A Charlie Brown Valentine

Premiered February 14, 2002.

Valentine's Day is approaching and Charlie Brown can't get his mind off one of his classmates known only as "the little red-haired girl."  He wants to ask her to go to the Valentine's Day dance, but is too shy to talk to her.  Chuck goes through all sorts of dramatic methods just to get her to notice him.

He "winks" at the little red-haired girl, which gets him sent to the school nurse when his teacher thinks something is wrong with his eye.  Chuck thinks walking around the room will get him noticed. Unfortunately, this leads to his shirt getting caught in the pencil sharpener.

Linus suggests that Charlie Brown should just get her phone number, call her up and invite her to the dance.  He calls the wrong number and winds up accidentally asks Peppermint Patty to the dance.

At the same time, Charlie Brown's sister Sally is trying to find a way get Linus' attention...to no avail.

Linus reminds Sally that he's not her "Sweet Baboo!"

And Lucy is pestering Schroeder as usual.

Plus, Snoopy tries to break into the Valentine card-writing business.

Snoopy also tries to help Chuck practice what he will say to the little red-haired girl. 

Can Charlie Brown summon up the courage to talk to little red-haired girl?  Will the Valentine Dance be a disaster for everyone?

Will Sally get a Valentine from her Sweet Baboo?

J.A. Morris says:

This is one of the first Charlie Brown specials produced after the death of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz.  When he died, the creative team relied on plots from comic strips (and to a lesser extent, earlier animated specials) to create stories for new specials.  So it's not surprising that A Charlie Brown Valentine feels more like a series of vignettes than a cohesive story.  But it's fun to watch Chuck, Sally and the gang fret over Valentine's Day once again.

Charlie Brown's efforts to gain the attention of the little red-haired girl are all pretty funny.  We feel sorry for Chuck most of the time, he's often his own worst enemy.  However, he's relate-able, since most of us have been overcome by shyness at some time or another.

Some of the best scenes from Peanuts specials involve the interaction of Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty, and A Charlie Brown Valentine is no exception.  Adding Marcie to the mix makes it even more fun.  We get a funny scene where Marcie asks Chuck if he likes her, all he can say is "do I what?," much to Marcie's consternation.  Unlike Peppermint Patty, Marcie is able to articulate her feelings for Charlie Brown, even if doesn't accomplish anything.

Charlie Brown waits for Valentines to arrive.

Linus seems pretty mean in this special.  When he overhears Sally talking about what he'll give her for Valentine's Day, he says the only thing she'll receive from him is "a big zero."  On the hand, Linus has never encouraged Sally's crush, so his somewhat cruel behavior isn't surprising.

Eudora makes a brief cameo.

As some of you know, I run another blog dedicated to Charlie Brown specials.  I always find it interesting when specials feature obscure Peanuts characters.  Eudora, who appeared in 1970s and 80s comic strips makes a brief appearance here, accompanying Sally on her quest for Valentine presents.

Snoopy's attempts at writing Valentine cards are all pretty funny too.  He types up expressions of love such as "your eyes are like two supper dishes."  Very romantic if you're a beagle.

For the soundtrack, this special features new recordings of various Vince Guaraldi tunes.  This makes A Charlie Brown Valentine feel like an "old school" Peanuts special, even though it was produced in 2002.

Some trivia:the phrase "little red-haired girl" is spoken 27 times in this 22 minute special!

This special has been released twice on DVD and is usually re-run around Valentine's Day on ABC.

Linus, Chuck and Snoopy, dressed up for the big dance.

A Charlie Brown Valentine isn't the best Peanuts holiday special, but it's a lot of fun and it another special that shows that Valentine's Day isn't easy for lots of people.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Valentine Hearts

*Smooch!* 

RigbyMel says:

This is a cute special, but is a little too "bitty" to be a great one in my estimation.

As J.A. Morris says above,  there are lots of funny and enjoyable scenes.

Lucy switches from Psychatric help to Valentine purveyor for the holiday. 

Lucy's "super-potent" Valentine that requires a five day waiting period and Snoopy's Valentine writing efforts are highlights.    Poor Charlie Brown getting his shirt caught in the pencil sharpener is also pretty amusing, if somewhat improbable.

The Peanuts gang are, as always, sweetly relatable and it is very nice to hear David Benoit's takes on classic Vince Guaraldi themes.  The child voice actors in the special are pretty good as well.

Practice makes perfect, Chuck ... 

A Charlie Brown Valentine is an enjoyable special, but not quite a classic one.

RigbyMel's rating:

2 and half Valentine hearts

It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

Peppermint Patty: Now look, kid: these eggs are *not* to be fried. Nor are they to be roasted, toasted, or waffled.
Marcie: Yes, sir.
Peppermint Patty: These eggs have to be boiled. You boil them, then I'll show you how to paint them.

First aired April 9, 1974

Easter is coming soon, Charlie Brown (Todd Barbee) and the gang are getting ready to celebrate.

Peppermint Patty (Linda Ercoli) tries (unsuccessfully) to teach Marcie (Jimmy Ahrens) how to dye eggs. Marcy fries them instead.


Woodstock (Bill Melendez) needs a birdhouse, rain is beating down on him.

 Sally (Lynn Mortensen) has nothing to wear for Easter.

So the kids head to a department store in search of eggs, clothes and a birdhouse. Linus (Stephen Shea) says they don't need to shop for eggs and jelly beans;The Easter Beagle will take care of all that. Everyone is skeptical about this "Easter Beagle" (they're familiar with Linus' odd notions about holiday visitors), especially Peppermint Patty.

Peppermint Patty doesn't share Linus' faith in "The Easter Beagle."

The store already has it's Christmas decorations up and signs that announce "pre-Christmas" sales and "246 days until Xmas".


