É Natal de Novo, Charlie Brown

When compared to the original Charlie Brown Christmas this movie seems to be less social commentary and more an excuse for gags. It's more cartoonish and has more obvious laughs rather than any irony or important things to say.

There's another Xmas play in this 'un. Peppermint Patty is refusing to do any homework and is annoyed that Marcie is playing Mary and she is left with the thankless role of a sheep. Still, she's determined to steal as much scenery as possible. Charlie Brown is selling his old comics to buy an Xmas present for his wannabe girlfriend and his sister Sally has only one word to say in the play 'HARK' but she ends up yelling 'HOCKEY STICK' instead.

More like a series of Peanuts vignettes than a real TV special. But still nice.

If you love Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, you will definitely enjoy this extra Christmas special along with the original Christmas Special which became an annual tradition on television. The updated version is still faithful to the original version in style and format. I enjoyed watching Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang back. I just love watching Charlie Brown selling Christmas wreaths before Thanksgiving. Peppermint Patty asking about a book to read for a school report.

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".

'It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown' is an interesting Peanuts special as it is only the 2nd Christmas special (3rd if including an episode from 'The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show'), but it feels like a whole gang than the one from the original special in 1965.

The animation is still cute and the music is still kind of cool (especially if like that 90s style from old cartoons around that same time). And you recognize the characters and the voices are similar enough but the way the act and appear just feels like a knock off albeit still good but not "original Peanuts Christmas" good.

Give it watch if you curious, but at the end of the day its probably skippable unless maybe you have fond memories of this from your childhood!

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