Customer Reviews

Peanuts 1960's Collection (A Charlie Brown Christmas / Charlie Brown's All-Stars / It's the Great Pumpkin / You're in Love / He's Your Dog / It Was a Short Summer)

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This 2-disc set is going to be released on July 7th, 2009. It contains the classic heartwarming Charlie Brown/Peanuts Specials that aired from 1965-1969, which are all six specials that aired in the sixties. Those specials are:

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
The perennial Christmas classic about the down on his luck Charlie Brown and his adorably pathetic Christmas Tree. This is where the Peanuts Specials all began.

Charlie Brown's All-Stars (1966)
It's ball season and Charlie Brown faces a moral dilemma when he can get his team new uniforms and a shot at being part of an official league if he is willing to kick Lucy, Violet, Patty, Frieda and Snoopy off the team.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
Another perennial classic about poor Charlie Brown getting more trick's than treat's and ever optimistic Linus spending the night in a humble pumpkin patch. He believes in the Great Pumpkin.

You're In Love, Charlie Brown (1967)
Charlie Brown just wants the courage to meet his crush, the little red haired girl. When Linus and Peppermint Patty try to help things only get worse for good old Chuck.

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968)
Snoopy is supposed to return to Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for obedience training but winds up at the house of Peppermint Patty instead. Will Charlie Brown get his dog pal to come back home?

It Was A Short Summer Charlie Brown (1969)
At summer camp the boys are losing everything to the girls and putting up with poor conditions. Will the boys be able to prove themselves as winner's before the end of the summer? Maybe some help from the Masked Marvel (aka Snoopy) can do the trick.

Five of these six specials were either Emmy nominated or winning. Here they are being presented with remastered picture and sound quality, and on top of that the last two specials have never appeared on DVD before this. The set also includes a documentary, "The Maestro of Menlo Park - Profiling Composer Vince Gauraldi", which takes time to look at the life of the jazz musician who wrote the classic 'Linus and Lucy' Theme as well as other peanuts music.

There have now been forty-one specials in the Peanuts franchise and I'm hoping that they will work on releasing them all in these sort of chronological sets. This set is great for those who haven't bought the other Peanuts releases yet or fans that don't mind double dipping knowing that this time if these releases continue they will be in for a complete set.

All these specials are great for those looking to relive childhood memories or share wholesome entertainment with their children while teaching them core values. I understand television has to evolve to reflect the current times but I wish more current shows could show half the moral undertones found here in these specials. Luckily with this DVD set those interested in wholesome family entertainment can now share these six classic specials with their children.

Getting right down to business: You watch two of these every year for certain-- Charlie Brown Christmas and Great Pumpkin, you know them, you love them, and your VHS copy is worn out beyond belief. That alone is reason to get the 1960s Collection, but what you don't know may be even more compelling...

"He's Your Dog" and "Short Summer" are new to DVD but well worth the wait. If you've seen them before, you'll love watching them again (what can I say, they're timeless!) and you'll be loaning it out or inviting your cousins/nieces/nephews/grandkids over to watch them.

Filled with life lessons, a classic humor that we all pay tribute to in one way or another and the Peanuts gang, this is an essential collection.

This DVD is packed with 6 classic animation specials from the 1960's. Even though I was not around when these aired, I have fond memories of each and everyone of theses specials as a kid.

Pro's
Classic Peanuts!!!

Con's
Disc 1 claims to have 4 features but only has 3. The 4th feature is actually on the 2nd disc. So it boils down to 3 features per disc.

Now only if they would release more collections which would include:
Bon Voyage Charlie Brown
This is America Charlie Brown
Race for Your Life Charlie Brown and many more...

Some things, though they become dated and quaint, still remain classic and timeless. Charles Schultz's Peanuts TV specials are no exception to this. Every year I look forward to one of the major television networks airing the Peanuts holiday specials, especially A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Recently, Warner Brothers has released a remastered collection of the 1960's specials on a two-disc set. This set contains six half-hour specials, each disc containing three (although the box erroneously indicates that there are four on the first disc and two on the second disc). Also included in this set is a featurette profiling the composer of the Peanuts music, including the famed "Linus and Lucy" track, Vince Guaraldi.

