Charlie Brown und seine Freunde

The PEANUTS films, coming from a student of international cinema, have contained some of the truest statements I have borne witness to in my life. If you were to really sit down and listen to what these characters say to each other you would be surprised at how much you can truly relate to them. A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN is the best of them because it does the best job combining the artistic with the humanistic. Even though this is a movie that is defined through a series of seemingly unrelated moments (a fantasized hockey game, a spelling bee, a beautiful performance on piano by Schroeder, a baseball game) this only adds to the closeness we feel toward the characters. The tragic sequence in the Film where Linus expresses remorse for lending Charlie Brown his literal "security blanket" and seeks to find it is a sequence that would make Bergman proud! I rarely recommend movies that I truly like but I have to say that A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN is a film for everyone!

1st watched 10/30/2004 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Bill Melendez): Charming characters, unique animation, and a great lesson. Excellent slow-paced introduction to each character in this Peanuts cartoon with all the trademark character traits being brought out one at a time. Some very psychedelic-type animation matches the era(the late 60's) during a musical piece by Schroeder as well as a well-done rendition of the national anthem initiating the baseball season for the Peanuts gang. The only down-points are some of the songs, especially a small ditty called "Failure Face" sung by the girls to Charlie. The story follows the down-in-his-luck hero Charlie and his attempts to do something as a winner by entering a spelling bee contest for his school. The lesson here, which you have to wait till the end to see, is that as long as you keep trying there will be little victories in life and that you can't change others but you can do the best for you and that's whats important. Schulz doesn't try to color-coat life, he shows that it is as it is which is another appealing trait. Aside from these deep meanings embedded, this is also a very funny and light-hearted film(with many great moments from Snoopy, of course, for comic relief) that I consider a classic since these characters very rarely made it to the big screen and this effort is done very well.

I saw this film first in 1969. I thought it was a cute little film then, as now.

This is the first Peanuts feature, and the last show using Peter Robbins as the voice of Charlie Brown.

In this film, Charlie Brown, our hero, has finally proved that he can do something right. He wins the spelling bee in his class. All the kids treat him with their usual lack of tact. He studies really hard and wins the championship at his school and gets to go to the "city" to be in the "National Elimination Spelling Bee" I will not spoil the ending.

Vince Guaraldi, the composer of the music for the six previous TV specials, is back for this one. There are new arrangements of the old music, plus several new songs by Rod McKuen. Guaraldi did not do the music for the next feature, Snoopy Come Home (1972) and that film suffers because of this.

Schroeder has a beautiful salute to Beethoven in this film. While the music plays, we see some beautiful abstract scenes and colors on the screen that look fantastic in Technicolor. Sadly, I have seen this sequence cut from TV showings.

Snoopy has a wonderful sequence while he and Linus are wandering around the city looking for his blanket that he sent with Charlie Brown for good luck. Snoopy discovers an ice skating rink and pretends that he is in a hockey match while he skates around the rink. He also has an encounter with the Red Baron that has some of the same animation that was used in "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown! on TV.

One thing that I like about this film is when the closing credits are rolling, you get to see animated images of most of the principal creators of this film. Their names are on the right side of the screen, and their images appear on the left. Things like that entice me to sit through the credits instead of walking out as soon as they start.

If you have never seen this film, by all means rent it and see what you have been missing!

Saw this film in a theater when it was first released and it has stuck with me all these years. Nothing like the Disney films of that period, it truly inspired most cutting edge animation that exists today (from "The Simpsons" to "South Park"). The TV specials had already animated the tiny Peanut kids who philosophized like ivy league psychologists, but the big screen dabbled in artistic compositions of color and abstract art. Simply a treat. A Fantasia for the Sixties! The sequels never got so gutsy.

Charlie Brown is a young boy who cannot ever seem to do anything right. His baseball team always loses the first and last games of the season (as well as most of the ones in between) and he gets the blame. He never gets a moment's rest from his friends putting him down as the designated goat – even his dog gives him a rough ride. Determined to show that he is more than just a failure, Charlie enters the school spelling bee, aiming for victory – but can he stand up under the pressure that awaits him? Meanwhile Linus goes cold-turkey.

I have seen several of the Peanuts features and have enjoyed them as a fan but been the first to put my hands up and say that they are neither great films or totally captured the spirit of the strip. However with this feature I am pleased to report that it was pretty much spot on in both regards. The plot starts well and the first half of the film is an enjoyable collection of episodes that act like individual strips while still moving the film forward. The second half moves into more solid territory with the spelling-bee but even then it keeps it together and is well structured. The humour of the piece will appeal to those who enjoy the strip – not hilarious but it has some funny moments as well as the amusing philosophising that they all do. The film benefits from imaginative writing that adds humour in various ways – Snoopy drinking the water and Linus going cold-turkey are two such examples. Only the actual spelling bee final is a little slow as it is a couple of minutes of spelling!

The film isn't heavy with songs like other features I've seen and the animation is nicely close to the strip and pleased me as a fan. However, again an added bonus, the animation opens out every now and again to become something much more sublime (and that word is not an exaggeration). Snoopy taking to ice becomes a blur of colour, while Linus playing the piano becomes close to art! It may not be as polished as Disney but it is really cool and imaginative while still staying within the Peanuts style. The voice work is all good – a little flat at times but it suits the characters (of course I'm used to them by now so I didn't have the 'problem' of imagining them myself first).

Another reviewer has put this film on a par with Fantasia and, while I wouldn't say that, I can see what they mean. The plot moves the film forward but also manages to capture the spirit of the strip really well. Likewise the animation is very close to the strip and is pleasing to watch. Both these aspects are made better by a series of imaginative touches – in the writing it is funny little gags and the strips' usual philosophising while in the animation it is a series of imaginative fantasy sequences that really make the film feel like something special. The most pleasing Peanuts movie I have seen.