This Is America, Charlie Brown:"The NASA Space Station"

Premiered November 11, 1988.

America's next space station will be launched in the mid-1990s.  It will carry a crew of 8 and the 8 will be together for 90 days.  

-Linus Van Pelt

Summary:
Linus Van Pelt (Brandon Stewart) and Charlie Brown (Erin Chase) are working on a project for school. They have been assigned to build a model of the International Space Station (ISS), which will open in the 1990s.  Chuck's dog Snoopy is also in the process of building...something.  

When Linus goes to sleep, he dreams that he is an astronaut working on the ISS as a scientist. 

Charlie Brown is also working on the station.  They're joined by their friends Franklin (Grant Gelt) and Peppermint Patty (Jason Mendelson) and Chuck's sister Sally (Brittany Thornton).  Their commander is none other than Linus' sister Lucy (Erica Gayle)!  She calls her command status "one small step toward becoming a queen." 

Each astronaut plays a special, defined role:
Peppermint Patty serves as the station's exercise instructor. 

Charlie Brown is their cook and photographer. 

Sally conducts onboard experiments.  

Franklin, a social scientist, will observe how living in the station impacts the astronauts.  

Snoopy (Bill Melendez) serves as the space station's operator.  

Pigpen conducts tests outside the space station.   

Woodstock (Melendez) is onboard the station in order to test how birds fly in a zero gravity atmosphere.  

They will serve on the station for 90 days.  Lucy says that since is he is commander, everyone must do as she says.  Franklin worries that if an emergency strikes, the crew will be unable to deal with it.  

The crew of the ISS is interviewed live on TV by news anchor Jason Welker (Frank Welker). The astronauts show Welker many devices that are used on the station. 

Everything seems to be going well at the ISS, but suddenly the station is struck by a meteorite!  It damages the station's truss structure and has broken one of its solar panels.  When Lucy calls for volunteers to repair the ISS, Snoopy steps forward.  Charlie Brown joins him, believing he can't let his dog go out in to space alone.  

It's a very dangerous mission and even mission control doesn't have a lot of faith in Chuck and Snoopy.  

Will Snoopy and Charlie Brown succeed in saving the International Space Station?  Or will Linus' dream of being an astronaut turn into a nightmare?

Review:
This is an overall good special, even if the plot is razor-thin.

One of the interesting aspects of This Is America is that it placed the Peanuts characters in unusual settings.  It's fun to see Charlie Brown and the others in space and working on the ISS.  This episode is also interesting because it was produced before the International Space Station was operational.  The ISS would eventually be launched on November 20, 1998, ten years after this aired.

"The NASA Space Station" has lots of fun scenes that focus on how the zero gravity setting impacts the characters.  These include Linus' hair standing straight up, which is amusing.  What makes it even funnier is that no other character ever mentions it!  Lucy gets Charlie Brown to try to kick the football.  When he (SPOILER ALERT!) misses, he ends up bouncing all over the space station.  

However, I some issues with "The NASA Space Station."  It includes the presence of adult characters, who always feel out of place alongside Charlie Brown and friends.  News reports of  the Peanuts gang's space exploration are anchored by a reporter named Jason Welker.  

The crew also interacts with NASA's Mission Control, which is made up of adults.  

This is completely unnecessary.  This special depicts the Peanuts kids as adults, why couldn't it have also featured children as news anchors or working in Mission Control? 

During one of Welker's newscasts, we're told Snoopy has gone on more space missions than anyone else on the space station.  This is (likely) a reference to the Peanuts characters' history with NASA.  In 1969, NASA's Apollo 10 mission used Charlie Brown and Snoopy's names as call-signs and the mission's lunar module was named Snoopy.  Charles Schulz also drew artwork for the mission and Snoopy became NASA's mascot for safety.  

Apollo 10 Commander Tom Stafford touches Snoopy's nose for luck before before he's rocketed into space.

The voice cast is most of the same kids who voiced the characters in the other episodes of This Is America.  They're all well-cast and they sound great in this special.

Cartoon voice legend Frank Welker voices Jason Welker.  Welker is fine here, even if his presence doesn't make me any more receptive to adults appearing in Peanuts specials.  

It's worth noting that "Jason Welker" looks a bit like legendary CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite.  

During his long career, Cronkite was very enthusiastic about covering space launches and in 2006, he became the only non-NASA individual to receive NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award.

Walter Cronkite holds a model of a lunar module while covering the 1969 moon landing.

Music:

Dave Brubeck composed new music for this special.  Brubeck was one of the greatest jazz pianists of the 20th century and his music here is excellent.  It's worth noting that Brubeck was Lee Mendelson's first choice to create music for Charlie Brown specials before Vince Guaraldi eventually got the job.  In addition to the new music, Brubeck and his group also puts their own spin on Guaraldi's classic "Linus And Lucy."  

