Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip launched in 1950, but made its TV debut in 1965 with the animated special A Charlie Brown Christmas, which has become a mainstay of the holiday TV season. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang have been a television staple for the past 6 decades, with over 50 animated TV specials as well as a TV series and movie. The TV specials have covered pretty much any holiday you can think of…even Arbor Day!
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has collected 40 of these recently-remastered TV specials, along with a colorful 28-page booklet, in a wonderful new Blu-ray & DVD box set that is sure to delight Peanuts fans. The specials range from from 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas through 2011’s Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown. They include holiday classics like the 1966 Halloween-themed It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and the beloved 1973 Thanksgiving special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. There’s also 1975’s Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, 1974’s Easter special It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, as well as other Christmas-theme specials like 1992’s It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown and 2003’s I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown. In addition to the classic specials, the set also contains some less familiar specials like 1966’s Charlie Brown’s All-Stars, 1968’s He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown, and many more.
Here’s the full list of the 40 specials included in this release:
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
- Charlie Brown’s All Stars! (1966)
- It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
- You’re in Love, Charlie Brown (1967)
- He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968)
- It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (1969)
- Play It Again, Charlie Brown (1971)
- You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972)
- There’s No Time for Love, Charlie Brown (1973)
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
- It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (1974)
- It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974)
- Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975)
- You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (1975)
- It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976)
- It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977)
- What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown (1978)
- You’re the Greatest, Charlie Brown (1978)
- She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown (1980)
- Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown (1980)
- It’s Magic, Charlie Brown (1981)
- Someday You’ll Find Her, Charlie Brown (1981)
- A Charlie Brown Celebration (1981)
- Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? (1983)
- It’s an Adventure, Charlie Brown (1983)
- What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? (1983)
- It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984)
- Snoopy’s Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985)
- You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)
- Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986)
- Why, Charlie Brown, Why? (1990)
- Snoopy’s Reunion (1991)
- It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)
- It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown (1992)
- A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002)
- Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales (2002)
- Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown (2003)
- I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003)
- He’s a Bully, Charlie Brown (2006)
- Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (2011)
While the major holiday specials had always been a staple in my house growing up, there were quite a few of the other ones included on this set that I had either never seen before, or had forgotten. I had a really great time revisiting the Peanuts gang on disc! It’s remarkable how well these specials hold up decades later. The Peanuts is just wholesome, heartfelt fun the whole family can enjoy together. These characters are so iconic and enjoyable that once you start binging these specials, you won’t want to stop.
Note that these 40 specials are not the complete collection of Peanuts TV specials that aired from 1965-2011. There were a few that didn’t make it onto the set due to rights issues. These missing specials include Snoopy: The Musical (1988), It’s the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown (1988), You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown (1994), It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown (1997) and It’s the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown (2000). Though some of these were actually released previously on home video.
Warner Bros. has released the Peanuts: Ultimate TV Specials Collection on both Blu-ray and DVD. We received the DVD edition for review. The picture quality looks very good for a DVD (animation can be quite forgiving in SD). The specials were recently remastered and it shows. You would never guess that some of these were over 50 years old. Colors look rich and bright, and the picture is generally quite clean and clear. At times some of the character linework shows some aliasing, but in general, the specials look amazing for their age. The majority of the specials are presented in their original 4:3 Full Frame format, with only 2011’s Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown being presented in widescreen. The audio is presented as a 5.1 track, though I didn’t really notice much if any use of the surround channel. Dialogue is clear throughout but focused more in the center channel. The score/music sounds quite full. I don’t really have any complaints. about this DVD presentation.
The 40 specials are split across 5 colorful discs featuring the various characters. There is a Play All and TV Specials selection list on each disc, and episodes are offered with optional English subtitles. The discs are placed in trays in a standard-sized clear DVD keepcase, which is placed inside a colorful carboard sleeve. Also inside the DVD case is a full-color 28-page booklet (4.5″x5.75″) containing a list of the specials and their original air dates, and a short synopsis or quote for each, as well as descriptions of the major Peanuts characters. Unfortunately there is no other bonus material included, but the specials themselves provide over 18 hours of entertainment!
What’s Included:
- Specials: (18:06:22)
- 40 Peanuts TV Specials from 1965 – 2011 on 5 Discs
Disc 1 (3:47:35): “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “Charlie Brown’s All Stars!”, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown”, “He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown”, “It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown”, “Play It Again, Charlie Brown”, “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown”, “There’s No Time for Love, Charlie Brown”
Disc 2 (3:45:08): “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”, “It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown”, “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown”, “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown”, “You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown”, “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown”, “It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown”, “What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown”, “You’re the Greatest, Charlie Brown”
Disc 3: (3:37:52): “She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown”, “Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown”, “It’s Magic, Charlie Brown”, “Someday You’ll Find Her, Charlie Brown”, “A Charlie Brown Celebration”, “Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?”, “It’s an Adventure, Charlie Brown”
Disc 4: (3:35:33): “What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?, “It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown”, “Snoopy’s Getting Married, Charlie Brown”, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown”, “Why, Charlie Brown, Why?”, “Snoopy’s Reunion, “It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown”
Disc 5: (3:20:14): “It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown”, “A Charlie Brown Valentine”, “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales”, “Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown”, “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown”, “He’s a Bully, Charlie Brown”, “Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown” - 480i / 1.33:1 Full Frame (specials 1-39), 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH
Extras:
-
No bonus material included.
Final Thoughts:
Warner Bros’ new Peanuts: Ultimate TV Specials Collection is a must own for any Peanuts fan. It brings together 40 wonderful TV specials, including all of the major holiday classics, in one big box set that the whole family can enjoy together. The DVD presentation is quite solid—these specials certainly don’t look almost 60 years old!—and I can only imagine the Blu-ray release looks even better. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang.