The specials are included in chronological order, and the last two have never before been released on DVD. Here are the specials included:

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
The classic, beloved story of the Peanuts gang's Christmas pageant and Charlie Brown's quest to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas.

Charlie Brown's All-Stars (1966)
Charlie Brown and his hapless baseball team can't catch a break on the diamond. Ever the shrewd manager, Charlie Brown believes new uniforms and entry into a real league will provide the inspiration his team needs to get over the hump. However, there's a catch: he must get rid of the girls on the team, as well as Snoopy. How will he handle such a conundrum?

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
Another beloved Peanuts holiday special. This time it's Halloween and time for the gang to go trick-or-treating. The dumb luck of Charlie Brown, however, will bring him more tricks than treats. Meanwhile, Linus patiently awaits the arrival of the Great Pumpkin, a lesser-known holiday gift-bringer.

You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967)
It's the end of the school year and Charlie Brown is distressed about not being able to have fun like the rest of his friends. After complaining and venting to Linus, Charlie Brown realizes that his frustrations are due to his as-yet unrequited affections for The Little Red-Haired Girl, and it becomes his quest to talk to her (interesting sidenote, this is the first Peanuts special to feature the "trombone voice" of the schoolteacher).

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968)
The gang has become frustrated with Snoopy and his disobedient way, so Charlie Brown decides to send him back to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for obedience training. With Snoopy, however, nothing ever goes as planned.

It was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (1969)
The Peanuts kids all go to summer camp, but the boys have a rough time. Unfavorable conditions and repeated losses to the girls in sports get them down, but everything could change based on the outcome of the wrist-wrestling match between Lucy and Snoopy "The Masked Marvel."

Since the 1960's there have been dozens of additional Peanuts TV specials, but there's something about these first few that keep us coming back to them time and time again. This is an excellent, inexpensive collection of these timeless treasures.

These shows are the absolute best of the Peanuts TV specials - this and the movie A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN (1969) are all you need.

Everything has a Golden Period and the 60's was it for Peanuts. There was an almost hypnotic quality to these early specials - they take their time, are more character-oriented than plot-oriented, and the humor is droll and intelligent. This philosophical bent is what makes them the perfect video equivalent of the classic comic strip, and you can feel the care and significant thought put into every moment - from Vince Guaraldi's iconic jazz to the wonderful, natural voices of the original child actors, who were never to be matched in later versions.

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS and IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN are well known and loved, deservedly so, but it may be, unless you're old like me, you haven't seen YOU'RE IN LOVE, HE'S YOUR DOG, IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, or ALL STARS. I grew up on them, even had the corresponding books. My personal favorite would be the Snoopy-centric DOG. But love of the little redhaired girl, the whole gang at camp and Charlie Brown's baseball woes make for clever, funny, poignant stories that are all surprisingly timeless even 40 years later.

It's true, it would have been nice if they had given us more special features - including the documentaries from earlier editions, but these are the absolute cream of the crop, the best Peanuts you're going to find. You can skip the 70's and 80's, it was never the same again...

But don't hesitate for a second, buy this one!

Even though I have the Peanuts Holiday Collection (It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / A Charlie Brown Christmas) (Deluxe Edition), I decided to buy the PEANUTS 1960'S COLLECTION 2-DVD SET for the other four episodes.

I've never seen "Charlie Brown's All-Stars," "You're In Love, CB," "He's Your Dog, CB," and "It Was A Short Summer, CB," and this set was cheap enough that I figured why not?

Of course the two main holiday specials from the 60s, "A CB Christmas" and "It's The Great Pumpkin, CB," are also included in this set but does NOT have the special features from the deluxe holiday release.

Since I grew up on Peanuts specials this was a must have for me. I enjoyed the other cartoons just as much as the holiday specials and this adds to my collection.

Other reviewers have already listed an episode guide so I won't do that. I'll just say that if you're trying to decide if this set is worth it, especially if you already have the deluxe holiday set like me, I'd say it is if you love Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. Peppermint Patty is featured in two episodes and the story revolves around Snoopy on "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown," so you get a good mix.

