Customer Reviews

PEANUTS: CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While people often gush -- and rightly so -- about the Charlie Brown Christmas and Halloween cartoons, I often feel like this is the "lost" Peanuts holiday special that doesn't quite get the attention of its more popular siblings.

Charlie Brown, through no fault of his own, gets roped into preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for Peppermint Patty and all his friends. And this from a boy who can barely make cold cereal and toast. Snoopy and Woodstock lend a hand in the kitchen with predictably silly results.

While it's not as iconic as some of the other Peanuts specials, it's a good story that really grasps the characters very well. This DVD also features "The Mayflower Voyages," one of several specials that cast the Peanuts characters as participants in American history. It's a good educational tool for the kids, mixing in some of the harsher facts of life at Plymouth Rock with the softer, happier mood of the Peanuts gang. Together, these two cartoons are well worth the DVD.

This video takes me back to being a kid and being able to stay up and watch the specials that came on TV for the holidays. This is just a great simple cartoon for kids and parents alike. You will never be disapointed with any Charlie Brown cartoon. From Lucy's contant quest to never let Charlie Brown never kick the football,to Charlie Browns deep thoughts on life. You will always love this one.

This is a classic. Even though Charles Schultz hated it when he first saw it, it has become one of the most beloved Charlie Brown caroons of all time. People get very antsy if their networks don't put it on every year. As usual, Charlie Brown has his trials and tribulations as he tries to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for kids who have invited themselves to dinner. Even Snoopy and the bird get into the act.

This cartoon is great even for the little ones. It doesn't matter if you are 3 or 93. It's a treat for the whole family.

Enjoy it, Thanksgiving or any time of year!

Charlie Brown and friends are busy getting ready for that forgotten holiday - Thanksgiving. Linus is telling everyone about it, Charlie Brown is wondering why the stores have Christmas decorations up already, and Sally is stressing about having to write a report on "Standish Miles" before she's finished her Halloween candy. But then Peppermint Patty calls and invites herself, Marcy, and Franklin to the Brown house for Thanksgiving dinner. Snoopy pitches in to help, but when the best they can do isn't enough for Peppermint Patty, what will happen next?

This is a Peanuts classic. Only Charlie Brown could find himself in this predicament, and it's handled with the usual Peanuts gentle humor.

Also included on the DVD is an episode of the TV show "This is America, Charlie Brown." "The Mayflower Voyage" intersperses the Peanuts gang in a retelling of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. It is a good presentation of the history of the Pilgrims, but is more history then entertainment. Still, it does have its moments, like when Lucy wants directions to the complaint box once they've reached America.

The DVD offers no extras beyond this additional 25 minutes of Peanuts animation. Still, the picture and sound quality are top notch on both programs.

This DVD belongs in any Peanuts fan's library to be enjoyed year after year.

If you're collecting Charlie Brown videos, you can't go wrong buying this package! It's got 2 of Charles Schulz's best animated specials!

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie brown (1966) was Charles Schulz's 3rd animated special and features many of the most important elements of the Peanuts cartoon strip: Charlie Brown trying to kick the football from Lucy (and you can guess what happens!), Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace, and of course, Linus' unfleeting faith in the Great Pumpkin. Sally is the only one who is willing to sacrifice tricks or treats and the Halloween Party for the Great Pumpkin's arrival. Well, without giving away too many details, let's just say neither Sally nor her older brother Charlie Brown walk home with any Halloween candy. However, when this special was originally aired, Charles Schulz's office wound up with lots of candy to give to poor old Charlie Brown.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973) won an Emmy. This time, Peppermint Patty invites herself and her friends to Chuck's house for Thanksgiving while Charlie Brown is expected at his grandmother's that same day. With Linus and Snoopy's help, they make an impromptu supper for their last-minute guests (though unconventional, as Peppermint Patty complains: "Where's the pumpkin pie, Chuck?"). Before the day is through, all of them learn a lesson of the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

The Turkey-Day special is often forgotten about due to the tremendous popularity of the Halloween & Christmas specials but it is just as good and in some ways better.

The "Peanuts" TV specials changed the way I celebrate every holiday from Halloween to Arbor Day. I raced home to watch "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" on ABC this year, having not seen it since 1994. I watched it with wide eyes and, the next day, played the tape for my 19 month-old nephew, who learned the word "Snoopy" two weeks ago.

