Peanuts By Schulz

Premiered in the U.S. May 9, 2016.

Hi again everyone, I haven't posted in a while, I've got several reviews in progress that will be posted in the near future.  Until then, here's a short review of "shorts."

Back in 2014, a new series of Peanuts shorts, titled Peanuts by Schulz premiered on French television.  This series premiered in the states earlier this year on the Boomerang network and Cartoon Network.

Peanuts By Schulz is somewhat slight compared to the classic specials of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.  The episodes are only seven minutes long, sometimes they're shown in fifteen minute blocks.  The series' content is very similar to The Charlie Brown And Snoopy Show, which featured several short stories each episode.

This series consists of adaptations of classic comic strips.  Sometimes we even see borders that are seen between panels of strips.  Peanuts By Schulz features beautiful animation that looks like a combination of watercolors and newsprint.

The voice actors are all well cast.  While the French version used adult actors, the American version used child actors who auditioned for the Peanuts movie but didn't make the cut.  

I don't plan to review every episode, but I give these shorts a solid recommendation and encourage all fans of Charlie Brown to seek out the series.

Some long-time fans of animated Peanuts were put off by the computer-animated look of the characters in the Peanuts theatrical film.  I liked that movie, but Peanuts By Schulz shows that traditional Peanuts cartoons are alive and well.

Those who don't get Boomerang or Cartoon Network will be pleased to learn that the series will be released on DVD on January 24 on a 2-disc set titled Peanuts:Snoopy Tales.

You can watch a 2-minute "minisode" from Peanuts By Schulz in this video:

That's all for now, check back in early 2017 for some new reviews of Charlie Brown specials, thanks for stopping by,

J.A.

Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown

Premiered August 24, 1977.
Charlie Brown:I decided to come to camp, because I've never been much of a person.  I thought maybe coming to camp would help me grow up, and maybe make me into a leader.  I could use leadership qualities.
Peppermint Patty:You could say that again, Chuck.  You couldn't lead a dog on a leash.

Charlie Brown (Duncan Watson) and friends visit Camp Remote, located in the mountains.

 
As soon as they arrive, they're harassed by three bullies (Kirk Jue, Jordan Warren and Tom Muller)  and their very aggressive cat named Brutus (Jackson Beck).

The bullies tell Chuck and Sally that they run the camp and that Charlie Brown better not step out of line.  Brutus goes after Snoopy and Woodstock (both voiced by Bill Melendez) and gives them a scare.  Thankfully, Linus (Liam Martin) intervenes with his blanket and scares the bullies away.

"Fastest blanket in the West!"

Later on, Chuck tells Peppermint Patty (Stuart Brotman) that he feels like he's never done anything and that he decided to go to camp because it will help him grow up and possibly teach him how to be a leader.

The boys and girls stay in separate tents.  Charlie Brown lodges in a tent with Franklin (Joseph Biter), Schroeder (Greg Felton) and Linus.

The girls' tent consists of Peppermint Patty, Lucy (Melanie Kohn), Marcie (Jimmy Ahrens) and Sally (Gail Davis).  Peppermint Patty decides that every decision of the tent will be made democratically via secret ballots.  But Peppermint Patty ends up getting her way no matter how the others vote.

The kids face off in several competitions.

First up is Tug Of War.  Charlie Brown's team faces the bullies. 

Unfortunately for Chuck, the Bullies win by cheating.

During the potato sack race, Peppermint Patty's squad is matched against the bullies. 

Once again the bullies cheat their way to victory.  They use sacks that have holes in the bottom!

The final contest is the raft river race.

The bullies have won the previous two years and are confident they'll win again.  Their "raft" has a motor, radar and sonar.  To make matters worse, they inflate it by stealing air from the other kids' rafts.  But shortly into the race, the bullies crash into a dock!  This give the other kids a chance to take the lead.

Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty's teams are doing well, but not for long.  The bullies move a sign at a fork in the river that leads the kids into a blasting range!  Thankfully, Snoopy is able to clear their path.

Shortly after that, disaster strikes.  A vicious thunder storm wrecks their rafts.  Charlie Brown worries when he can't find Snoopy and Woodstock.

The bird and the beagle are worried about each other, since they're separated during the wreck.

Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty's teams put the race aside and join forces to find Woodstock and Snoopy.

Will they find their animal friends?  Can one of their teams win the race and finally give the bullies their much-deserved comeuppance?

