It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown

This 1992 Peanuts special does not have the appeal of its classic predecessor, but it updates the characters and situations with flair. Blending new characters with the classic gang of youthful cynics, Charles Schulz again pokes fun at the commercialism of the Yuletide season. While not as cohesive or poignant as "A Charlie Brown Christmas," "It's Christmastime Again" is much, much funnier.

It's the gang's second Christmas special, and everyone is in a rhythm this time around. The animation is much more polished, the direction is fluid, and the jokes come quickly and with such regularity it's surprising this wasn't sponsored by an oat bran product. Yes, this special is much more in line with the Saturday morning cartoons of the day than with the story-oriented specials of years past. And because of that, it's perfectly suited for a fun family holiday special.

But for all this outing does right, it has no soul -- none at all. In the original, Charlie Brown lamented the commercialization of Christmas; in this one he embraces it. In the original, the jokes flowed from the characters (e.g., Snoopy mimicking Lucy); in this one it's all interchangeable punchlines (Sally sounds remarkably like Lucy in this outing).

What it really boils down to is depth. There is none in this second outing. It's just jokes, just vignettes, just a contractual obligation to churn out another special. The original dared to explore what it would take to get a perpetual optimist to give up on Christmas; this one is about buying gifts and memorizing lines for a Christmas play. Again, it's Saturday morning cartoon fodder.

We watch this one every year, and the kids enjoy it well enough. But it doesn't have the underlying appeal that I look for these days. And now that I'm older, I long for stories rather than just jokes. So yes, we watch this one every year, but to me there is only one Peanuts Christmas "special".

The only thing this short has going over its predecessor is the animation has improved. However, considering that the animation of the original Charlie Brown Christmas isn't really something to get worked up over, it leaves little room for this short to be as relevant.

The characters are still as sweet, but the first one spent a lot of time dealing with the anxiety of the season while this one just kind of presented it as it is. The first one had a lot to say, this one didn't.

Most importantly, the first one was funnier.

Not that this isn't an enjoyable experience by any means. They make a good back-to-back show together and Snoopy always jumps the quality up from good to great. So enjoy.

--PolarisDiB

Charlie Brown struggles to sell Christmas wreaths door to door. Sally is not much help. Peppermint Patty is trying to read a book. She's hanging out with Marcie. Snoopy is ringing the bell as Santa. Sally tries to write a letter to Santa and tries to understand Christmas. Charlie Brown is trying to buy a pair of gloves for Peggy Jean. Peppermint Patty volunteers to be Mary in the school play but the role is already given to Marcie.

It's a scattering of Christmas themed sketches. This is in-line with the other Charlie Brown shows where distinct separate cartoon skits are lump together. It doesn't have flow. The story is certainly not as compelling as the original 65 Christmas special. It feels rather disjointed and cobbled together from several stories. However, it is still Charlie Brown and has that innocent charm as always.

Ask yourself: "What is the appeal of Peanuts?" Hallmark still manufactures porcelain collectors' vignettes, plush dolls, ornaments, and cards in great quantities, although new segments of the comic strip are no longer being created, at the strip's creator's (Schultz') request. I believe that for most children, beyond the animated characters, the music, and short, comedic skits, much of the depth of Peanuts and its holiday specials is lost.

Today, the specials are increasingly dated both in their look and content. I doubt that I would watch them now were I a child. I recall the first time I saw the original Charlie Brown Christmas special in the 1970s. Even then it seemed out of date. The storyline was too fragmented for easy comprehension, and the concept of an aluminum Christmas tree simply too strange for words for a child who had known only real trees. I took it as some left-over joke from the nineteen fifties.

The original Charlie Brown Christmas special's message seemed to assert the pretense of philosophical depth, but spoke more to the trials of a lonely child seeking the approval of his peers. What I recall most is thinking how much I loved the music, and that it would be fantastic to be able to play some of it myself. (I memorized "Linus and Lucy" on keyboard many years later, and manage to produce a version of "Christmas Time is Here" on flute.) I saw the Thanksgiving Day special in its time, and now reminisce about the old station wagons, and how the manufacturers were always rearranging the way the back seat(s) would fold down to try to create buyer interest. I still enjoy the final scene of the Thanksgiving special, and permit my own dog to join me for Thanksgiving dinner. In today's SUV/mini-van era, the scene at the end of the Thanksgiving special probably makes children wonder what type of vehicle Charlie Brown's parents' could possibly own.

I have been forced to conclude that what the Charlie Brown specials offer most poignantly is an opportunity to look back at children living in a place of idealized innocence that never was a part of life in America, and to induce an element of whimsy and longing for this version of childhood re-made through the eyes of an adult. Even the neighborhood, with its relatively small and boxlike houses near an area sufficiently rural for a pumpkin patch and a Christmas tree farm to be accessible to small children is a thing of the past that is unknown in today's sprawling cities with high crime rates and an inclination toward large, upscale, and often cookie cutter housing.

The original Christmas special incorporated religious themes, which was expected to sink its ratings. That has never happened. This latest version avoids such ties, and seems to reflect Schultz' own journey toward humanism, which he himself acknowledged. By casting off the deeper emotional and cultural underpinnings of the holiday season, it was inevitable that what would result would be less a classic holiday special than a cartoon for children.

I don't rent or await the broadcast of this special. The original, with its pure Guaraldi soundtrack and courage to be different, even religious, although I am not a religious person, still strikes at deeper, human chords than most cartoons. It is a story about the journey of a group of "wee folks" toward a better comprehension of each other, the season, and their own motivations, amid a flurry of Yuletide activities. They come together at the end better than they were before. In that ending, with its symbolic chorus, the meaning of Christmas is communicated. That was an ending for the Christmas season that is impossible to top.