Availability:
"The NASA Space Station" has been released on as part of the This Is America, Charlie Brown DVD set. 

This Is America, Charlie Brown:"The NASA Space Station" is an enjoyable special and kids who are interested in space will especially enjoy seeing Chuck, Snoopy and the gang bounce around a space station.  The presence of adults prevents means it gets a one-Sparky deduction from me.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Sparkys.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1964 documentary)

"Charlie Brown is, I think a little bit like everyone.  We all need reassurance that some people really do like us.  But I guess Charlie Brown is mostly me. That’s why he often has that dumb expression on his face."
-Charles Schulz

This review is a bit of a change from my usual content.  I recently received a DVD of the documentary A Boy Named Charlie Brown (not to be confused with the 1969 theatrical film of the same name) and thought it was worth writing up, since it includes early Peanuts animation and was the first time Charles Schulz, Bill Melendez, Lee Mendelson and Vince Guaraldi collaborated.  

This documentary was produced in 1964 but never aired on television.  It's historically important because without it, all the Charlie Brown specials that followed wouldn't have been produced, or would have been very different.  Melendez and Schulz previously worked together on Ford commercials, but the rest were new collaborators.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown shows us "a day in the life of Charles M. Schulz."  Mendelson and company film Schulz drawing his comic strip, going through fan letters and driving his kids to school.

A high point features footage of Schulz' appearance at Charlie Brown Day, held on May 14, 1964 at Candlestick Park.  Schulz threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a game between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.

I love these old school Peanuts toys!:

Short animated sequences are shown every few minutes during the film.  It opens with Charlie Brown attempting to play a piano, only to be told his playing is "terrible."

Other animation includes:

Snoopy's attempted theft of Linus' blanket.

Charlie Brown tries to fly a kite.

Lucy pulls the football away when Chuck attempts to kick it!

Schroeder plays piano while Lucy tries to attract his attention.

The animation is a slight step down from the TV specials that followed, but it looks pretty good considering their budget was tiny and the creative team was figuring how to translate the characters into a new medium.  As the screencaps above show, the cartoon segments give us some of Peanuts "greatest hits" up to that point.

At this time, this DVD is only available for purchase at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and the museum's online gift shop.

Since A Boy Named Charlie Brown is different from what I normally feature here, I won't use my usual "Sparky" rating.  However, it's highly recommended for any hardcore fans of Peanuts.

What A Nightmare, Charlie Brown

Premiered February 23, 1978.

Summary:

On a snowy day, Charlie Brown (Liam Martin) tries to get Snoopy (Bill Melendez) to pull him on a sled.

When the beagle isn't interested, Chuck tries to explain how sled dogs in the Arctic pull sleds.  Charlie Brown ends up pulling the sled with Snoopy cracking the whip!

That evening, Snoopy makes several pizzas and a milkshake and consumes it all in one sitting.  When Charlie Brown observes this, he tells Snoopy that he's become too civilized.

Since he ate all the food right before bedtime, the huge meal results in a very scary nightmare for Snoopy.

He dreams he's a sled dog in the Arctic, working with six other dogs pulling a sled.  The dogs are ruled by a man with a whip who isn't very nice to any of the dogs.  The other dogs are much bigger and faster than Snoopy and the beagle is in way over his head.

The sled dogs are mean to Snoopy.  When it's time for food and water, they lunge and growl at him when he attempts to grab some food.  It's a miserable life for Snoopy who is freezing in the arctic cold.

Snoopy gets a break from this torturous life when the dogs' owner stops in a small town.  Snoopy hits the local saloon in search of root beer and a meal.  He sits down at a player piano and is mistaken for a piano player.  This gets the beagle a sandwich, a mug of root beer and lots of tip money.

Snoopy decides to gamble the money in a poker game.  When he has a winning hand of four Aces, his poker face gives him away.  This enrages the other gamblers and a brawl breaks out.  Snoopy seeks a hiding place and winds up on a performance stage, dancing the can-can.  The audience doesn't find him entertaining, so Snoopy is thrown out of the saloon and winds up back on the sled.

Will Snoopy awaken from this horrible nightmare?

Review:

According to the (highly-recommended) book The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation, What A Nightmare Charlie Brown was one of Charles Schulz' favorite specials and was equally beloved by director Bill Melendez.  It was inspired by a Schulz family trip to Alaska where they observed sled dogs.

I can't say that I agree with Schulz.  This special features beautiful animation.  The dogs and the Arctic setting look great.  Plus, Snoopy's interactions with Charlie Brown and his trip to the saloon are enjoyable.  Otherwise, What A Nightmare (bad word-play intended) left me cold.

