Customer Reviews

A Boy Named Charlie Brown [VHS]

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I, like the other reviewer before me, remember watching this in a movie theater when it was first released; my grandfather took me to see it and I must have been about 4 or 5 years old. I remember being totally mesmerized at the thought of seeing my "heroes" on the big screen, and I didn't move a muscle the entire time the movie was rolling. And yes, I will also agree that the film's end can have you shedding a tear or two, with Linus' reminder, "Did you notice something, Charlie Brown? The world didn't come to an end", after Charlie Brown feels that he has humlitated himself one too many times. You can imagine, this film has a very special place in my heart. It retained several of the original character voices, including Peter Robbins, the first and best Charlie Brown. This is also the only one of the four theatrical features to use Vince Guaraldi's trademark theme music. I take issue with the statement that the additional songs composed for the movie by Rod McKuen are "absurd". I thought the title tune was very touching, featuring the lyric, "We're all a Boy Named Charlie Brown". Indeed.......That was the genius of Charles Schulz in a nutshell; he created characters that mirrored all of us. Please get this film and introduce your kids to it.......Help pass along Mr Schulz's legacy. (If you can find the out-of-print soundtrack album for this film, I highly recommend it as well.)

Though I highly recommend this film for children, it is by no means a movie that can be enjoyed only by children, with mindless dialogue and aimless plot. On the contrary; I am a 19-year-old college student, and even though I should technically be writing a review on Fellini's "Satyricon" as I sip some kind of mocha and smoke a cigarette, I instead choose to rave about the merits of this intelligent, wonderful little film. I would first like to state that the soundtrack is absolutely ASTOUNDING. Vince Guaraldi really outdoes himself in this film, with my favorites being "Baseball Theme" and "Surfin' Snoopy". I'm sorry to say that many of the songs on this film can only be acquired through the VHS medium; though there is a soundtrack, it provides music from an NBC Charles Schultz special, not this film. Consumers, beware! :) Secondly, the original compositions by Rod McKuen, such as "Champion Charlie Brown" and "Boy Named Charlie Brown" are heartwarming and delightful, again with paradoxically smart and mature lyrics (these too, unfortunately, are unavailable on CD). The animation is delightful. I love the bright, cheerful hues of the wallpaper in Charlie's hotel room and his bathroom. And yes, the visual rendition of Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata" is stunning, with animation reminding you of the "Eleanor Rigby" scene from "Yellow Submarine" (NOT the psychedelic type); for some, it can definitely be a tear-jerker. Snoopy's graceful skate at Rockerfeller Plaza in New York City is additionally delightful. If you're a parent concerned with the lessons your child may learn from this film, allow me to present you with a list: gleeful content with who we are, acceptance of failure, healthy appreciation of victory, and perhaps most of all, how to be a friend. Charming. Beautiful. It will bring a smile to your face even after years of viewing. You will NOT be disappointed with this buy.

This movie was shot full frame, and meant to be seen full frame. When you compare the movie to the old Full Frame Laserdisc you will see that this Letterboxed DVD cuts off the top & bottom and ads little to the sides.

Enough complaining, there are positives about this DVD. The picture quality is 100 times better than the old, yellowed & grainy Laserdisc. The colors look true and the image is smooth & clean. Even the soundtrack is punched up.

The movie itself is a delight. This is Peanut's first full length theatrical movie, and the story of Charlie Brown & the gang going off to a spelling bee will keep the young ones watching. Even the old ones like me.

The false letterboxing will not distract from the enjoyment of the film.

Charlie Brown is at his best in his first film as Charlie addreses his own insecurities and gets the remarkable achievement of going to a major spelling bee only to loose when final victory is so close. Along the way we are treated to a brilliant rendition of Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata with some wonderful gothic imagry. We have Snoopy at the Rockefeller plaza skating around and letting his imagination run wild, and we have a great flying sequence as Snoopy does an air battle. There's so many wonderful moments it's hard to list. Rod McKuen's theme is just so poignant for the ending. After Charlie looses he realizes through simple images that life has indeed moved on and that he's going to be OK. The ending is just so moving and to have that juxtiposed with smart and quite witty scenes early on is such a rare thing in any film. The biggest shame is that this is NOT available on DVD. This is a lost treasure and I'm glad at least we can see it on VHS!

Rod McKuen

A Boy Named Charlie Brown has got to be one of the cornerstones of my childhood. The story of a low-esteemed kid seeking to understand his purpose in life and finds momentary glory in making it to the spelling bee finals makes for great storytelling by one of history's most beloved cartoonists, Charles Schulz. The film is terrific, from the endearing cast of characters, to the poignant storyline, down to Vince Guaraldi's mellow jazz rhythms (which may or may not have been responsible for introducing countless of kids to jazz at the time). I think A Boy Named Charlie Brown is a must-see for every child who wonders and wanders.

