You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown

When it comes to being an all-round sport - This sweet, animated short (25 minutes) from 1975, has our young, pumpkin-headed protagonist, Charlie Brown, going in for such all-American, pastime activities as tennis, baseball, football, and, yes, even dirt-biking.

Of course, being good, ol' Charlie Brown (the ultimate blockhead) failure just seems to be his destiny in any sports arena. But whatever he tackles, you can always be sure that Charlie Brown can be counted on to plunge into any given activity with the winning spirit of a real loser.

This particular short was an Emmy Award winner. Its creator, Charles M. Shulz, is considered to be one of the most influential cartoonist of all time.

Sad to say - On Feb. 12. 2000, Charles M. Shulz, 77 at the time, died of cancer.

Bored with football and at the end of his tether with Lucy for always pulling the ball away at the last second during place kicks (he just never learns) Chuck tries his luck at Motocross after Peppermint Patty turns up riding a new motorcycle. There's a big race coming up but the only bike poor old Chuck can afford is a shambling wreck (much like he could only afford a pathetic excuse of a Christmas tree).

The race, of course, is a disaster. But luckily Chuck has the least bad luck of all the contestants and manages to limp across the finish line in first place. However the promised prize of tickets to the Pro Bowl is not available and instead Chuck is awarded vouchers for free haircuts (Charlie Brown's dad is a barber).

Even when Chuck has some good luck it turns out bad. Though it's nice to see him win for once.

The "Peanuts" comic strip by Charles Schulz was one of the longest running newspaper comic strips in history. It unquestionably is the most read and popular strip of all time. And, Peanuts characters have lived on even after the more than 50-years run of the strip by Schulz (1950-2000). The TV specials continue to be aired during the various holidays of their themes, since the first one, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in 1965.

Could there be anyone living more than two decades into the 21st century - anywhere in the world, who has not seen a Charlie Brown movie or a Peanuts comic strip or character? It's not very likely.

"You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown" is a 24-minute short that was made for TV and that ran on CBS in 1975. But, instead of the usual Peanuts sports of baseball or football, this one is about a motor cycle race. Charlie's dog, Snoopy, is one of the competitors as are Charlie and Peppermint Patty. Many of the other Peanuts characters are in this animated show - Lucy van Pelt and her younger brother and Charlie's friend, Linus; and Sally Brown and Marcie.

This and all the Charlie Brown films are fun to watch at any time. And I still laugh and smile these 55 years plus since seeing the first one on TV. As with the Christmas special, this film also won an Emmy.

I remember this story of Good Ole' Chuck the moto-cross racer. Man it's been years since I have seen this and it was only once unfortunately. This is a 1975 classic Charlie Brown episode and I would love to find this on D.V.D. now for my 2 children.

A story not just about competing, but being a good sport as well. This like just about all the other 'PEANUTS' videos are great. My personal favorites, range in time from 1965 to 1986 Those are some of the old style animation before they had computer for everything. The old animation style is warmer and more friendly, much more authentic to me. So if you are reading this and you have kids, you can't go wrong, pick up a copy of one of your favorite 'Peanuts' episodes today!!