Review:
Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown is Chuck's third feature film and it's the most visually striking so far.  Chuck and the gang are taken to places we've never seen in Peanuts animation before like Rocky Mountains, the desert, cattle farms and white water rapids.

Charlie Brown shows some development and self-awareness in this film, with his desire to grow up and become a leader.  While he does get called "blockhead" a few times, he does demonstrate a level of leadership we haven't seen before.

Schroeder brings his piano on the raft race.

There's a nice scene in the middle where the kids find a vacant cabin.  They dance together and sing "She'll Be Comin' 'Round The Mountain."  Maybe it's a diversion from the central story, but it's nice to see them having a good time and acting like kids.

While the other kids freak out, Charlie Brown remains level-headed.

I'll mention that very little kids might find the thunder storm scenes hard to handle, since Woodstock is put in jeopardy.  It's one of the most intense moments in any Peanuts film or special.

This movie includes some interesting pop culture references.  Snoopy's motorcycle helmet is likely meant to remind us of one worn by Peter Fonda in Easy Rider.  Peppermint Patty's raft flies the Women's Liberation flag, which is another nice touch.  

Snoopy encounters a somewhat goofy looking bear...

 

...who is apparently afraid of beagles!

Race For Your Life is not without faults.  The plot uses the "secret ballots" gag at least one time too many.  The bullies are never named.  Chuck and the others just call them "the bullies" or "those bullies," and the bullies never address each other by name.  Maybe they were supposed to be stand-ins for every real life bullies members of the audience have encountered?

The bullies trash the other kids' rafts!

I've said here before that I don't like to see adults in Charlie Brown cartoons.  But one presumes that there is some sort of adult supervision at Camp Remote.  Charlie Brown and the others find themselves in deadly scenarios more than once.  How could anyone allow the kids to compete in such a dangerous race?  And how could adults let the bullies' win by cheating over and over again?  In this regard, Race For Your Life reminds me of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (how could adults allow kids to risk their life in the Tri-Wizard Tournament?  But I digress).

The voice actors all well cast and "sound like" the characters they're portraying.  Duncan Watson and Stuart Brotman are especially good as Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty.  The bullies are played by Kirk Jue, Jordan Warren and Tom Muller and they REALLY make you loathe the bullies and everything they do.

Brutus, the bullies' cat is voiced by Jackson Beck.

 He was a prolific voice actor on radio and cartoons from the 1930s through the 1990s.  Beck also voiced the character Brutus on a series of Popeye cartoons.  So perhaps Brutus the cat's name is something of an inside joke.

Music:
Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen composed the music for this movie and it's a very diverse score.  Scenes that feature Snoopy's motorcycle rides are punctuated by distorted electric guitar. 

The raft race is features bluegrass tunes.  Woodstock and Snoopy's explorations in the woods are accompanied by pastoral flute music.  Other music places the cello in the forefront.

Snoopy and Woodstock sail past the bullies.

Larry Finlayson sings the title song and another song later in the film.  Both songs were written by Bogas and Finlayson does a nice job handling vocal duties.  All in all, it's a good soundtrack.    

Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown is entertaining and action packed from start to finish and its plot even allows Charlie Brown to (sort of) achieve a rare victory.  It's recommended, but the problems listed above prevent it from receiving a higher rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

 3 Sparkys.
 

Play It Again, Charlie Brown

Premiered March 28, 1971.
Lucy:Schroeder, do piano players make a lot of money?
Schroeder:MONEY!  Who cares about money?  This is art!

Lucy Van Pelt (Pamelyn Ferdin) has got it bad.  She is "in love" with Schroeder (Danny Hjeim) and is constantly stopping by his house and telling him how much she likes him.  But Schroeder barely acknowledges her existence, other than to tell Lucy he doesn't like her.  He's only interested in playing Beethoven's music on his piano.

Sally (Hilary Momberger) tells Lucy that "the only way to attract older men is to flatter them."  Lucy takes this advice to heart and tells Schroeder he's cute.  Schroeder ignores her and keeps playing his piano.  

Lucy tells Snoopy (Bill Melendez) about her romantic problems.  The beagle tells her (through his gestures) that she should cut to the chase and give Schroeder a kiss.  Schroeder responds to her kiss by crying out for hot water and iodine!

When Lucy is about to throw in the towel, Peppermint Patty (Christopher DeFaria) has an idea that gives her hope.  

