Behold lies one of the most strange Peanuts specials to date: a blatant parody of Flashdance and other 80s music videos. Known as It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown, the whole special was made purely from creator Charles Schulz being a huge fan of the 1983 dance movie. Although the special is not the first time the Peanuts tried acting hip and cool from whatever was happening in pop culture, it is often seen by many as something one would imagine as a parody of Charlie Brown specials instead of an actual one. But does it not warrant any further attention? After all, there's nothing else like it out there.
The basic premise of the special is that Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy appears to be lazy and inactive by day, and a fierce dancing disco mutt by night. While that concept sounds bizarre on paper alone, the bigger problem with Flashbeagle is that its focus is all over the place. There are multiple musical vignettes throughout the special that merely serve excuses for the Peanuts gang to sing and dance to songs that fit their personalities. Admittedly, a lot of the songs are fairly catchy on their own and they showcase much of the usual charm audiences would expect from characters like Lucy and Peppermint Patty. Unfortunately, many of these sequences take up time of what should've been focused on Charlie Brown figuring out what to do about Snoopy going out to dance every night. That's not to say a Peanuts special needs to be as dramatic as Saturday Night Fever of course, but when the conflict in your half hour primetime cartoon is only touched about later down the road, perhaps it's time to consider another rewrite. Needless to say, the "plot" is simply a musical distraction.
However, for all of the special's faults, its mere existence alone is enough to recommend for the time capsule nostalgia crowd. On top of the obvious influence, Snoopy's outfit and dancing skills are so unapologetically 80s that it's hard not to find at least some amusement in this special's cheesiness. The animators should also be given a round of applause for successfully rotoscoping the choreography from stunt dancer Marine Jahan into Snoopy's dynamite moves. Aided by the incredible work of Ed Bogas and Desirée Goyette, the music and songs in the special are catchy and hysterical enough to make up for their dated qualities. At a time when a lot of televised cartoons were getting into the spirit of the then modern nighttime dancing craze, Flashbeagle feels almost like a revolutionary step in that direction. Also, if there's anyone who makes this special memorable besides Snoopy, it would definitely be Peppermint Patty as her moments easily get the best laughs out of this otherwise jumbled special. Sometimes a special can be entertaining just by being honest about what it's offering.
By being one of the more sincere products of 80s dance culture out there, Flashbeagle is a flawed yet oddly delightful special in the Peanuts filmography. It may appeal more to the 80s nostalgia crowd, let alone Snoopy aficionados, but there are just enough music and games in this bloated thrill ride to allow for some fun to go around. It's hilarious that some people can't imagine any of the Peanuts characters being trendy or hip when actual specials like these exist. Considering this special came out one year after Flashdance did, it's safe to say that it was made from love bigger than the eye can see.