Snoopy finds a display of sugar eggs.

He looks inside one and imagines himself dancing with bunnies.


Marcie continues to fail at making Easter Eggs and Linus keeps telling her & P. Patty that the Easter Beagle will bring the eggs.


Is Linus right?  Will the Easter Beagle come bearing eggs and candy?  Will Marcy learn how to properly make Easter Eggs?

J.A. Morris says:
It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is lots of fun, but there's not a lot of plot to discuss.  It's mostly just a series of scenes that feature beloved characters interacting with each other and amusing dialogue.

Mild 40-year-old spoiler:Unlike his Halloween folly, Linus' faith is rewarded, even if the Easter Beagle arrives due to Snoopy's intervention.  Marcie's attempts at dying Easter Eggs are very funny, I still cover my eyes every time she "waffles" eggs.

The special doesn't spend a lot of time on the spiritual aspects of Easter.  But we get a scene where Lucy (Melanie Kohn) calls Easter the gift-giving season.  Schroeder (Todd Barbee) tells her that "Easter's not a time for getting, it's a time of renewal, the start of Spring."  That's a nice way of summing up Easter's meaning and the season.

When this special was produced, the original Peanuts voice actors were long gone.  But the kids here are all well cast.

Vince Guaraldi was still around and provides another great soundtrack.  At this point, Guaraldi's music was heavily influenced by funk and fusion, he plays some electric guitar here.  The soundtrack is very different than the piano-based tunes we heard in the earlier specials, but it's still excellent.

For those interested in math and trivia:
When the kids visit the shopping mall, there's a sign that reads "Only 246 shopping days until Christmas."  For those keeping score, that would make it April 23.  Which is pretty late in the calendar for Easter, but not impossible.

It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is a lot of fun and is highly recommended.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Easter Eggs!


RigbyMel says:

This is one of my favorite Easter specials.   I love that it refers back to the Great Pumpkin special.

Unlike the Great Pumpkin, the Easter Beagle does show up

I love its gently anti-consumerist message.

Christmas seems to come earlier each year!

I love (and am simultaneously frustrated by) Marcie's egg ineptness.

Marcie fails to grasp the concept of the hard-boiled egg

I love Woodstock's swinging bachelor pad with groovy sound system.

Groovy, man!

I love that Snoopy thinks to get him a birdhouse. (As we know, I am partial to Woodstock.)

I love watching Snoopy dance with his imaginary bunny friends.

Adorable!

I even love the springtime background paintings used -- I think they are exceptionally pretty.

Check out the daffodils and the blossoms on the tree

As J.A. Morris says,  Vince Guarldi's funk and fusion inspired score is way cool and it gets extra points in my book for excellent use of Beethoven's Symphony Number 7.  When all seems bleakest we get the somber second movement of the symphony.

When the Easter Beagle appears, we get the happier, dancing strains from the midst of the first movement.  Great stuff.   There's even some Minuet in G a la Bach that shows up in the scene where Snoopy dances with Peppermint Patty and Marcie at the shopping center.

It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown does a great job of presenting wonderful vignettes that give us the spirit of the characters and the spring season in a very satisfying way -- even if the plot is rather slight.

This special is still shown on TV often (sadly, it did not get a network airing in 2015) and is readily available on DVD and streaming services like Amazon Instant Video.   If you enjoy the Peanuts and have not seen the Easter Beagle, you owe it to yourself to check this out!

RigbyMel's rating:

4 Easter Eggs

Some trivia about A Charlie Brown Christmas

Premiered December 9, 1965.

We haven't reviewed A Charlie Brown Christmas because we didn't know if there was much else to be said about it.  It's a wonderful story with classic music from the Vince Guaraldi Trio, the animation still looks great and and the voice actors are all perfectly cast.  You know the story, so what's the point in summarizing it.  

This is the 50th Christmas season that A Charlie Brown Christmas will be shown on tv.  

But here's something you may not have noticed before.  I didn't notice it until last year and I've watched it more than 30 times and owned the special on vhs and dvd for years.  

At the end of the A Charlie Brown Christmas, all the kids gather around the decorated tree.  

From left to right, you'll see 3 and 4 (the twin girls in purple), Sally, Snoopy, Lucy, Freida, Linus, Pigpen and Schroeder.  In the back row, 5 is the kid in a blue coat, followed by Violet, Shermy and Patty (who should not be confused with Peppermint Patty, she hadn't been introduced yet).  5 is wearing a blue coat, Shermy is in orange. 

    

Fast-forwarding a few seconds, the kids start singing 'Hark, The Herald Angels Sing':

Now we've got two kids in blue!  What happened?  Now there are two 5s.  Or are there two Shermys?  Or Shermy is wearing a magic coat that changes colors?  Looks like somebody goofed. 

Since we're discussing 5:

5 first appeared in the Peanuts comic strip in Septmber of 1963.  His full name is 555 95472.  The last five digits are his last name, and that was also Charles Schulz' zip code at the time.  5 says that his father was "disturbed by all the numbers being put on us these days, so he changed our name to numbers."

His sisters 3 and 4 were introduced two weeks later.  These characters are relatively obscure, but they were immortalized in this special's dance scene.

5 and 4 (or is it 3?) show off their dance moves.

You may have noticed that A Charlie Brown Christmas ends somewhat abruptly.  The kids don't even get to finish their song.  That's because an ad for Coca-Cola originally ran during the closing credits.  This was edited out of later telecasts when Coke was no long the sponsor.  Here's the way it ended when it aired back in 1965:

 

A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the best Christmas specials of all time and it's a good today as it was when it premiered decades ago. 

J.A. Morris and RigbyMel's rating:

4 candy canes.