The local PTA is holding a benefit and Peppermint Patty is responsible for booking entertainment.  She tells Lucy that Schroeder can provide live music and Lucy can take credit for setting up his professional debut.

Schroeder is grateful for this and tells Lucy she is "nice" for arranging his first paying gig.  Lucy is on top of the world when Schroeder thanks her.  But Peppermint Patty has some bad news.  Schroeder will not be allowed to play classical music.  The PTA wants a rock concert.

Charlie Brown (Chris Inglis) has a solution to this problem.  He has a rock trio that can serve as Schroeder's back-up band.  But Schroeder isn't interested in playing rock music.  Charlie Brown begs him to reconsider and think of how everyone will be disappointed if he doesn't play.  

Schroeder changes his mind and decides to play rock at the benefit show.  But he feels that he's sold out.

Has Schroeder sold out?  Will he go through with the concert?

J.A. Morris says:
Play It Again, Charlie Brown is another fun special that was rarely shown on tv.  If nothing else, it's noteworthy as one of the few specials that relegates Charlie Brown to a supporting role.  He doesn't even appear onscreen until the 8-minute mark of this special.

Schroeder looks to Beethoven for guidance.

Another unique aspect is that Charlie Brown gets to be sort of "cool" in Play It Again.  He's the lead guitarist in a combo with Pigpen on drums and Snoopy on bass.  Even Lucy, who is usually Chuck's biggest detractor, dances to the music played by his band.  

Schroeder expresses his dislike for rock music, while Lucy dances.

It might sound silly to speculate about the lives of fictional characters when they're "off camera."  But I'd like to think this means Charlie Brown has friends who appreciate his "musical" side and don't call him a blockhead. 

Lucy has a line where she says the women's liberation movement will take away her membership if they "ever found out how I throw myself at that man!"  This is the sort of cultural reference that could only occur in the 1970s.  Some might feel that this line dates Play It Again, but as a historian, I appreciate the "period" detail.

In a case of role-reversal, Lucy seeks psychiatric help!

There's a strange and funny running gag about spray cans in Play It Again.  Lucy tells Schroeder that "Beethoven comes in spray cans" and we hear Beethoven's 5th symphony emanate from a spray can!  I guess it's a comment about the disposable nature of modern music?  It's very strange, almost surreal and not the sort of thing I can recall seeing in other Peanuts specials.  But I like it!

 
If I have any problem with Play It Again, Charlie Brown, it's the pacing.  The special is more than half over before we hear about the PTA benefit concert.  Before that, it's just a series of vignettes. That doesn't make it bad at all, it just means it's a notch below the best Charlie Brown animated offerings.   

Frieda (Lynda Mendelson) makes a brief cameo...

...and pays a price for not knowing who Beethoven was.

All of the voice actors do a fine job.  Lucy is more pouty than mean in this special and Pamelyn Ferdin does a great job delivering the pouty-ness.  Danny Hjeim is also fine as Schroeder.  

This was the first Peanuts animation that did not feature Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown.  Perhaps that's why the creative team decided to build a special around other characters?  In any event, Chris Inglis (in his only outing as Charlie Brown) makes a good Chuck.  Inglis is especially convincing when he says "think of your ol' manager!" while begging Schroeder to play with his rock band. 

Music:
John Scott Trotter is credited as arranger of Vince Guaraldi's music here.  Play It Again is the first special that featured Guaraldi's music played on electric instruments.  It's a big change from earlier specials, but it sounds great to me.  Trotter wrote the music played by Charlie Brown's combo and it's a catchy rock 'n roll instrumental. 

But the real musical star of Play It Again, Charlie Brown is Ludwig Van Beethoven.  We get samples from nine of Beethoven's works.  Schroeder's piano solos were wonderfully performed by Lillian Steuber.  She was a renowned concert pianist and a music professor at University of Southern California.  

Availability:
This special can be found on a dvd called Peanuts 1970s Collection Vol 1 and it also streams on iTunes.

Snoopy and Linus (Stephen Shea) dance up a storm, much to the dismay of Lucy.

Play It Again, Charlie Brown is an enjoyable special filled with great music and quirky humor.  It's recommended to all Peanuts fans, especially those who love the Lucy/Schroeder dynamic. 

  J.A. Morris' rating:

 


 .5

 
3 and a half Sparkys.