Happiness Is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown

Let me say first off that I am a huge Peanuts fan. I've followed them since early childhood and it is still deeply rooted into my character. But there was a lot of strange elements about this special that really irked me.

My biggest problem was Linus himself. He didn't seem like the intelligent, spiritually-savvy kid he had been throughout the comics and many of the specials. Instead he seemed very angry, rather short tempered and seemed different in a very non-refreshing way. But out of all of the things that made me cringe about him, the biggest was towards the end where he exclaimed: "DO YOU WANT ME TO END UP LIKE CHARLIE BROWN?!?"

Ouch.

Which brings up another point of mine: Charlie Brown himself. It seemed that the Peanuts Gang was being especially rude and cold-hearted to good old Chuck. I felt genuinely bad for him, which detracted a lot from the main premise of the feature.

Now, all that out of the way, I must add in some of the pros, because there were many. I think that the art in this special shone. There was one scene where Linus was standing in a field looking up at the sky for his blanket (which had been turned into a kite and flew away) while the sun set. It gave me the chills. Linus is my favorite character and it displayed him as the philosophical and wise character we all know. The art direction really suggested a back-to-basics sort of feel, very retro, and very different...and very cool.

I especially enjoyed the usage of Charles M. Schultz's comics. They were engraved into some of the writing, and the majority of the plot.

All in all, it turned out to be a very mediocre hour for me. Part of it screamed "THIS IS GREAT" but the other, "Yikes."

In the words of Linus: "It has its drawbacks."

I was 7 years old when this came out, and I was excited to get the DVD, but it took a couple months for my family and I to find it. I watched this countless times, and it has been one of my favorite movies ever since the first time I ever watched it. If you're wondering, yes, I still have my DVD.

You can probably already tell by reading the title and looking at the DVD cover that Linus is the main protagonist here. That's new, and he's my favorite Peanuts character! It's all about his relationship with his blanket and him trying to stay away from it for a couple days, that way his blanket-hating grandma won't be angry when she comes to visit. Charlie Brown briefly holds onto Linus's blanket for him and stays in his room with him at night. What a great friend!

I've loved the dialogue ever since I watched this for the first time. Linus's line, "Tell me where you buried the blanket! TELL ME WHERE YOU BURIED THE BLANKET!" is kind of funny, and my mother and I have both repeated it a few times. Linus's other line, "What do you want? Do you want to see me unhappy? Do you want to see me insecure? Do you want to see me end up like Charlie Brown?" is another one of my favorite lines. He says that while standing up to himself after being ridiculed for having blanket and being told to get rid of it. He really hit the nail on the head with the entire lecture, especially the aforementioned line, and standing up for yourself can be hard for kids his age (and anyone else). Kudos to Linus! Maybe I'll ask the same things the next time it seems as if somebody is intentionally making me unhappy. Enough said.

The "classic" effect is obtained through the retro animation that looks similar to the old Peanuts cartoons, bringing some nostalgia. I must say that the movie's animation looks great for the time it was made, especially with the huge time gap in between the releases of this and the Peanuts cartoons from last century. The music sounds similar to the old Peanuts music, and some Beethoven symphonies are present as well. Even some minor characters who have been gone for quite some time appear in this, like Shermy, Patty (not to be confused for Peppermint Patty), 3, 4, 5, and a few others.

The lucy charactr was mean and rude. At some point the rudeness of the characters made me put the show on mute. We are living in a mean spirited age where writers think its okay to speak like this. If Mr. Schultz was living he wouldn't approve. I hope my granddaughter wasn't watching.In the past the characters seemed to Show a sense of concern and caring.for the producers to make this a hour long show was staggering. Thank you the characters remained in tack. I guess because of the copy right rstrictions nothing could be done to change this. I did get a feeling by the nature of the voices that this was an updatesbversion and when insaw 2011 i knew something was amiss. Even my oldest grand said she didn't care for this version. Please don't mess with perfection.

When the beloved blanket goes missing, he is on a search to find it. Then a grandmother is coming for a visit. The Peanuts gang is back with children voicing the characters. The director did a terrific job in bringing the legacy of the Peanuts gang under the Charles Schulz Estate and Foundation. The special is only 45 minutes but heartwarming and special to Peanut fans of all ages. You can relate to the characters here just as when you were a child. Peanuts never grows old but we aged over years.

I must admit I was a bit dubious about this new special for it was the 1st one without the great and late Bill Melendez. It seems Lee Mendelson was not involved either, but Schulz' son was. This one stood out from all the other post-Schulz era specials for its '60s style. As a comic-strip fan I appreciate attention to detail. The "classic" effect obtained through the retro animation worked out pretty well, bringing some nostalgia. The story development was somewhat modern, deeper, beyond previous attempts, and yet kept all the action faithful to the Peanuts world and spirit. The gags were delightfully funny, they cracked me up quite a few times. I simply loved the use of one of the most famous Beethoven symphonies, but I won't spoil it for you. Not only the music, but the way they managed to create a matching animated treat, was indeed a creative highlight.

The color tones used according to mood, the "reaction" of some cards to Linus' feelings, and flashbacks to the very first specials truly shone.

The plot might not be complex. However, by using the well-known blanket attachment issues Linus has, they address the insecurity most of the other characters have, their human weakness, which is not to plainly be criticized, but rather accepted as a natural part of life.

Another remarkable element was the comeback of some old characters that had not gotten much attention over the years. Again, an interesting addition for all the fans, in an already captivating special that has enough quality potential to be considered an instant Peanuts classic.

Growing up was never as bittersweet, and as thoroughly enjoyable as doing it along Linus, Snoopy, good ol' Charlie Brown, and the rest of the gang!