A Boy Named Charlie Brown (DVD)

.../> Peanuts first began as a syndicated daily and Sunday newspaper cartoon that ran in US newspapers from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000 (which happens to be the day after it's creator's death). Written by Charles M. Schultz, the strip featured a group of children in a suburban neighbourhood whose lives at home and at school provided humour as well as social commentary on modern life and current events. Its relevance and sense of humour resonated ...
...and published in 75 countries. A rough estimation of its readership puts peak readership figures at about 355 million people.

The series centred on an everyman type character, a little boy named Charlie Brown, aged 8. Nothing he ever does turns out quite as he intended, and the other children tend to be dismissive of him. So much so that everyone always calls him by his full name, never just Charlie. He has a beagle named Snoopy, ... more

~~~The Concept~~~

Peanuts first began as a syndicated daily and Sunday newspaper cartoon that ran in US newspapers from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000 (which happens to be the day after it's creator's death). Written by Charles M. Schultz, the strip featured a group of children in a suburban neighbourhood whose lives at home and at school provided humour as well as social commentary on modern life and current events. Its relevance and sense of humour resonated around the world, and at its peak, was translated into 21 languages and published in 75 countries. A rough estimation of its readership puts peak readership figures at about 355 million people.

The series centred on an everyman type character, a little boy named Charlie Brown, aged 8. Nothing he ever does turns out quite as he intended, and the other children tend to be dismissive of him. So much so that everyone always calls him by his full name, never just Charlie. He has a beagle named Snoopy, who is rather eccentric and seems not quite certain of the fact that he is a dog and not another kid in the neighbourhood. Charlie Brown's best friend is Linus, who carries a security blanket and has an overbearing sister, Lucy, who bullies him and Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown has a younger sister, Sally, who is a hanger on that has a huge crush on Linus. There are other characters who lend supporting roles: Peppermint Patty the sandal wearing tomboy, Marcie the slightly dim but sweet glasses wearing best friend of Patty, Schroeder who is Lucy's unwilling love interest and a talented Beethoven inspired child pianist, Violet, one of Lucy's clique of friends, and Woodstock, a yellow bird who is Snoopy's best friend and ally against the neighbour's cat World War Two. Snoopy also had a rich fantasy life in which his doghouse is a WWII Sopwith Camel fighter plane with him cast as a flying ace battling it out with the legendary Red Baron and having adventures behind enemy lines.

Peanuts made the leap from print to television in 1961 when Ford commissioned black and white advertisements for their new Ford Falcon car. The animator, Bill Melendez, became friends with Schultz during production and together with producer Lee Mendelson and with Coca Cola as a corporate sponsor, they created the very first of the TV specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas, which aired in 1965. Six TV specials and eight years later, the first of the animated feature length films was to appear: A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

~~~~The Film~~~

1969 was a year of changes. People began looking forward to the future with great hope and expectations, and even trepidation. Man had ventured into space and the moon was no longer a stranger, making people wonder just where the world was going and how they fit it into it. Enter Charlie Brown, the young boy who never is quite sure how to he fits in, and with his own set of insecurities in dealing with his ever changing world. Used to abject failure, this film features Charlie Brown in a success. He has won the school spelling bee, and is on to the national championships! Studying hard, and with the Peanuts gang as ever egging him on, he does his very best. Will he be the all time winner? And if he loses, does that make HIM a loser?

Also exploring his inner self and his outer expression of it is Schroeder. As always, obsessed by Beethoven, we see him pay his homage to the great composer via his piano. The sublimeness of his effort is enhanced in bright Technicolor shots of abstract shapes, giving us a clue as to how he sees the music within his very soul. Nor is he the only other child doing self examination; Linus loses his blanket and goes through a soul searching hunt for his blanket and must face what the world represents to him without it. Snoopy also gets into the act, moulding himself into the WW II Flying Ace in a wonderful aerial battle sequence with his doghouse as a Sopwith Camel. Snoopy is free from the mundane in his heart and mind as he bravely faces danger and saves the world from the ravages of the feared Red Baron.

~~~My Thoughts~~~
While it is an ensemble piece, the secondary characters of the Peanuts gang act as fine counterpoints to that which Charlie Brown is experiencing. Fear of failure, contentment in who we are, and even who we imagine ourselves to be are all played out in the various scenes. Wonderfully written, with a marvellous jazzy score by Vince Guaraldi, this film is a definite crowd pleaser. Children will sympathise with the insecurities of Charlie Brown, adults will recognise it, and as always, Snoopy is there to lighten the mood. His battle with the Red Baron in this film became the stuff of legend, spawning a demand for the image on T shirts and mugs, ensuring its continued presence in the print comic strip and the social conciousness for years to come. The story is crafted so as to be accessible for children 4 and up without their attention wandering, and at 86 minutes it is just the right length for the younger viewer. Children can sit and enjoy it at this length without the horrible wriggling that distracts and annoys older viewers.

~~~The DVD~~~
Released by Paramount Home Entertainment, it is again a bargain title. It is in the original fullscreen aspect as it was made for television. Remastered to clear and bright pictures, and mono digitised for clarity, it is nonetheless a basic DVD. Available only in English, there are no subtitles or any other extras. Free of advertisements and previews, you place the disc in, and get the menu where you can elect to Play Movie. At £5.97, this makes a nice little movie you can sit down with a pizza to watch as a family, and that everyone will enjoy. 

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