Snoopy Come Home

I was a 21 year old working as a projectionist in a neighborhood theater when this film was released and I had the opportunity to help get it up on the screen. This seemed like such a nice and enjoyable gem back then, with some scenes as breezy as a summer's day and others with a somewhat darker but thoughtful tone (themes of rejection and the sadness of separation). It was an early " buddy movie" shown pointedly in the cross-country journey that Snoopy takes with Woodstock. Some scenes are reminiscent of a Hope and Crosby "road" picture. There is a delightful song sung by Shelby Flint in the film....she would later sing another in the first rate animated film, The Rescuers. I actually tracked down a couple of her albums as a result. I don't have children, but I still think this is a delightful film and I have my own personal video copy. Good for all ages.

When I first saw this on TV at the tender age of 4, I cried my eyes out during Snoopy's going-away party near the end. When I recently saw it again, 20+ years later, I did exactly the same thing. The characters and situations are so genuine that I forgot it was a cartoon.

And I noticed how many brilliant little details are hidden in this gem: the copy of "Sambo" at the library, then Snoopy's reaction to the highbrow humor of "The Bunnies," and Woodstock's assistance in helping Snoopy cheat at chess against Lila. Note my two favorite scenes: when Sally absent-mindedly grabs Snoopy's nose through the library bookcase (and her little smile afterwards), and when Woodstock falls asleep watching the flock of birds pass gracefully overhead.

And the music is on par with anything you'd hear in an old Looney Tunes cartoon. Notice how the carnival music shares its melody with the sad song Charlie Brown sings after Snoopy leaves the second time? Or the zany symphonic freakout that accompanies the chase through Crazy Clara's house? And I love the lyrics to the "Me and you, a two-man crew" song that's used as the duo's song of the open road. And of course the hilarious basso profundo that underscores every appearance of the dreaded "No Dogs Allowed" sign!

Rent it, buy it, love it. This is the real thing!

This film rocks. Its funny, its sad, its more touching than any cartoon has a right to be. In it Low-man-on-the-totem pole Chalie Brown cuts himself on a metal dog food can and laments to his ungreatful beast that after "All I do for you I get no thanks". Later in the film Snoopy receives a letter from a mystery girl in a hospital and he rushes to her side. We find out this little girl Lila was Snoopys original owner who had to give him up when her family moved. They had brought Snoop to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm and the Brown family gotr him for Charlie Brown after he got a mean trick played on him by a kid in a sandbox at the neighborhood playground. Now the question is who will Snoopy end up with: Charlie or Lila? Even though snoopy has never been a character with much depth you can actually TELL he's torn to where his loyalties lie. (Your under the impression that he wants to go home to the PEANUTS but because of Lilas illness he cant bear to leave her either). I remember watching this as a child and thinking the "NO DOGS ALLOWED" parts were very funny. I didn't remember how sad this story is, especially Charle Browns song he sings late at night losing sleep wondering where Snoopy is and if he's really gone for good. The song is about how just as life seems good "IT CHANGES" and something messed up happens and sometimes you just wish that life had more "Hellos" than "Goodbyes"...the song is a true heart breaker and if I could write the lyrics (I don't know them all) I would. It almost reminded me of Ozzy singing "Im Going through CHANGES"...maybe thats just me. Anyway, SNOOPY COME HOME is a true classic that should be in every child's collection. My best friend is pushing 40 has no children and has confessed to me that this was the most touching childhood special he can recall. My mother who is in her 60s watched it once while babysitting my daughter and thanked me for packing that video in the sleepover bag...she held onto it and watched it again stating "That was the best Charlie Brown special i've ever seen!"

This movie had it all for me as a kid... laughs, sadness, and suspense. (Hey, when you're 6 years old, you don't know if there's really going to be a happy ending). I never forgot the scene with Charlie Brown singing mournfully after Snoopy leaves "for good." Even now I get goosebumps thinking about him standing next to Snoopy's empty doghouse, and laying in bed knowing his World War I Flying Ace isn't outside to protect him from the Red Baron. Probably the best Peanuts movie ever made.

This is a sad, sad movie. Just the thought of Snoopy possibly thinking of leaving is enough to make anybody with a heart cry. Worth seeing, though, for the whole "NO DOGS ALLOWED" scenes, Woodstock's whistle-along tune, and the ultra-happy ending. If you don't like the idea of a puppy running away from home, though, don't even try this movie.