A Charlie Brown Valentine

Charles Schulz requested (though since he did not hold the copyright to Peanuts he could not demand) that no one create any new Peanuts stories after his death. United Media, on the other hand, did not want to let a cash cow like Peanuts fade into the night. So they compromised with Schulz's family, making the latest Peanuts special, "A Charlie Brown Valentine", from a conglomeration of numerous loosely connected comic strips penned by Schulz. Unfortunately, the special feels like a conglomeration of numerous loosely connected comic strips.

Unlike previous Peanuts features, which almost always contained a coherent (although occasionally bad) plot, the only prevailing theme here is that it is Valentine's Day. Actually, it's several Valentine's Days. The time frame jumps around *so* much that we can't keep any supposed story line straight. Early on, we get the impression the special takes place on February 14. Then Lucy announces that Valentine's Day is a week away. Then Charlie Brown tries to work up the courage to give the little red-haired girl a Valentine. Then we learn that V-Day is still a few days away, then Charlie Brown goes to a school dance.

While some of the jokes are funny, most fall flat, and its choppy style is more dizzying that enjoyable. All in all, "A Charlie Brown Valentine" plays more like a love-themed episode of _The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show_ than a legitimate television special. While such a variety show could get away with some unfunny sketches (_Saturday Night Live_ has been getting away with it for decades), a full-blown special has to pull its weight all the way through. Sadly, this one does not.

If Peanuts is to survive beyond one more TV special, a new compromise must be reached. We must allow the producers the opportunity to forge existing strips into a workable script--one with a story line--and the possibility of adding some new jokes. Otherwise, the next special may be, "It's the Last Hoorah, Charlie Brown."

Though it had the usual "Created and written by Charles M. Schulz" credit, this was the first animated special made after Sparky's death in 2000. It was also the second concerning Valentine's day and as such, there isn't the depressing vibe the first one had. In this one, Charlie Brown spends most of his time pining for The Little Red-Haired Girl who is usually an unseen character. But this one has her in a couple of scenes. Unlike the last one, Peppermint Patty and Marcie are also present both of whom think Charlie likes them and get disappointed when they find out otherwise. Add in Lucy still trying to get Schroeder's attention and Sally's ignoring her "Sweet Baboo's" protests of her love declarations and you have a pretty funny show lovingly directed, as usual, by Bill Melendez. But compared to the last Valentine one, it's not as effective...

This special premiered tonight and I really enjoyed it. A lot of classic Peanuts strips were put into animation. Though this was probably the first Peanuts special produced after the death of Charles Schulz it still had the same classic animation and humor as the others. They even showed the Little Red Haired Girl dancing with Snoopy. One thing I've noticed though is that a lot of things are drawn the way they were in the comics: (Ex: In most Peanuts specials Lucy's hair is all black, here it has a white outline. The same thing with Snoopy's ears.) Oh, well. Still this was a great holiday special.

This is my favorite of the "new" Charlie Brown specials. I liked it better than the Christmas tales and Lucy must be traded. It's also one of all time Charlie Brown specials-I'd say in the top 5 somewhere. I loved the dance part! I think the main reason that I loved it is because I could relate to about 90% of it! (Especially the dance part) Worth watching and even worth owning. It's suppose to come out in Jan, 2004. (PeanutsAnimation website)

I've had a Charlie Brown Valentine DVD for as long as I can remember, and this has always been one of my favorite Peanuts specials! I still love the Peanuts franchise no matter how many times I see it! This and Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown are both good, and I'm not sure which one I like better, but neither of them are as good as the Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Easter specials. This is a must watch during Valentine's Day! I believe this was the first Peanuts special to come out after Charles Schulz's death, though I'm not certain.

There are plenty of funny moments, like Snoopy writing "romantic" poems for Lucy and Sally, Charlie Brown finding the little red haired girl's pencil and saying why he can't talk to his crush, and Marcie trying to flirt with Charlie Brown. Before watching this, I didn't know that pretty faces made Charlie Brown nervous. I don't blame him, but I think that's kind of funny at the same time.

Marcie makes a Valentine card for Charlie Brown and signs it from both herself and Peppermint Patty. That was nice of her! He didn't get any Valentines in Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, nor did he get any candy in the Great Pumpkin. Poor kid! Thankfully, he has more luck here, but he's still the same hapless and down to earth guy he's always been (nothing wrong with that, though). Snoopy dancing with all the girls at the dance and kissing them is also heartwarming and fun to watch! Mr. Big Shot! The ending is my favorite part: Snoopy walks around with a wheelbarrow full of Valentines and gives Charlie Brown a kiss and one of his Valentines, and Linus wishes the latter happy Valentine's Day. What a happy ending! Enough said.