Charlie Brown's All Stars!

Second animated special based on the cartoon strips of Charles M. Schulz is about poor luckless Charlie Brown's attempts to win at least one game, and break a long losing streak. Charlie gets some initially good news when he is offered the chance to join an official little league, and get to wear real uniforms, but even that hope is dashed when he is informed that the league won't accept either girls or pets(Snoopy). How can Charlie break this news to the gang without the risk of them walking away from the game forever, and him in particular? Lightweight special is stuck between two classics, and is just too flimsy and silly to be remembered. Best for Baseball fans.

If you're a fan of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" will not disappoint. It has the heart and warmth of the other two, a sweet story and the feel of Charles Shultz's comic strip, a quality that seemed to diminish after the first three episodes. Maybe it's just me, but everything after "The Great Pumpkin" Charlie Brown specials seemed forced and lightweight.

I watched "All Stars" with my family last night when it was paired with "The Easter Beagle." Nobody sat still during Easter Beagle, but all were seated and laughing during All-Stars.

For me, everything came together for the first three specials; a sweet and solid story with a nice message, great Vince Guaraldi jazz and voices that suited the Peanuts characters wonderfully; particularly the voices of Charlie Brown and Linus. I read that one of the producers had heard Peter Robbins' voice in a mall and knew immediately that he would be perfect for Charlie Brown. They credit his voice and characterization as one of the reasons the Christmas special was so effective.

In this second ever Peanuts TV special Charlie Brown is in the bad books of the rest of the gang (as if he's ever in their good books) for being utterly hopeless at baseball and losing every game. He's a curse on their team and they'd all rather spend summer doing their own individual thing.

But when he arranges to have personalized shirts made for the team they come back, though he neglects to tell them it's on the condition that Snoopy and the girls get kicked out.

He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Old Blockhead just can't do anything right. For a 1966 effort the colors and sound in this one were surprisingly good. It may not have the lasting appeal of the seasonal specials, but it's still worth watching.

The second Peanuts TV special is a baseball-themed one. Charlie Brown sucks at baseball and his team, frustrated with "that old blockhead" for losing them the first game of the season, quits. Shortly after Charlie finds out the team has the chance to join the Little League, with a sponsor who will pay for new uniforms and everything. Everyone's excited and eager to play again, even with sucky Charlie Brown. But then the news is handed down to Chuck that the team can't have the girls or Snoopy on it. So he struggles with how to tell them, knowing they will rip him a new one. Lots of funny lines in this one but also lots of heart. Love the ending.

Charlie Brown's baseball team is horrible and his whole team blames him. It's the start of a new season. After another embarrassing loss, everybody quits to do something fun for the summer. Hardware store owner Mr. Hennessey offers to sponsor the baseball team. The team reunites for the promise of uniforms. Hennessey then withdraws since girls and dog are forbidden in the league. Charlie Brown keeps the secret to himself. The team does a lot better but Charlie Brown's bonehead play loses the game. Everybody blames him until Linus reveals the secret. The team makes a manager's uniform for Charlie Brown out of Linus' blanket.

This takes a large section of the Peanuts world and sets it for the second TV special after "A Charlie Brown Christmas". It suffers by comparison. It tries to have a lesson but it doesn't work as well. The message is a little muddled. It also doesn't have anything iconic like the Charlie Brown tree or The Great Pumpkin. It's fine for loser Charlie but it needs to say something more beautiful about losing.