As I've mentioned in earlier reviews, my favorite Peanuts specials are the ones that feature the cast of characters interacting with each other.  In this special, we get only two of the regular characters and they only share a few minutes of screen time.  The rest of it features only dog barks and the trombone voice of the sled dogs' cruel owner.

Since we witness Snoopy fall asleep, it's obvious that he's dreaming and that he'll be okay in the end.

Bill Melendez provides great dog noises for Snoopy.  Liam Martin is good as Charlie Brown.  This is Martin's only outing as Chuck, but he voiced Linus and Schroeder in other specials, which I believe makes him the only actor to play all three of those characters.

Music:
Ed Bogas composed the music for What A Nightmare.  It's similar to the country-themed score Bogas wrote for Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (which was released the previous year).  The music is fine for the most part and suitable for the special's arctic setting.  Larry Finlayson sings a humorous song (written by Bogas) about Snoopy's overly-civilized life. 

Availability:
This special streams on Amazon and has been released on a DVD set called Peanuts 1970s Collection, Vol. 2.

What A Nightmare, Charlie Brown is primarily recommended for die-hard Snoopy and like all Peanuts specials from the 1970s, it's worth watching at least once.  But it's small cast of characters and lack of dialogue prevents me from giving it a higher rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5.

2 and a half Sparkys. 

It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown

Premiered February 1, 1974.

Woodstock (Bill Melendez) has built a brand new nest and is very proud of it.

However, disaster soon strikes when his nest disapears!  Woodstock's best friend Snoopy (Melendez again) puts on his detective costume and helps the bird investigate the case of the missing nest.

At the same time, Sally Brown (Lynn Mortensen) is cracking up due to pressures at school.  Her science teacher has assigned Sally to bring in "something from nature" to be used in a science exhibit. Sally vows to show the teacher "the best exhibit she's ever seen!"

Snoopy and Woodstock begin their search for the nest by interrogating Charlie Brown (Todd Barbee).

When that proves fruitless, they visit the homes of Lucy (Melanie Kohn) and Linus (Stephen Shea), Peppermint Patty (Donna Forman), Pigpen (Tom Muller) and Marcy (Jimmy Arens).

Their search comes up empty at every house, and Snoopy is terrorized by Peppermint Patty, who thinks the beagle wants to play "Cops and Robbers."

Their exhaustive investigation leads them to Birchwood School.  They find Woodstock's nest in the science lab.  They learn it was taken by Sally because she needed it for her assignment.

Snoopy rescues the nest and returns it to its proper place.  Woodstock has his nest, but now Sally has nothing for her science class.

Sally decides to sue Woodstock and force him to return the nest.  Woodstock hires Snoopy to represent him as his attorney.  The presiding judge in the case will be none other than Lucy Van Pelt! Lucy converts her psychiatrist booth into a court of law.

How will "Judge Lucy" rule on the case?  Will Woodstock lose his home?  Will Sally flunk her science assignment?

J.A. Morris says:
The plot of It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown is pretty thin, but it's fun and entertaining enough.  This is one of those specials that consists of "Peanuts characters do funny stuff" and that's about it.  But that's okay.

Snoopy's "Sherlock Holmes" costume is amusing.  His interactions with Marcy, Peppermint Patty and the Van Pelt siblings is humorous.  Peppermint Patty is depicted as being a bit crazier than usual and their "Cops and Robbers" game is a high point of the special.

Woodstock gets put through the ringer in the first few minutes.  He loses his nest and is nearly washed away in a rain storm, which might upset some younger viewers.

It's worth noting that Snoopy and Woodstock are the only characters onscreen for the first five minutes.  This means that the only "dialogue" during that time consists of bird and dog noises made by Bill Melendez.  This didn't bother me, but some viewers might find this a bit unnerving.

The animation is excellent, the animators and production team were really hitting their stride when It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown was produced.  The rainstorm that Woodstock encounters is particularly gorgeous.  I love the way storm clouds are drawn to look like they were drawn by a child using the edge of a pencil lead.

The voice actors here are mostly good.  Since Woodstock and Snoopy are the leads, that means Bill Melendez has to do a bit more squawking than usual.  He is more than up to the task.

Music:
It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown was created near the end of  Vince Guaraldi's life, when his music was changing.  The soundtrack features lots of funky, electric guitar and electric keyboard.  Some of it was later re-used in It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown. It's not the same music Guaraldi was playing in the early specials, but I love it!

Availability:
This special has been released on the DVD titled Peanuts:The 1970s Collection Vol. 1.  It also streams on Amazon video.

It's a Mystery Charlie Brown is hardly a classic, but it's got enough funny moments and great Guaraldi music to warrant repeated viewings.  Especially recommended for die-hard fans of Woodstock.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5


3 and a half Sparkys.