  The ducks also don't stick around long enough to wear out their welcome.

The voice actors are all well-cast and "sound like" their characters.  Linus carries the special, so his portrayer Jeremy Schoenenberg has to work harder than any other voice actor in What Have We Learned.  Schoenenberg is great here and he would play Linus in three other specials, plus The Charlie Brown And Snoopy Show.  

I mentioned animation above and it's absolutely gorgeous.  Mendelson, Melendez and their team give us beautiful drawings of cemeteries, beaches and small European towns.  For the depictions of war, Melendez and his animators mix actual rotoscoped WWII combat footage with traditional animation and it looks stunning.  Here's one example

And here's another:

However, What Have We Learned is not without flaws.  Like Bon Voyage, this special includes adults.  Once again, the adults featured here add nothing and they took me out of the special and brought me back to reality whenever they appeared onscreen.  

The other problem is a running gag involving the rental car's crank-starter.  Three times, when the car is started, Charlie Brown injures his hand while cranking the starter.  He doesn't just say "AAUGH!," he screams and writhes in agony, while Peppermint Patty (Victoria Vargas) mocks him.  The crank-related injuries feel extremely out of place in an otherwise great special.  I guess they were going for physical comedy, but it falls flat all three times.  

Music:
The soundtrack of What Have We Learned features music by Judy Munsen (who also worked on Bon Voyage) arranged by Dawn Atkinson.  It mostly consists of flute, piano and synthesizer tunes.  All of the music provides an excellent accompaniment to the special's subject matter.

Availability:
This special has been released on a DVD called Peanuts:Emmy Honored Collection.

I enjoyed What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown for all the reasons stated above Charlie and I recommend it to Peanuts fans of all ages.  It's a wonderful tribute to those who fought and died during the world wars.  Linus' lessons about the wars and the amazing rotoscoped scenes are impressive.  But the appearance of adults and the unfunny crank-starter scenes prevent me from giving it my highest rating.  

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Sparkys.