So says Peppermint Patty to Charlie Brown when she calls to inform him that her school has been given the day off to attend a traveling circus. A day off from school? That seems very unlikely today, and doesn't really ring true for 1980, either. It wasn't a class trip. It was just a day off. OK. A bit of an odd premise for this one. The story could easily have the kids attending the circus on a Saturday. But I digress.
Plot In a Nutshell: Snoopy is forced into a traveling circus act when his attraction to a performing poodle leads him into trouble.
Yes so despite the mentions of PP and CB, this one is about 80% Snoopy. Most of the story centers on his attraction to a French poodle named Fifi, and how he is sort of 'dognapped' by the trainer and forced into a 'performing dog' circus routine. The rest of the Peanuts gang only drifts into and out of the story as it unfolds. Woodstock, usually inseparable from Snoopy, is MIA in this one.
Why I rated it a '7': It's relatively good if not particularly memorable. I'm pretty sure I saw this as a child but the only thing about it I remembered was Snoopy's crush on Fifi. Basically, it's a cute little story of puppy love that comes to an abrupt end when Snoopy and Fifi realize that their lives are just a little too different; he can't live in her world, nor she in his.
Watching it brought back memories of "Snoopy Come Home," as there are some slight similarities to parts of that story. "Life Is a Circus" managed to win an Emmy in 1981 for Outstanding Animated Program.
7/10. Short and bittersweet. Would I watch again (Y/N)?: Yes.
