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.

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.

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.