Even to my jaded almost-30 eyes, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" absolutely rocks. Peanuts TV specials lost a little charm when Vince Guaraldi passed on, but fortunately he scored this one. There's a Woodstock-themed song performed by Jack Sheldon -- not as good as his "Amendment Song" for "The Simpsons" (what is?), but it's hummable.

All the great "Peanuts" moments are here: Lucy's one scene is a football gag; there's a lively remix of Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy" during the popcorn-and-toast montage; Snoopy climbs out of a mailbox and gets assaulted by a wayard deck chair (it's so *true*!). Linus gives a great speech on the meaning of Chr -- I mean, Thanksgiving. The jive handshake Franklin slips Charlie Brown is adorable in a 1973 kind of way.

My nephew was riveted to the screen for the Snoopy and Woodstock sequence, doubling over in laughter when the ping-pong table folded in half, taking Snoopy with it. These five minutes pleased him so much that I reran that portion of the tape two more times. He kept pointing to the screen and shouting "Doopy!" every fifteen seconds.

Not the best "Peanuts" holiday -- "Christmas" and "Great Pumpkin" are desert-island material -- but if it serves to get my nephew into a lifetime of Charles M Schulz worship, I'll call it the most valuable video in my collection.

The Charlie Brown holiday specials have been an institution since the 1960s, with the Thanksgiving episode produced in 1973. Although arguably not as good as some of the other holiday episodes, such as Christmas and Halloween, the Thanksgiving special is still a great deal of fun. The basic premise is silly but clever - Peppermint Patty invites herself to Charlie Brown's house (or Chuck as she calls him) for Thanksgiving dinner. Being a pushover, Charlie cannot bring himself to tell her that he's going to his grandmother's house for Thanksgiving; thus, the basic premise of having no adult supervision is explained rather adroitly. Charlie enlists the help of Snoopy and Linus to make a rather untraditional dinner. Along the way, everyone learns a little about the origins of Thanksgiving, the true meaning of being thankful, and to be more sensitive of each other's feelings. And it all comes with toast, jellybeans, and a bouncy song about Woodstock ("Little Bird"). Who could ask for more?

Yes, you read correctly: three stars. Not five. Why, might you ask? Am I crazy? No, I am not. At least I don't think I am :)

I am a huge fan of Peanuts. Every year, I look forward to the holiday specials on television. A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING is one of them. Yet, I must admit: much like IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN and IT'S THE EASTER BEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN, this show is kind of dated. I do still love it -- the characters and classic Peanuts gags we have all come to cherish. Not to mention having a great storyline. But truth be told, the timing between most of the dialogue is very very very offbeat (example: towards the beginning, when Charlie Brown, Linus and Sally are conversing on the sidewalk, they sound like robots; and their timing is way off. During one instance, Linus stops talking, and there is a two or three second pause before Sally starts yelling. I mean, it's like, "Where did that come from?" LOL)).

And Peppermint Patty's voice -- that's just annoying.

Yet I still love them. There is just something about these shows that we can all relate to again and again. Yes, the later films, tv shows and specials are all better drawn, and the timing is a lot better; and some have a much smoother feel.

But these, I think, contain a certain nostalgic feeling. And that's why they are "classics."

I realize that some fans may be angry with this review; that I am somehow insulting Charles Schulz. But, you know what? I am sure even he would agree, if he saw the Thanksgiving show now, that, say, episodes from his mastefully done Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show or the NASA special is more smooth-flowing and the timing is better.

Before you click "no" under this review, watch the Thanksgiving show again. You'll see what I mean by boring pauses in between much of the dialogue.

I am not being mean here. I love Charles Schulz, and am just being perfectly honest about how I feel. And while A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING is a true, honest-to-God classic, it is not one of the greatest holiday specials ever made.

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving has all the fun that you normally expect of a Charlie Brown movie. You get to see Peppermint Patty invite herself and several friends to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving, and then watch him flounder about trying to deal with it. The result is a dinner of junk food ala carte.

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD also comes with a second feature, Voyage of the Mayflower. This is a really great little flick that presents the Charlie Brown characters as participants in the pilgrim's voyage to the new world, their struggle to survive, and the first Thanksgiving. Parents may appreciate the educational aspects of this flick, as well as enjoy it's excellent quality.

Between the two features, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is definitely value for money. Another great feature, because the features are only 30 minutes, they can work as a great stop-gap to occupy a child for a brief period (such as while you are finishing dinner and they are getting fidgety), without having to cut short a full length movie.