Boa Viagem, Charlie Brown

I did not like this one as much as A Boy Named Charlie Brown because it seemed to lack some of the Peanuts charm. The adults in this film not only had faces, but they talked! It seemed to ruin some of the magic. However, in true Peanuts fashion, a group of children, a dog, and a bird fly unaccompanied to France and England. They also even rent a car with Snoopy producing a driver's license! Snoopy is also a member of the famous Wimbledon Tennis Club where he has a hilarious John McEnroe inspired tantrum at losing his match.

Marcie, who up until now has pretty much been Peppermint Patty's whipping girl, actually has a bit of a "thing" with the French boy who is hosting the Peanuts characters in France. This movie had a lot of Linus being preachy and not enough of my favorite character Lucy, who is only seen at the beginning telling Charlie Brown that she hopes he doesn't come back. Some of the scenes were fun, but overall, this movie wasn't as good as the Peanuts efforts in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Not quite how I remember it, but, really, how many things from childhood are?

It was a fun watch, though nostalgia played a large part. Despite the novelty of the setting, it didn't seem to be as good as other Peanuts specials and movies from the era. One problem was the relatively frequently repetition of the same jokes over and over, presumably to pad out the run-time. And I'm not on board with inserting actual adult representations and adults speaking comprehensibly -- the jokes and plot development could easily have been done with a bit of rewriting to keep the focus on the kids.

One part that did weird me out -- Peppermint Pattie going on and on about giving Pierre "a tumble." Given that the term comes from "a tumble in the hay" i.e. sex, it seemed a little off that a six or seven year old girl is talking about the possibility of giving the kid one. Eeesh.

Peanuts has become a staple of American culture, so the jokes have a hard time coming across as fresh nowadays. The pleasure I get from watching these films is not due to it being laugh-out-loud funny, but it's from the jokes reaching a nostalgic point. I remember liking this one when I was younger, but I think I found it too complicated, in comparison to Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown. Now, I think this one stands up the best in comparison to Race... and Snoopy Come Home. Some of the other comments have hit on that this one does not obey the normal formula rules as other Peanuts features. This is exactly what makes it noteworthy. Rather than being aimed more squarely at a family audience, there's a tiny bit of creepiness to the music, which could probably scare the youngest of children. The writing in this is far more entertaining and clever, less gags are recycled from the comic strip, and as such, it will be more deserving of your attention than the other features.

In addition to dozens of half-hour television specials, Sparky Schultz made a handful of attempts to translate his comic strip to the big screen. "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown" is the most interesting of these because of its departures from the "Peanuts" formula.

There is no interaction between adversarial couples Linus and Lucy and Charlie Brown and Lucy in this film, because Lucy van Pelt is present only to wave goodbye to the group of exchange students. (Exchange students at the elementary school level?) A number of adults are portrayed and given voices. (No muted trumpets here). Schroeder the piano man and Pigpen the human dust storm are left behind on American soil.

This film was a labor of love for Schultz, who passed through Normandy after D Day and at one point was billetted at a manor house which could have passed for the Chateau of the Bad Neighbor. The geography is completely accurate, down to the villages adjoining the Andelle River.

The more successful Peanuts adaptations are those in which the clever storyline outweighs the limitations of kiddie voice-over acting. This is one such, the cast including students at a French-language school in San Francisco. There is also an unusually large quantity of "dialogue" spoken by Snoopy's voice, director Bill Melendez. The beagle's impressions of a British toff and a crabby French driver are priceless.

The PEANUTS are at their best when they are celebrating a holiday or going to camp. Unlike the great PEANUTS classics RACE FOR YOUR LIFE CHARLIE BROWN and SNOOPY COME HOME, this PEANUTS outing is a little on the murky side. Due to a student exchange program Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, stow-away Woodstock, peppermint Patty and Marcy are sent to Europe to go to school in France. Coincidentally, Charlie gets a letter from a little French girl who invites him to visit her familys château there. When the PEANUTS land in London and venture to France there would be plenty of observations that could be made on the cultural differences....however the big find here is "Hey...they eat French bread in France!". This special also shocks by breaking a PEANTUS cardinal rule: grown ups talk! And they don't just say "Mwah mwah mwah"...they actually speak in English and address the children! When Charlie and Linus head off to the château a little French boy named Pierre tells Marcy and Peppermint that a horrible Baron lives there who hates everyone, would never allow guests, and that if they attempt to stay there harm will come to them. (The "harm" is not explained...although there are two references to getting "mugged" in the film). when the boys get to the château and aren't allowed in they sleep on the cold wet ground instead of re-tracking back to the nice warm house Marcy and Patty are staying in. Snoopy spends most of his visit in a bar drinking root beer and crying over American show tunes. I've seen this film more than once and my mind just doesn't grasp WHY they were invited to a place they weren't allowed to go in and who exactly the baron was, why he was such a bastard and if he WAS such a bastard why he Doesn't actually hurt them. I think the plan was to get PEANTUS to Europe and have them have an adventure...but the storyline here is a little on the murky side. Also worth noting is that key characters such as Lucy, Sally and Schroeder remain in America and are sorely missed. This is not a Must Own PEANUTS collector (neither is the newer adventure ITS THE PIED PIPER CHARLIE BROWN....grown ups speak in that one too!....although my 5 year old actually prefers that one to this one.