"PEANUTS: 1960’s COLLECTION"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD July 7 Official Kids WB site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
Since Warner Bros. secured the rights to all the Peanuts television specials, they have been dropping the shows on DVD at a regular pace. While we recently enjoyed “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” in the “Peanuts Deluxe Holiday Collection” this past fall, they are collected again in a different set.
“Peanuts 1960’s Collection” is a double-disc set that includes all six remastered television specials from the love decade. What’s cool about this collection is that only the two holiday specials are widely remembered. Sure, you can get them in many incarnations from DVD to videotape, but some of these lesser known specials are a real treat for Peanuts nuts.
Let’s skip the classic specials “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” The first is the seminal Peanuts special that set the stage for everything that came later. The latter is possibly even more notable in the series, influencing popular culture for decades. I personally remember watching these episodes as a child in its given season. It was something we set our schedules for in the days before VCRs, DVDs or DVRs.
Rounding out the first disc is “Charlie Brown’s All-Stars,” which is the second installment in the television special realm. It’s not as memorable as the two classic specials which bookend it, but it is a treat to see for the Peanuts fan. Charlie Brown as the manager of the baseball team is trying to land a sponsor and hopefully win a game. However, when the new sponsor won’t approve the girls and a dog playing on the team, Charlie Brown stands up for his friends.
One of the things that Peanuts is known for is Charlie Brown’s no-quit attitude to sports, and this episode, while a tad dull at times, reinforces his personal strength to not give up, even when he’s told he’s a loser. There’s a grand message here that might be even more important that picking the sickly Christmas tree or wait in a pumpkin patch all night for what you believe in.
The second disc includes “You’re In Love, Charlie Brown,” which fleshes out his budding relationship with the little red-head girl. This is a cute bit, although it gets overshadowed in television history by the Valentine’s Day special that came later.
“He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown” gives Snoopy an even greater spotlight when Charlie Brown sends him off for obedience training. This is fun to watch for Snoopy’s antics, including dealing with an overbearing (and Marci-less) Peppermint Patty.
Finally, “It was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown” sees the kids struggling with an essay at school detailing what they did during the summer. Like the other lesser-known episodes, this has its moments but is overall somewhat forgettable. Yet, if you’ve OD’d on well known Peanuts episodes, these four somewhat lost episodes are pretty darn cool.
Rounding out the DVDs are a batch of cartoon trailers for the WB line, along with a 30-minute documentary about Vince Guaraldi, the composer who developed the iconic musical score for the Peanuts television series.