=================== SPECIAL FEATURES =========================
**36:55-minute FEATURETTE "THE MAESTRO OF MENLO PARK"
Lee Mendelson (Exec. Prod for "Peanuts"), Seward McCain (Bassist w/Guaraldi), David Guaraldi (Vince's son), and others discuss jazz maestro Vince Guaraldi--showing old photographs and playing samples of songs like "Linus & Lucy," "Christmas Time Is Here," "Joe Cool's Blues," and "Little Birdie"--explaining how he was chosen to supply the music for Peanuts and how iconic the music would become.
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There's something very special about Charlie Brown and Peanuts. Perhaps it's the touching story lines, simple drawings, and jazz music that create that magic. Or maybe it's because we all have a little Charlie Brown in us and that's why we still find these cartoons endearing. Whatever the reason, I suggest buying this set, even though you'll be double dipping if you already have the holiday set, because it will bring a smile to your face and you get the other four episodes plus the Guaraldi special.

The set comes in a clamshell case that holds the two DVDs but there's a mistake on the episode listing (all least on my set): the "You're In Love, CB" is listed on the cover sheet as being episode number 4 on DVD 1, but it starts off DVD 2.

At last, here is the compilation I've been waiting for ever since the specials were first being issued on VHS tape nearly two decades ago! This is a collection of specials that brings back memories of reading those softbound volumes of the weekly newspaper comic strips containing the humor now included as animation herein. I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary of Vince Guaraldi and how he got involved in scoring the PEANUTS specials and ultimately helping to identify them for generations, and I can only hope that this is the first volume in a series and that, on a future set, we get some special features that tell the story from the point of view of the creator, himself, Charles M. Schultz. Bravo to Warner Brothers for making all this possible!

This is the one I've been waiting for...the classic 6 TV specials from the 60's remastered and they look spectacular!!! This is bringing back such a flood of childhood memories that its overwhelming to this 52 year old pair of eyes. The bonus 37 minute documentary on the great Vince Guaraldi (pianist and composer of all the iconic music) is a huge bonus and worth the 20 bucks alone for a musician or music fan. This is a great value particularly at only 20 dollars..buy now!!!

I was certainly not around in the 1960s, but these Peanuts TV specials are just as nostalgic to me, as I still grew up watching them in the 90s.

I received my copy yesterday for review on my website Saturday Morning Central, and I think its a very nice set. I already owned the holiday specials, but hadn't seen any of the other specials on DVD.

The picture looks great, and there is also a very nice documentary on Vince Guaraldi. I recommend this set for any fan of the Peanuts or for parents looking to put some classic animation into their kids' memories.

Featured Specials:
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - In this Emmy® and Peabody Award winning classic, Charlie Brown is upset by how commercial the Christmas holiday has become. To coax him out of his holiday blues, Lucy suggests he direct the school's Christmas pageant and decorate a glorious tree. Charlie Brown concedes. The tree he finds however, is puny, prompting everyone to ridicule him.
Charlie Brown's All-Stars (1966) - Nominated for two Prime Time Emmys®, in this delightful special, Charlie Brown is faced with a difficult moral dilemma; should he accept brand new uniforms and give the rest of the gang a chance to be part of an official little league baseball team even if it means that due to policy, Snoopy, Lucy, Patty, Violet and Frieda must be kicked off?
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) - This Emmy® Award-nominated special, finds the Peanuts gang outfitted in costumes, ready for trick or treating and crashing Violet's Halloween party. Charlie Brown is in a ghost costume (with more eyeholes cut out than needed), Lucy dressed as a witch and Snoopy in a World War I flying ace costume. Linus decides to steadfastly hold vigil in the pumpkin patch as he awaits the Great Pumpkin.
You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967) - This Emmy® Award-nominated special finds Charlie Brown trying to work up the courage to meet his school-girl crush, the little red-haired girl. He enlists the help of his pals Linus and Peppermint Patty but they only aggravate the situation.
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968) - This Emmy® Award-nominated special finds Snoopy returning to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for a refresher course in obedience training after his mischievous behavior lands Charlie Brown in trouble. On his way to the puppy farm however, Snoopy finds refuge in Peppermint Patty's house, that's until Charlie Brown gets a call from the puppy farm telling him Snoopy never showed up.
It was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (1969) - At summer camp, the Peanuts gang put up with poor food and the girls winning all the sports competitions. To get even, the boys challenge them into a wrist-wresting contest between Lucy and "The Masked Marvel" - aka Snoopy in disguise.