A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969) Reviews

• Close to the spirit of the strip in terms of content and animation but also contains imaginative additions

  bob the moo2004-07-30

  Charlie Brown is a young boy who cannot ever seem to do anything right. His baseball team always loses the first and last games of the season (as well as most of the ones in between) and he gets the blame. He never gets a moment's rest from his friends putting him down as the designated goat – even his dog gives him a rough ride. Determined to show that he is more than just a failure, Charlie enters the school spelling bee, aiming for victory – but can he stand up under the pressure that awaits him? Meanwhile Linus goes cold-turkey. I have seen several of the Peanuts features and have enjoyed them as a fan but been the first to put my hands up and say that they are neither great films or totally captured the spirit of the strip. However with this feature I am pleased to report that it was pretty much spot on in both regards. The plot starts well and the first half of the film is an enjoyable collection of episodes that act like individual strips while still moving the film forward. The second half moves into more solid territory with the spelling-bee but even then it keeps it together and is well structured. The humour of the piece will appeal to those who enjoy the strip – not hilarious but it has some funny moments as well as the amusing philosophising that they all do. The film benefits from imaginative writing that adds humour in various ways – Snoopy drinking the water and Linus going cold-turkey are two such examples. Only the actual spelling bee final is a little slow as it is a couple of minutes of spelling! The film isn't heavy with songs like other features I've seen and the animation is nicely close to the strip and pleased me as a fan. However, again an added bonus, the animation opens out every now and again to become something much more sublime (and that word is not an exaggeration). Snoopy taking to ice becomes a blur of colour, while Linus playing the piano becomes close to art! It may not be as polished as Disney but it is really cool and imaginative while still staying within the Peanuts style. The voice work is all good – a little flat at times but it suits the characters (of course I'm used to them by now so I didn't have the 'problem' of imagining them myself first). Another reviewer has put this film on a par with Fantasia and, while I wouldn't say that, I can see what they mean. The plot moves the film forward but also manages to capture the spirit of the strip really well. Likewise the animation is very close to the strip and is pleasing to watch. Both these aspects are made better by a series of imaginative touches – in the writing it is funny little gags and the strips' usual philosophising while in the animation it is a series of imaginative fantasy sequences that really make the film feel like something special. The most pleasing Peanuts movie I have seen.

• The ultimate and epic Charlie Brown statement!

  Ryuusei2000-09-15

  A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN has got to be the ultimate Peanuts animation ever made! It's so epic, and it does a great job of showcasing the original Peanuts characters, especially the central character, Charlie Brown! It told a tragic story of Charlie Brown, the milquetoast little boy who works hard to be the best (trying everything from kite-flying to baseball to even competing at a spelling bee), so that he can be loved and respected by his friends, when, of course, he usually loses and his friends berate him. And only his best friend Linus tries to help Charlie Brown succeed in life. There's also Snoopy, Charlie Brown's wonderful pet beagle, who does his usual crazy thing, from playing a WWI Flying Ace to skating on ice. Aside from creator Charles Schulz's screenplay, the great music score and songs by legendary jazz musician Vince Guaraldi, conductor John Scott Trotter, and gifted musician/poet/singer Rod McKuen really shines, and is the best score of any animated Peanuts project since the scores from all of the previous animated TV specials (only with more dimension)! It really needs a CD soundtrack! There's also some "artsy-fartsy" moments throughout the movie, including the Peanuts Gang saluting the National Anthem, Charlie Brown and Linus practicing "I before E, except after C," Schroeder playing Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata (2nd movt.) on his piano, and Snoopy skating at the Rockerfeller Center in NY, where Charlie Brown goes for the national spelling bee, but these are great images that make this movie all the more unusual! This movie made its premiere at the Radio City Music Hall in December of '69 (incidentally Rod McKuen performed one of the movie's songs months earlier at his birthday concert at Carnegie Hall, which can be purchased on a CD called "Rod McKuen: At Carnegie Hall"). There was also a documentary of the same name (the soundtrack of which is available on CD), which was transformed into CHARLIE BROWN AND CHARLES SCHULZ the same year this movie was released. In summary, A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN is the best of the Peanuts movies, and the best Peanuts animated project since A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (the first Peanuts TV special)! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

• A good film

  newkidontheblock2004-06-28

  A Boy Named Charlie Brown is a solid film in my opinion. Great music, a good plot, and real trippy animation and montages. Vince G. really out did himself for this one. The basic concept of this movie is that Charlie Brown is fed up with his title as a loser, a failure and a wash-out, so he gets in the class spelling bee and wins. He's finally heralded as a winner, life is sweet. Well, after chilling out for a while, he studies for the all state spelling bee with the help of his best friend Linus, who gives him his beloved blanket for good luck. Now for the sub-plot Linus is slowly sinking in his own personal hell because of the absents of his blue blanket, so they (Snoopy and Linus) go to the location of the bee and catch up with Charlie who is sleeping at the time. Snoopy abandons Linus and goes ice skating with the song "skating" playing in the background. To find out the end of the film, you'll just have to rent it from your local video store Like i said earlier, I very much enjoyed the Music in this film. Very 60's, but still staying true to the peanuts style of music. I very much enjoyed the theme song to the movie and there rendition of the national anthem. So bravo Boy Named Charlie Brown, you are truly a good film

• Charlie Brown in his first feature!

  fiascofilmsco2001-06-26

  I saw this film first in 1969. I thought it was a cute little film then, as now. This is the first Peanuts feature, and the last show using Peter Robbins as the voice of Charlie Brown. In this film, Charlie Brown, our hero, has finally proved that he can do something right. He wins the spelling bee in his class. All the kids treat him with their usual lack of tact. He studies really hard and wins the championship at his school and gets to go to the "city" to be in the "National Elimination Spelling Bee" I will not spoil the ending. Vince Guaraldi, the composer of the music for the six previous TV specials, is back for this one. There are new arrangements of the old music, plus several new songs by Rod McKuen. Guaraldi did not do the music for the next feature, Snoopy Come Home (1972) and that film suffers because of this. Schroeder has a beautiful salute to Beethoven in this film. While the music plays, we see some beautiful abstract scenes and colors on the screen that look fantastic in Technicolor. Sadly, I have seen this sequence cut from TV showings. Snoopy has a wonderful sequence while he and Linus are wandering around the city looking for his blanket that he sent with Charlie Brown for good luck. Snoopy discovers an ice skating rink and pretends that he is in a hockey match while he skates around the rink. He also has an encounter with the Red Baron that has some of the same animation that was used in "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown! on TV. One thing that I like about this film is when the closing credits are rolling, you get to see animated images of most of the principal creators of this film. Their names are on the right side of the screen, and their images appear on the left. Things like that entice me to sit through the credits instead of walking out as soon as they start. If you have never seen this film, by all means rent it and see what you have been missing!

• Charles Schultz at his comedic best

  Monkasi2000-07-22

  This groundbreaking animated film brought the bittersweet and somewhat bleak humor of Schultz's "Peanuts" comic strip to the big screen, with beautiful, lush artwork that has probably never been duplicated. Memorable scenes include Schroeder's piano concert; Snoopy ice-skating in Central Park; the New York City spelling bee (where the famous "wah-wah-wah" voice approves or disapproves of contestants' spellings); and a showstopping rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," complete with psychedelic red, white, and blue imagery. A wonderful cult classic.