Animation Celebration Saturday - A Boy Named Charlie Brown

National General Pictures, 1969
Voices of Peter Robbins, Pamela Ferdyn, Glenn Gilger, and Bill Melendez
Directed by Bill Melendez
Music and Lyrics by Vince Guaraldi, John Scott Trotter, and Rod McKuen

The Peanuts specials were wildly popular in the mid-late 1960's, bringing the beloved Charles Schultz comic strips ably to life. Many of them are still associated with the holidays to this day. Long-time Peanuts director and producer Bill Melendez decided that they were successful enough to make the jump to the big screen. How does Charlie Brown and his kites and baseball games look in a feature-length film? We're going to start with Charlie preparing that infamous kite as we find out...

The Story: Poor Charlie Brown (Robbins) just can't catch a break. Whether it's a kite that won't fly or losing a baseball game or local psychiatrist-stand owner Lucy Van Pelt (Ferdyn) relating his many faults, nothing every seems to go right for him. That is, until he manages to win the class spelling bee, and then the school spelling bee. Now Lucy wants to be his agent, and every kid in school is rooting for him. Linus even gives him his blanket as a good-luck charm. That lasts about five minutes before Linus can't stand missing his blanket. He and Snoopy follow Charlie Brown to New York to retrieve it, then to watch Charlie compete. Win or lose, Charlie knows he did try...and that he'll always be "good ol' Charlie Brown" to his friends.

The Animation: Melendez and his crew did their best with the limited budget they had. While it retains the sketchy look of the show, there's more movement and slightly more refined character animation. Where the artwork really shines is in several extended instrumental sequences that blend random images with watercolor backgrounds and even rotoscoping, blended in time to classical music. They look stunning, and even soothing, especially Schroeder's piano piece.

The Song and Dance: Just as charming as the specials. There's some wonderful bits in this film, starting with Charlie Brown and his kite and ending with him trying to kick Lucy's football again. Considering how often he loses in the comics and specials, it's almost cathartic to see him win for a change, and how the kids cheer for him. There's even a little drama with Linus' missing blanket.

Favorite Number: "I Before E" is a catchy tune for Charlie Brown, Linus, and Snoopy as they practice for the school. Lucy and her friends sing "Failure Face" in the opening to give Charlie their opinion of him after the baseball game doesn't work out...but they change their tune with "Champion Charlie Brown" after he's won the school spelling bee. There's also McKuen's sweet and laid-back title song over the opening and closing credits.

The real stand-outs are the instrumental numbers. "The Star Spangled Banner" mixes patriotic imagery with drawings of the kids with their hats off just before the game, and it's short but stirring. Schroeder's piano solo and a later number with Snoopy skating at Rockerfeller Center in New York are more soothing, mixing gorgeous watercolors and stunning colors with artwork of the Schroeder and his piano or Snoopy on the ice. The skating number even has some nicely-done rotoscoping of hockey players during a faster segment with Snoopy playing ice hockey.

What I Don't Like: Obviously, if you're looking for a more linear story, this isn't it. There's a lot of filler, especially in the second half. A segment with Snoopy chasing the Red Baron is well-done but not really connected to anything else. Linus' desperate search through Manhattan for his blanket almost comes off dramatic and feels slightly out-of-place in the mostly comic story.

The Big Picture: If you or your kids are fans of the Peanuts and have enjoyed the specials, this might be a great way to introduce Charlie Brown and his never-say-die world outside of the holidays.

Home Media: Easy find on DVD and Blu-Ray, alone and in collections with the other original Peanuts films of the 1970's and early 80's.

DVD
DVD - Peanuts Double Feature: A Boy Named Charlie Brown & Snoopy Come Home
Blu-Ray