Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown

This is the only Charlie Brown full length motion picture I have ever watched, but I believe I have seen it at least 20 times by now. I caught it on Thanksgiving Day afternoon on channel 7 in Washington DC around 1983 or so, and have been compelled to stop and watch it every time I see it, ever since.

The plot centers around the Peanuts gang going to a summer camp, where a group of punk kids and a nasty, mangy cat are intent on humiliating the other kids, and winning the raft race. The Peanuts gang competes in the race, with the guys (Charlie Brown, Schroeder, Linus, and Franklin) sharing one raft, the girls (Lucy, Sally, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie) sharing another raft, and Snoopy and Woodstock having their own raft. Of course, mishaps ensue and the gang ends up working together to defeat the bullies.

This movie really has what a lot of real life movies don't have. Perfect comic timing. There's so many hilarious scenes... Snoopy rides in the abandoned tire, the debate over cold cereal for breakfast, Charlie Brown is promoted to leader of the gang but can't get a word in edgewise due to Peppermint Patty ("That's IT CHUCK!!! You're LEADING!!! BOY WHAT A LEADER!!!!! LEAD ON CHUCK!!!!"), Lucy's insistence on doing things democratically ("The question before the group is... Do we have the boys join us? Marcie! Prepare the secret ballots!!!").

Highly entertaining. Charles Schultz has done his characters proud.

I watched this classic film tonight from eons ago and was entertained just like I was in childhood when I viewed it back then. It reminded me of how it was "relative" to what a kid goes through when they're adjusting to the ways of life and constantly curious about the world. Growing up in a small Northern town and later in Calgary, made me see how kids were in a different world compared to adults.

There was the bullies in elementary school, the assaults in the playground and the "gang wars" that erupted every now and then. Back then, there was no worry about charges for assault. We were too young for that.

Adults were also depicted in these Peanuts cartoons as alienated with a garble in how they talked towards the kids. Clearly showing the dividing line between them.

Yeah, there was another world kids were in compared to the older folks and there was a lot of adventure to be had in that. This movie accurately portrays that.

Charlie Brown and the gang compete in a raft race against a team of malicious bullies with a vicious cat who has a spiked collar and sharp fangs. Every dirty trick was played in the race to deter the good kids from winning.

Let's see, there are deflated rubber rafts, snow in the summer and wicked rapids to overcome in order to win the race. It doesn't help matters either when the bad kids are constantly ahead and change the direction of the signs to direct the good kids to the hazardous areas.

It reminded me of my times as a kid whenever the gang of bullies raided the playground. They'd chase us around and beat us up if they caught us. That was unforgettable.

Yeah, we were in our own world back then and it sometimes felt like a dangerous war zone. This Peanuts movie accurately captured that and it sure captures what kids go through. It wasn't easy, but still there was a strong feeling of adventure throughout it all, like a knight declaring war on a neighboring Kingdom.

This is a positive, enlightening film that, until recently I almost forgot about. It's significantly less static than most other Charlie Brown films and programs such as The Great Pumpkin, even though it has been edited and is less static now. Charlie Brown is actually now a kid who has a solid ego. It is after he discovers the cabin and spends the night is where he develops his most significant leadership qualities. This is not a commonly shown movie and other movies maintain the stereotype that Charlie Brown is a sorry sucker. This is a great movie for kids to watch because of it's character and originality. The movie doesn't a bad soundtrack, either. The songs are lively and pompous. In short I think this is one of the best family/kids movie I have ever seen and I'd recommend it to any fan of Charlie Brown movies.

Says, THE ENDING MAN

Regardless of all the cartoons appearing on television and video in the 1980s, I was always stuck on this delightful Peanuts feature. Wonderful animation and a great story make for the best Peanuts feature ever produced. 10/10

Yeah, it's been 40+ years since this was released, but it has a soft spot for me, because they would show this around autumn to Christmas time, so a lot of nostalgia to be mined.

I got a chance to watch it kids during a kiddie matinee (actual film print) so I wanted to gauge their reactions.

Overall, the theme of Charlie Brown attempting to learn leadership tends to fall on their deaf ears. They are there to see Snoopy and Woodstock and their physical shenanigans. Which makes the deeper ideas of learning to work together in adverse conditions much more poignant to a slightly older crowd, who aren't that cynical.

Here Charlie Brown and Company decide to go on a camping trip. There he is asked what his purpose of going to camp was. And his answer is to learn to be more of a leader. It speaks more about creator Charles Schulz's send of insecurities and self-esteem. In the flick, Charlie Brown is confronted by a bully gang who challenges him and his friends to the rafting competition (well, really, it's the camp). Through many side adventures, they eventually conclude that Charlie learns that he has the goods when it comes to making decisions when adversity occurs.

This has always been the core of these movies. Pushing through when life gets tough and having faith everything will work out.

The landscape of the camp doesn't have any logical sense (they are in the desert and then in the forest. How long were they on the school bus (?). Things you never think about when (at the time I was 6) you are young. To adults that seems a bit distracting. Or, obviously the rules of the camp contests. Or how some characters pop in and out. The expanded universe of Peppermint Patty, for instance, has only three other girls in it who actually have voting status.

I digress, this movie is for young kids who like to see colors and some loud noises.

As I do get older, I find Snoopy to be a distracting. Not sure why I always hated the humanizing of animals. Snoopy seems to be more human than the humans that own him. He rarely acts like a dog. So it does get puzzling as to some logic flaws with him, as well. It could be frustrating to a lot of older people who discover it later in life.

Either way, it does have a background noise quality to it. It's not like you need to pay close attention to the plot. They kept it simple.

And we should be grateful for that.