I bought this film the day before Charles Schulz died and it seemed like the most touching, poignant tribute to the man when I watched it. Enjoyable for kids who can find humor in Snoopy's antics, and Linus going nuts looking for his blanket, but if you're an adult, you'll understand what this film is REALLY about. When Charlie Brown loses the spelling bee, he comes home and stays in bed for an entire day. Finally, when Linus entices him to get out of bed, he shows him something very important------Life Goes On! "Did you notice, Charlie Brown? It wasn't the end of the world." That brilliantly-executed scene is so well-written and sums up what Peanuts was all about. Flies over your head when you're a kid, but when you see it as an adult, you realize how skilled we've become at dealing with life's disappointments. And we learn, as Charlie Brown did, that life goes on, and it wasn't the end of the world. The songs of Rod McKuen also help explore the theme very well. For the Charlie Brown in all of us, and more importantly, the Linus in all of us.

I love this movie. With the exception of Pepermint Patty and Marcy, it has all the classic elements of the Peanuts gang that made them so cute: Charlie Brown can't fly a kite because he's afraid the trees will eat it, his baseball team always loses, Snoopy thinks he's a WWI fighter, Shroeder plays great symphonies on the tiny piano, Linus adoring his blanket, and of course, Lucy pulling away the football. I love the songs and kiddie jokes which tell of how Charlie Brown is enrolled in the national spelling bee. All 84 mintues of it are pure delight, even the long musical interludes. And is it possible to not want to shed a tear at the end?

Another in my personal "I wonder if the little one will sit through this?" purchases, this is the first of four Peanuts major motion pictures. Made four years after TV classics like "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Great Pumpkin", this film doesn't have the yearly replay value of those, but is classic nonetheless. In it, Charlie Brown establishes himself as the worlds first "emo" kid with a barrage of disappointment situations that we're all familiar of. Then he decides to try to beat his own curse by competing in the school's spelling bee and reluctantly makes it to state championship. Can this cursed little bald kid finally win at something?

Paramount did an odd job with this disc. While it's surprisingly in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, some of the graphics seem to be cut off on all four sides like it was originally in 1.33:1. And even though the colors/black levels are spot-on & sharp, there is varying degrees of print damage throughout the entire picture, though some may be due to the cel-animation of forty years ago than the master itself. The 5.1/2.0 mixes are new and effective, but at times it's dated jazzy '60's soundtrack doesn't get any more modern sounding because of it. Also too bad that there's not one extra or trailer for it or any other Peanuts video product on it (lost opportunity). But with it's Woodstock-like split screen effects and entertaining storyline, it was well worth the purchase and my little one was entertained, even if she kept asking me when they were finally going Trick-Or-Treating already....

Personally growing up on the animation side of Peanuts, I still found it's sequel "Snoopy, Come Home" to be a better overall movie, but this one still has plenty to see and enjoy. In fact strangely this release of the film (why did it take until 2006 for this to debut on DVD?) is actually uncut! Meaning Paramount put back in it six whole minutes that were deleted after test audiences in 1969 thought it ran too long. In a way I can see their point, but it's a time-capsule of an era of animation gone way by, like that bald kid's chances of ever kicking that football. Recommended for classic animation fans.

(RedSabbath Rating:7.5/10)

I just saw this movie for the first time in 35 years. My father took me to see it when I was four.

Anyway, it was my first movie in the theatre and for some reason I remembered it. Watching it again with my own three year old was also quite interesting. Only now, I recognize how artistic this movie is. With music by cool jazz artist Vince Guaraldi, lyrics by poet Rod McKuen, and characters invented by Charles Schultz it almost becomes a period piece with somewhat psychodelic/pop art animation influenced by the times.

My experience tells me that children will enjoy this movie on one level, but adults can also appreciate the aesthetics, as well as, the message which, I guess, reveals Charlie Brown as the American anti-hero trying to find meaning in a cruel world of inflated egos and office politics. His alter-ego Snoopy is also quite interesting as a "Walter Mitty" character who lazes around all day, but enjoys a rich inner fantasy life as a World War I fighter pilot/ star hockey player et. al.

A 9 year old loser named Charlie Brown is just down on his luck for he can't do anything right and has a few friends like Linus, Lucy and his beagle Snoopy. His skills at flying kites and playing baseball are rather poor and gets help sometimes from Lucy, but one day there's a class spelling bee and Charlie Brown decides to be in it so he can prove he's not a total loser. But suddenly as he spells some words correct he wins and becomes a class champion just enough to be in the national spelling bee in the big city, his friends have total faith in him that he could win the spelling bee and become a home hero.

Entertaining and charming animated feature that is the big-screen debut of the popular comic strip characters "Peanuts" by Charles Schultz. The movie is a funny and thought-provoking piece of animation with a brilliant jazz score and some good songs like the theme song, this movie has always been a childhood favorite of mine that i still enjoy!

The DVD has good picture and sound with widescreen presentation and some scenes that were cut out from the video version and back into the movie. There is a lack of extras but hey that's ok, this is a superb animated flick that kids and adults will enjoy.