Warner Bros. | 1971-74 | 175 mins. | Not Rated
Just a little over three months after Warner Brothers released the Peanuts: 1960’s Collection, WB has released the two DVD Peanuts 1970’s Collection: Volume 1. The set contains the following television specials: Play It Again, Charlie Brown (1971), You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972), There’s No Time for Love, Charlie Brown (1973), A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown and (1974), It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974). Play It Again, Charlie Brown and It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown are making their DVD debut.
While the Peanuts specials of the 1970’s lack iconic staples such as A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin, the decade still produced some funny moments and introduced some important characters to Charlie Brown’s gang. Having unofficially appeared in the comic strip since 1967 and officially named in June of 1970, little yellow bird Woodstock makes his special debut in You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown. Almost immediately, he became synonymous with Snoopy; the two are almost always together. One notable exception is when Snoopy adopts his student ‘Joe Cool’ persona, which also makes its debut in You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown.
Bespectacled Marcie makes her debut as Peppermint Patty’s friend in There’s No Time for Love, Charlie Brown. Marcie’s formal approach toward language, versus Peppermint Patty’s rough edge communication style makes the two an unlikely pair, yet they seem unquestionably devoted to each other. While there are other characters (such as Pigpen and Franklin), that make brief appearances throughout the history of the Peanuts specials, the new characters mentioned above all have ongoing, prominent roles with the already established gang of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, Sally and Schroeder. Now we will take a closer look at the six specials on the Peanuts 1970’s Collection: Volume 1.
Play it Again, Charlie Brown (March 27, 1971) The first special of the seventies, the story centers on Lucy’s infatuation with Schroeder. Throughout the comic strip, Lucy is seen hanging around Schroeder, desperately trying to get his mind off his piano, Beethoven and classical music and give her the time of day; that theme is carried over here. After her numerous attempts to attract his attentions fail, Lucy tells Peppermint Patty and Sally about her plight. Ever resourceful, Peppermint hatches a plan to get Lucy in Schroeder’s good graces: invite him to play his piano in concert at the upcoming PTA program. He is thrilled at the offer and in turn, Lucy’s on cloud nine because Schroeder has accepted. However, there’s a catch: the piano master can’t play his beloved Beethoven.
While the special has its moments, I’ve always felt Lucy and Schroeder and Schroeder make excellent secondary characters; having a story involving their characters be the main focus of things, drags after fifteen minutes, or so. Charlie Brown is only seen briefly, and is it just me, or does Lucy sound remarkably older here?
You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown (October 29, 1972) This special finds poor Charlie Brown’s political ambitions dashed before they even have a chance to truly take flight. Our hapless hero gives some serious thought to running for student body president, but his hopes are dashed when Lucy’s polling suggests he has little chance. Instead, her data indicates that Linus has a solid shot at defeating candidate Russell Anderson. After opening a lead in the polls, Linus’ prospects take a nosedive when he ad-libs a mention of the Great pumpkin at a student assembly.
This stands as one of my favorite non-holiday Peanuts specials. You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown manages to gently poke fun at some of the more ridiculous aspects of the student government system, and as I mentioned earlier, marks the first appearance of Snoopy’s ‘Joe Cool’ persona.
There’s No Time for Love, Charlie Brown (March 11, 1973) There are three months of school left and all of the Peanuts gang are under pressure from too many tests and homework assignments. They now have to make preparations to write a report on a field trip to an art museum. Along with Peppermint Patty, they mistakenly end up exploring the supermarket next door to the art museum they’re supposed to tour.
Written by Charles M. Schulz (as all the specials here are), There’s No Time for Love Charlie Brown contains several satirical references to Pop Art, particularly Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans, which were extremely popular at the time. Warhol’s name is never mentioned directly, but it points out another aspect of the Peanuts that made them popular; Schulz always seemed to be aware of the time he was living in, and moved the characters into present day, whenever necessary.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (November 20, 1973) As Charlie Brown and Sally are getting ready to go to their grandmother’s house for thanksgiving, when Peppermint Patty suddenly invites herself to Chuck’s house for the holiday feast, along with her friends Marcie and Franklin. Unable to tell Patty he has other plans, Charlie Brown suddenly finds himself in a quandary. In the end, Charlie Brown and Linus host an early dinner of toast, popcorn, pretzels, and jelly beans, for Peppermint Patty and her friends, with Snoopy and Woodstock handling much of the preparation.
While A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving doesn’t quite have the iconic stature of the Halloween and Christmas specials first seen in the sixties, this one has rightfully become a thanksgiving staple for many families across the United States; mine included.
It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (February 1, 1974) When Woodstock’s fancy, new nest suddenly disappears the bird turns to his best friend Snoopy for help. Snoopy pulls out his magnifying glass and bubble pipe to investigate every kid he knows for clues. Audience members will likely realize what happened to the nest pretty quickly. However, when Snoopy finally does discover the truth, the case is brought before Lucy’s court for some good natured jabs at legal jargon and a ruling.
It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (April 9, 1974) After rain destroys his nest, Woodstock needs a new birdhouse. Sally wants new shoes. Peppermint Patty needs new eggs after Marcie botches egg-dying preparations. Everyone winds up at the same department store, where they’re already selling Christmas merchandise. Linus sees no point in shopping because the Easter Beagle will come and deliver eggs; a belief that’s questioned even as he promises this won’t be another disappointment of Great Pumpkin proportions.
While this Easter themed special has some fun moments—two Snoopy dance sequences come to mind—this one lacks the cohesiveness and charm of earlier holiday specials featuring the Peanuts gang. It’s the Easter Beagle is one of the few specials that hasn’t been a “must” holiday tradition for me.
All six of the Peanuts specials are presented in 1.33:1 fullscreen with Dolby 1.0 Mono sound. Picture quality is pretty good throughout. However, you will notice the presence of specks here and there. The specks are most apparent on characters’ peach skin. They also turn up in hair and backgrounds. There are some periods of graininess, most noticeably on Elected (which looks a little pale in places) and Thanksgiving On the whole, though, WB has provided a solid transfer.
Dialogue is discernable throughout. They’re dubbed in Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese, with subtitles offered in those languages plus English for the hearing impaired, French, and Thai.
Peanuts The 1970’s Collection: Volume 1 comes with one special feature:
• Woodstock: Creating Snoopy’s Sidekick (12:43) takes a fairly in-depth look at Snoopy’s little, yellow friend. Schulz’s widow Jean, author Phil Cousineau, Peanuts historian Derrick Bang, producer Lee Mendelson, and cartoonist Alexis Fajardo all give their thoughts as Woodstock’s creation and integration into the Peanuts family is discussed.
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