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.
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.
