Customer Reviews

Peanuts: Girl in Red Truck Charlie Brown [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is a classic in the Peanuts world of movies. It not only encompasses the slapstick humor of most peanuts cartoons, it also displays an interesting bond, hardly ever explored in TV, between a cartoon and a real person. Spike, snoopy's cousin is showcased in "It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown", and has many of the similar traits of snoopy himself. It is definitely one of the more laid back peanuts cartoons, but nonetheless is fun to watch, and enjoyable for kids aged 1 to 101.

I used to watch this as a kid as well! My mom had it recorded for me and It seemed like I would watch it everyday back then! So funny how me and others on here both went thru the same process to find this movie. I thought it was always snoopy but wikipedia told me snoopy had a cousin then I knew from that point on I would find the movie! I am 25 yrs old and the movie is so corny lol but it brings back great memories and I remember the songs and certain clips from the movie. I love the 80's and this was really a great movie for me a a kid. They just dont make em like this anymore...sad

I used to watch this as a child. We had it recorded so my brothers and I watched at least once a week for a long time. Fast forward to my adult life and I only had faint memories of the storyline. I knew there was a truck and a girl and what I thought to be Snoopy. I asked "What is the name of this movie..." on several question/answer websites and was never given an answer. Finally, during a random Wikipedia click-through tangent, I happened upon the "Snoopy's Siblings" page and read that Spike was a desert-dweller. Hmmm, I thought, the film took place in a desert... could Spike be the main character. Yes. Yes, he was. Bingo! I did a few more searches and found what I had been looking for for years.

It doesn't have the same appeal that it used to, but the nostalgia is worth every penny.

I am a little upset with the special but I don't hate it. I thought Charlie Brown and Snoopy would have had a bigger part but I was wrong. Spike is OK and he is cute but it's not enough. What I don't get is the ending. Why did Spike leave Jenny? Maybe Spike missed his home but now I feel bad for Jenny.

She liked him and at times she is all alone but with Spike she would have had some company. I can also tell at the ending that Spike was sad. I wonder if this show would have made a good spin off? Oh well. Anyway I liked it but did not love it.

I'm just glad I didn't have to spend much to get it. I do have to say however Jill Schulz is pretty.

This 1988 Peanuts special is not what you might expect, combining live action and animation. It features only a brief scene with Charlie Brown and none of the other regular Peanuts characters. The main characters are Snoopy's mustachioed brother Spike, who lives alone in the desert, and a bubbly, vivacious girl named Jenny who takes him in when she discovers him there by himself. It's love at first sight for Spike (despite the fact that he's a dog and she's human), but he becomes disappointed when he learns that Jenny has a boyfriend, a guy who is a bit self-centered, but not mean or nasty by any means. A beautiful friendship is still formed between Jenny and Spike, and no matter how superficial the live action/animation thing might be, it's hard not to choke up at the bond that these two share, because we know that there are certainly real people in the world who have the winning, bubbly, and loyal personality that the character Jenny does, and whether or not we want to admit it, I think we all wish we had a friend like that. Another great thing about this special is the catchy, addictive background music, which is expertly done to have just the right emotional tone for the scene that it is accompanying.

Jenny is played by Jill Schulz, the daughter of Charles Schulz. She never was able to sustain an acting career, and little is known about her nowadays. The most I know is that she's approximately 49 years old, she's very skilled in aerobics, she became a producer for aerobics and/or extreme sports programs, and she married a guy named Transki sometime during the 90s.

If you read my reviews here on Amazon, I've reviewed several books and videos dealing with Charles Schulz and Peanuts. In reviewing the TV shows that had aired over the years, I realized I had never seen this show which combined live action with cartoon animation. Actually, the concept was a good one and actually was very well done, but the story itself left little to be desired. First of all, focusing on Spike, Snoopy's desert-living brother, was not a great chioce. He doesn't talk, of course, but I always thought he was the weakest of Charles Schulz's characters. I think something where Charlie Brown, Linus and Lucy interact with live action characters would have been more fun.

There are three live action characters in the story. One is the Girl in The Red Truck, who is played by Schulz' daughter Jill. A second is a guy who plays her boyfriend who doesn't care much for Spike and the third is a waitress at a local diner. If you look on the 'net, none of these three had much acting experience. And it shows. The dialog is corny and the story, which involves the boyfriend's attempt to get Jill away from the desert fairly lame. Jill is a beautiful girl and I think Mr. Schulz used this vehicle to try to jump start an acting career for her, but it doesn't appear to have worked. She does show in extended sequences that she is a darn fine roller-skater, however.

All in all, it was a nice attempt, but like most of the Peanuts videos from the mid-1980s onward, came up a little short for me.

I remember being 7 years old and watching this air for the very first time on CBS. I was so excited to be watching it, and I still enjoy it today. It is a little different from the other Peanuts specials, not only for the live action part but for the focus on Spike, and only having brief appearances from the other Peanuts characters (Charlie Brown and Snoopy, at the beginning...) A little dated now with the roller skating but still holds up well over time. If you've not yet seen it I recommend that you do!